Hi Alan,

No, it's just that I might have to use it after you, and in bare feet.

Hi SM,

The bogus Left is against internationalism these days. Perhaps it always was.

Hi Pete,

I think Mao and Lenin, my very much erstwhile heroes, were at a pretty safe distance from any fighting: they had no hesitation about throwing anybody, young and old, into the battle fronts as their cannon fodder. It was only ever about power.

Maybe the 'Left' has always been exactly like that: a small group of pseudo-intellectuals ready to sacrifice others, any others, for their cause. Its core group has never been 'revolutionary'. Conspiratorial, yes, semi- to outright-fascist, yes. But without a shred of concern for the oppressed in their entire bodies.

Perhaps the Khmer Rouge should be taken as the archetypical group representing 'revolutionary' forces in introductory political science classes. Yeah, sure, that's going to happen.

Cheers,

Joe

plantagenet

The present younger generation would have to be the most compliant and unreactive generation ever.

In fact, unreactive may not cover it, and totally inert would be more apt, and about the only thing that could lead to revolt by the younger generation might be if someone imposed a tax on junk food, or imposed a tax on facebook.

I believe our tired, archaic and mindbogglingly boring Senate may be stirring from decades of slumber with the election of Jackie Lambie and now Pauline Hansen.

It has stirred Nick Xenophon to rebel, and refuse to put his name on the Census form.

And now, David Leyonhjelm finally rebels over being called names that have long been hurled at men by feminists.

I attribute none of this burgeoning and refreshing revolt to the young and rebellious in our midst, because there aren't any.

Don,

I should have said in my first comment: this is a very interesting post than you. I've forwarded it to some of my Eco-Conservative mates. I love that one! :)

Thanks JF Aus

I've de-S ed the sites (as you suggest) for easier access. And it works!

So a quibble regarding Don's contention that "It is nearly always the young who start revolutions" forgets the main revolutions in China and Russia launched by comparatively old (for their eras) Mao (2) and Lenin (3).

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Leyonhjelm

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong#Great_Proletarian_Cultural_Revolution

(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin#October_Revolution:_1917
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Joe and interactive.

Thanks for your comments.

Clearly our Census neglected to ask the Age Old Revolutionay question.

Pete

When one realizes that China is steadily conducting an economic invasion of Australia one should also realize that if Australia wants to remain the Land of the Free it needs to dramatically leave behind the unsustainability of the Lefty Welfare and Greenie Agenda 21 dream worlds.

These relics of the past will be easily squashed by the advancing Chinese.

As the Chinese buy more and more of Australia's key assets they will steadily exert more and more control over Australia. Hence the blocking of the NSW power network. And hence the concern over Chinese control of Darwin port.

Hi PollyFolly,

Yes, I'm amazed that the Port of Darwin could have been leased to any foreign company. One would think, in one's naivety, that utilities and infrastructure would be jealously guarded by governments, and either run by them (most likely uneconomically) or by national companies.

After all, in the unlikely event of conflict, what's to stop the Chinese company running the port of Darwin from turning off the power of the unloading machinery to stop supplies and equipment from getting to local and US bases ? If that crazy deal had gone ahead in NSW, in similar circumstances, what if the Chinese firm simply turned off their power stations ?

Anyway, back to topic:

I've moved from a communist childhood, through pro-Stalin, pro-Mao, to a sort of Democratic Socialism, to a pro-Socialist Democracy, to a pox on all their houses and a strange variety of Progressive Conservative: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it's a bit broke, take sensible steps to fix it. Avoid rapid and major change which will most likely have God knows what unforeseen effects, mostly negative.

Aaron Wildavsky was the master-guide of policy-makers, especially of social policy: his key work was called something like 'Implementation [the key hurdle in policy making]: how the best-laid plans in [whatever the capital of California is] are dashed in Oaklands' (1969). It's going cheap on Abebooks. It dealt mainly with the pitfalls of sweeping social policy.

Like many early 20th century intellectuals, Karl Popper started out as an enthusiastic socialist, but, observing the actualities of Bolshevik Russia sand Fascist Italy, moved away from their totalitarian similarities, to propose controllable and careful social change. Young people, of course, would be disgusted by that approach - WE WANT IT, AND WE WANT IT NOW ! OR ELSE ! - but after most of a lifetime of observation and vain aspiration, I can ruefully suggest that often even that doesn't work as one hoped.

As they say, life is what happens while you are making plans.

Joe