Saturday Times Review of FALC Book
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There is a review of Bastani’s book on FALC by Daniel Finkelstein in this Saturday’s Times. Finkelstein has the following questions about socialism, which he says have never been answered satisfactorily:
‘Under socialism, who works in the human resources department of the organisation that makes the ink that is used on Twix wrappers? Why do they? How much do they get paid? Who decides that? Do we still make Twix? Why?’
He goes on to say that after each attempt at socialism collapses ‘The problem isn’t that socialism doesn’t work, you see, so much as that we have never really tried it’. We members of the WSM would agree with this last comment, even though he obviously said it tongue in cheek. He also makes what could well be valid points about Bastani’s book (though I haven’t read it), e.g.”it isn’t remotely clear from this book what communism is’. Also, he complains that the book doesn’t answer his Twix problem.
Should we challenge him to a debate?
Finkelstein has form on criticising socialism, real socialism that is (let’s give him some credit for that). But also in not responding. Since he didn’t.
Cooking the Books: Answer on a Postcard (to Lord Finkelstein)
- Yes, he should be challenged to a debate.
- Is the rest of it missing,or does the postcard really end with “You describe as ‘preposterous’ the idea that people would be prepared to work at such jobs, or any job, ‘for nothing’.”?
Was the letter sent to The Times or did it just appear in the SS? Though I don’t suppose he would have answered either way.
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