Tom wrote
> In contributing a comment to your comments and suggestions (which I
>find are of urgent need today), I reference you to a small but important
>book which I studied a few years ago in university . . .I have made a note of it, I have read Catch 22. When it comes to books I
generally buy second hand, and those that are new strangely enough are
published in the US, and bought direct. As I say I am paranoid, I can
recall the time when I asked the bank manager for a dollar cheque, and
this would be 1977, to purchase Herman Daly - Steady State Economics.
Once I had outlined what I thought the book might be about the manager
nodded, after giving it some thought, decided that on this occasion it
would be alright.
Reference is made in the book to the works of Frederick Soddy, and in
1986 I read a review of the complete works of the aforementioned, in
which it stated that after being given the Nobel prize for the discovery
of isotopes, he took up the challenge of economics, and from a position
of considerable fame he achieved instant obscurity. When I tried to get
the book, which then was about £48, there was a 'problem'.
Now here's a book you haven't read, 'I Believed', by Douglas Hyde. He was
the sub editor of the Daily Worker before, during, and after World War
II. He retired in 1948 or thereabouts and wrote his 'confession'. Much of
this centres on the period before Mr. H. made the fatal mistake of
hitting uncle Joe. Up until then there was some sort of pact, and this
resulted in the instructions coming from uncle to the lads over here to
'go slow' with manufacture and distribution of goods and services. This
worked out wonderfully well, as Hyde outlines, but as soon as the pact
ended, the message was 'go fast'. When this was revealed to the public it
more or less finished the Communist Party in the UK.
Anyway, I was told about this, plus that I'd never find a copy of the
book. When it was published Communists bought copies, then destroyed
them. Similarly, books in libraries were taken out and destroyed, but
fines or whatever were of course paid.
I wonder at times. . .
The left do not have a monopoly here, maybe I am going too far but I
often think if there are radical works then as long as they are systemic
that's OK.
Another aspect of this is what I believe to be a central theme of the
Work Systems Project is the concept of what I interpret to be 'heuristic
synthesis'. That is, once the history has been read, digested, and
coupled with personal experience, it leads to each of us to solve the
problem. It is therefore no coincidence that many if not all will come up
with something very similar. If the solution is anti-systemic then I
wonder here too, will it ever be published? I mentioned before a work by
Norbert Wiener, an outright attack on big business and multicorp, that
remained unpublished until after his death.
Is 'Looking Forward' available in libraries? How many copies were
published? Is there a second printing? What are the published reviews?
I also note from another list on the same server of deletions to the
archived file, of material that is important to current events in the far
east. Makes you wonder, but then I would. . .
>You can lead a horse (either the "capitalist" or "socialist" kind) to
>water but you can't make him drink.I agree, this is the uphill struggle, and even then I seem to wonder if
anyone is really interested in the actual work. Another point, where are
Albert and Hahnel now?
A few years ago I watched a Disney cartoon on TV that was made round
about 1943, screen time was near an hour and was made specifically for
the military, to get over to them one single point. Hit the core, forget
the periphery. This concept, simple as it sounds, was the idea of a
Russian, I am not sure if he was seconded or what, that is all I can
remember now. The idea being to make direct hits on Japan, and not to
bother with the action in the Pacific. This all sounds too obvious after
the event, and how was it the point had to be made by using an hour long
cartoon? It is easy to understand the day to day problems, and the need
to defend etc., but someone must have thought it necessary to ensure the
point was driven home. Was it simply to get the undivided attention of
the military for an hour? To concentrate their minds on one single
matter? An hour long cartoon is not cheap.
Having so many points, and no immediate need to do anything, it is almost
as if the horse cannot be led to the water. . .
>The Information Society (Is that us?!...)I'd like to think of the quantitative information society. There is a
considerable literature dealing with the concentration of wealth,
distribution, minimum and existence wage levels, comparative standard of
living, money supply and other datas, along with analysis, conclusions
and predictions. All too often I agree with what I see, and wonder why
the knowledge isn't making things generally better, or creating what is
called the 'feel good factor'. However, the whole picture is impersonal
and remote. Because I, like everyone else, look on, in the same way that
I can sit and enjoy a programme on the TV about global warming while at
the same time imagine it belongs to the remote community and shovel the
coal onto the fire without a thought. If I go to the other extreme where
effect follows cause more or less instantly then I think I'd behave more
rationally. Thus, if I am remote then it makes sense to reduce the size
of the economic community to the point where my actions are going to show
up and where there is more rapid feedback.
I'd say that now the beginnings of the electronic age are here, with fast
computers, producing a week by week statement of the economy is entirely
possible. It is done already. The only fact is, we are not allowed to see
what is our own collective data. It is largely a state secret. Also, the
data is not being produced as an aid to guessing what it will be the
following week or year, a fact that many people imagine is the purpose.
Beyond the simplest description the system encroaches, if this is for
individuals them it is up to them to figure out what they read into the
data.
There is al analogy here with the creation of SONAR, the technical system
was simply a device to direct sound under water and then listen for the
echo. The tool supplied by the developers worked if an echo was detected.
That was all there was to it. I'd like to think the fun hadn't been taken
out it. In another world, alright, I'll say it, Utopia, instead of the
government giving us the Lottery they would have given us back our
economic data, all with the fun and glitter of a Saturday night TV show.
But then if I were to suggest something like this people would make fun
of me.
William Kirk.