More people choosing a blindfold.
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More people turning backs on reality and taking the blindfold option.
This was interesting:
“Mr Newman said those choosing to selectively avoid the news also often do so because they feel “powerless”.
“These are people who feel they have no agency over massive things that are happening in the world,” he said.”I don’t think this means that people are behaving like ostriches. They are accepting the reality that there are “powerless” and just getting on with their lives. We shouldn’t suggest that they are simply being stupid.
Well no, but that attitude also makes them turn away in dread from the very responsibility they need to take for making socialism. They just don’t want to hear it.
Btw, its a myth that ostriches do that.
… turn away in dread …
That’s a rather odd way of putting it as it implies that they know that there is an alternative to capitalism but are afraid to do anything about it. But most of them probably don’t know there is an alternative. It’s not a question of not wanting to hear about it but of not even having heard about it.
The ostrich analogy is not entirely inapt as they do stick their heads in the sand but not for the reason supposed. Similarly people are not acting to get rid of capitalism but not for the reason you suppose.
We can repeat our case until we’re blue in the face. If knowing about us was enough, they’d become socialists. But they are so immured in their helplessness that they do indeed dread the obligation to do anything other than give to charities and vote for leaders to take on the burden.
If reason was enough, we should get nearly 100% positive response from our election leaflets. But we’ll get practically zero.
A more apt illustration:
You mean that the people you have talked to about socialism have expressed a “dread” of it? I don’t believe you.
To be honest I very rarely watch the news for just the same reason. It doesn’t mean that I’m unaware of what’s going on, it is impossible to escape from it, what with radio news, twitter feeds, messaging, etc.
It doesn’t mean that I don’t recognise the need for change, no doubt many others feel the same way.
The problem is that we are “educated” to believe that if people all behave in a particular way, it’s because we’re all thinking the same things. People often behave in the same way for completely different reasons, something Reich could well have benefited from recognising
By dread i mean having to face that the responsibility is theirs and cannot be left to politicians.
In fact, i have had two people tell me, after reading the Standard, that socialism is evil.
Everyone i’ve given the Standard to has rejected our message.
I’ve got to say that judging a planetary population of 7.5 billion people by the reactions of 2 people is a more than a little unscientific. Reich would be proud of you.
Everyone i’ve given the Standard to has rejected our message.
Besser der Teufel, den du kennst, als der Teufel, den du nicht kennst
it is often better to deal with something you are familiar with and know, even if it is not ideal, than take a risk with something completely unknown and untried.
And that, sadly, is why socialism will never be established.
Following that logic the human species would never have moved out of Africa. The whole history of human development (good and bad) is littered with examples of humans doing exactly the opposite to what you are suggesting.
I don’t know if this is a German/Austrian saying but it’s ironic if it is.
Keep trying to bend history to fit your views.
The whole history of human development (good and bad) is littered with examples of humans doing exactly the opposite to what you are suggesting.
Provide one example where the mode of production/way of life was changed by the conscious actions of the world’s population.
Keep trying to bend history to fit your views.
And good luck trying to prevent the inevitable. The SPGB is the final vestige of the World Socialist Movement [sic].
It’s a bitter pill to swallow.
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