Categories: Changing Society, Government & Politics, Liberal Politics, Social Change, Society and Culture Tags:
Third Party – the film
Political Alternatives in the Age of Duopoly
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TAKE A MINUTE (actually only 51 seconds) to watch the trailer of Third Party, a documentary film that made a comprehensive survey of the major United States third party efforts.
It is nearly 7 years since its release, and the film itself is comprised of old clips and, back then, new interviews.
What’s remarkable is that not much has changed. What is said is, unfortunately, STILL relevant!
Interviews with leaders in the Libertarian, Green, Reform, Labor, Communist, Socialist, Working Families, and Workers World parties are interspliced with commentary from activists and academics including Ronnie Dugger, Francis Fox Piven, Howard Zinn, Jeremy Brecher, Noam Chomsky and others. The film looks carefully at what motivates and inspires parties vying for a foothold in a country so dominated politically by the Democrats and Republicans. This feature length film explores their strategies, their issues, and their thoughts on the obstacles they face.
Not merely an academic exercise, the film weaves in the story of the third party candidacy of Mike DeRosa, one of the thousands of everyday Americans who run for office each year under a third party banner. DeRosa’s story, as a member of the Green Party of Connecticut running for State Senate in 2002, illustrates what it’s like to run as a political alternative in a system and culture design for two.
An educational and inspiring mosaic of the lesser-known political visionaries fighting to bring serious change to an actual democracy in danger of slipping into a virtual one.
If you didn’t click the button above, here it is again:
>> Watch Trailer.
For more information, GO TO: http://thirdpartypolitics.org/
Categories: Changing Society, Government & Politics, Liberal Politics, Social Change, Society and Culture Tags: Howard Zinn, Jarvis Tyner, Mike DeRosa, Ralph Nader, third parties, third party, third party candidates
Why Socialism?
By Albert Einstein
This essay was originally published in the first issue of Monthly Review (May 1949).
Is it advisable for one who is not an expert on economic and social issues to express views on the subject of socialism? I believe for a number of reasons that it is.
Let us first consider the question from the point of view of scientific knowledge. It might appear that there are no essential methodological differences between astronomy and economics: scientists in both fields attempt to discover laws of general acceptability for a circumscribed group of phenomena in order to make the interconnection of these phenomena as clearly understandable as possible. But in reality such methodological differences do exist. The discovery of general laws in the field of economics is made difficult by the circumstance that observed economic phenomena are often affected by many factors which are very hard to evaluate separately. In addition, the experience which has accumulated since the beginning of the so-called civilized period of human history has-as is well known-been largely influenced and limited by causes which are by no means exclusively economic in nature. For example, most of the major states of history owed their existence to conquest. The conquering peoples established themselves, legally and economically, as the privileged class of the conquered country. They seized for themselves a monopoly of the land ownership and appointed a priesthood from among their own ranks. The priests, in control of education, made the class division of society into a permanent institution and created a system of values by which the people were thenceforth, to a large extent unconsciously, guided in their social behavior.
But historic tradition is, so to speak, of yesterday; nowhere have we really overcome what Thorstein Veblen called “the predatory phase” of human development. The observable economic facts belong to that phase and even such laws as we can derive from them are not applicable to other phases. Since the real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development, economic science in its present state can throw little light on the socialist society of the future.
Second, socialism is directed towards a social-ethical end. Science, however, cannot create ends and, even less, instill them in human beings; science, at most, can supply the means by which to attain certain ends. But the ends themselves are conceived by personalities with lofty ethical ideals and-if these ends are not stillborn, but vital and vigorous-are adopted and carried forward by those many human beings who, half unconsciously, determine the slow evolution of society.
For these reasons, we should be on our guard not to overestimate science and scientific methods when it is a question of human problems; and we should not assume that experts are the only ones who have a right to express themselves on questions affecting the organization of society.
