Dear Eclipse Now,

I don't have a cause - I merely enjoy a dabble in philosophy
As for "Rudely slapping around" - I believe my dialogue here has been civil. Youré quite handy in that regard yourself. Perhaps you might like to reread your last post to Squeers - plenty of slapping around in that one.

“plenty of slapping around in that one.”
He really worked *hard* to earn that one. On page 12 Squeers came in all condescending and disappointed towards Tristan. I asked some questions on the top of page 13, and felt I was *relatively* polite. I did have a go at Marx's Bulverism of Christianity, and I mentioned quoting Marx as an 'article of faith' because I wanted Squeers to talk about real world examples: which he has refused to do so all along.

Squeers repeatedly ignored requests for an alternative structure, and spoke down to us in so many ways.

Lofty ivory tower, meet dirt.

I'm not saying our system is perfect! There's much I admire about certain European countries that are further to the left than we are, and much I despise about America being even further to the right than we are!

But unless there is a concrete proposal, it’s easy to snipe from the sidelines. It’s cheap to criticise, but takes real effort to create.

If you are both so convinced socialism is the answer, then make a case. Tell me how I *should* be running my design studio. Tell us how we *should* be running society. Should the government buy everything up? How would that help with my 'alienation' exactly? (Especially when I dispute having it.)

What's this... the 4th or 5th time I've asked for Squeer's socialist alternative?

I don't think it's coming. Oh well, in that case this conversation is over.

Eclipse Now,
try to get it through your shrunken head that I didn't come in here to talk about YOU. I mentioned narcissism earlier rhetorically, but you seem to fit the mould perfectly. I am not going to waste my time further trying to talk sense to someone whose thought patterns can't escape their tiny little orbit around an empty space---er, that would be you!

I'll be even more 'narcissistic' and point out that it was ME who raised the subject of a design studio, as an example of an industry that might actually work without 'alienation'.

So go ahead and yell NARCISSIST as loudly as you can. You're just trying to avoid answering the question. Do you have an actual plan for an alternative society or not? If you can't describe your utopian socialist design studio then forget it, you're just full of hot air.

Please remember that it's got to be RADICALLY DIFFERENT to the way it functions today so that I'm RADICALLY ENGAGED with the society around me, instead of the poor alienated, lonely, NARCISSISTIC sod that I obviously am right now. ;-)