Innumerable voices have been asserting for some time now that human society is passing through a crisis, that its stability has been gravely shattered. It is characteristic of such a situation that individuals feel indifferent or even hostile toward the group, small or large, to which they belong. In order to illustrate my meaning, let me record here a personal experience. I recently discussed with an intelligent and well-disposed man the threat of another war, which in my opinion would seriously endanger the existence of mankind, and I remarked that only a supra-national organization would offer protection from that danger. Thereupon my visitor, very calmly and coolly, said to me: “Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?”
I am sure that as little as a century ago no one would have so lightly made a statement of this kind. It is the statement of a man who has striven in vain to attain an equilibrium within himself and has more or less lost hope of succeeding. It is the expression of a painful solitude and isolation from which so many people are suffering in these days. What is the cause? Is there a way out?
It is easy to raise such questions, but difficult to answer them with any degree of assurance. I must try, however, as best I can, although I am very conscious of the fact that our feelings and strivings are often contradictory and obscure and that they cannot be expressed in easy and simple formulas.
Man is, at one and the same time, a solitary being and a social being. As a solitary being, he attempts to protect his own existence and that of those who are closest to him, to satisfy his personal desires, and to develop his innate abilities. As a social being, he seeks to gain the recognition and affection of his fellow human beings, to share in their pleasures, to comfort them in their sorrows, and to improve their conditions of life. Only the existence of these varied, frequently conflicting, strivings account for the special character of a man, and their specific combination determines the extent to which an individual can achieve an inner equilibrium and can contribute to the well-being of society. It is quite possible that the relative strength of these two drives is, in the main, fixed by inheritance. But the personality that finally emerges is largely formed by the environment in which a man happens to find himself during his development, by the structure of the society in which he grows up, by the tradition of that society, and by its appraisal of particular types of behavior. The abstract concept “society” means to the individual human being the sum total of his direct and indirect relations to his contemporaries and to all the people of earlier generations. The individual is able to think, feel, strive, and work by himself; but he depends so much upon
Categories: Changing Society, Community, Government & Politics, Liberal Politics, Social Change, Society and Culture Tags: Albert Einstein, socialism
Find a Hemp Event Near You!
Between now and the end of May, we’ll be celebrating our history with hemp farming at local events across the country in a show of support for American farmers who want the right to grow industrial hemp again. Check out our events page to find locations near you and our get involved page to become an event host or volunteer.
Hemp History Week (May 17-23, 2010) will also feature educational events around the U.S. exposing our rich American history of hemp farming and hemp products. We will also share a selection of modern hemp products and ask supporters to sign and send postcards urging President Obama and Attorney General Holder to change our federal policy to allow American farmers to once again grow industrial hemp.
Find An Event Near You
We’re helping to host nearly 200 events nationwide, and you’re invited! The events need organizers, volunteers and participants. Attending an event provides a great opportunity to celebrate all the wonderful uses of hemp, while showing your support, learning about your local hemp history and sampling modern hemp foods and body care products.Select your state below to find an event near you and then invite your friends. The event description, event location, event time and date are listed. If you need the name and email address or phone number of an event contact and/or organizer please send an email to events@hemphistoryweek.com or call Jamie Trowbridge at 202-232-8997 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-232-8997 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. |
Categories: Entertainment, Government & Politics, Liberal Politics Tags: hemp, hemp events, Hemp History Week
Chaser’s WOE: Political Donations, S2 Ep 9
With increasing calls for donation reform, we test who exactly political parties will accept donations from.
Duration : 0:4:6
Categories: Liberal Politics Tags: abc, accept, al, ALP, boy, Chas, Chaser, child, comedy, donation, donations, ethics, everything, favours, howard, humour, Iemma, jihad, john, Klan, Klux, Ku, Liberal, Licciardello, love, man, mates, molesters, Morris, obligation, on, party, Phillip, Political, Politics, Quada, Quaeda, Quayda, reform, Ruddock, satire, Spoof, terrorists, war
Liberal Fascism Q-A (2)
PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C20E954A7632DCFD
PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsFoiVZDSRs&feature=PlayList&p=C20E954A7632DCFD&index=1
Q&A session — Jonah Goldberg discusses his new book, “Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning”, at The Heritage Foundation on C-SPAN2. 09 JAN 08. (heritage.org)
Duration : 0:9:9