Libertarian Socialists Unite!
Don't know if it's the muggy weather without the promise of a good drenching rain, or just old age and crankiness, but I seem to have blown an emotional gasket upon hearing that a city councillor in Toronto wants to ban soft drinks from vending machines in community centres and other municipal spaces.
This on top of several municipalities who suggest banning smoking out in the open air. Then we have the Province deciding that while the HST could result in a drop in liquor prices, they will move to up the price so the customer doesn't benefit. After all, consuming alcohol isn't good for us. Especially while smoking and using a soft drink for mix!
Then we have the Christian fundamentalists who want to prevent women from having abortion rights, and Quebec residents who don't want Islamic women to wear their hijabs. I won't even start on the obscene war against drugs that has prevented the de-ciminalization of simple marijuana for decades while making criminals out of thousands of people who just want to light up a joint without persecution.
When exactly did we become a nanny state where self righteous, uptight know it alls think they can tell the rest of us what to do? Has the Puritan poison of old times re-surfaced or is it the New Authoritarian movement exemplified by Stephen Harper and his Reformers?
Whatever it is, I don't like it. Deep down I adhere to John Adam's famous quote that we are all entitled to go to hell in our own way, and if that means with a drink in one hand and ciggie in the other, so be it. Who wants to live forever sitting quietly with hands folded in our laps, reading the Scriptures anyway? But if we let these people have their way, that's all that will be left. Once they ban soft drinks, they'll come for our chocolate next, then our beloved french fries and burgers. Cobourg's Rib Fest will be a thing of the past, replaced by an Estival showcasing fresh veggies and tofu salad.
All this has led me to an exploration of Libertarianism, and in particular, Libertarian Socialism. Like me, they believe in equality, and an equitable division of the world's wealth and resources. Unlike the conservative variety who want to do away with government all together, the Libertarian Socialists believe in direct democracy through municipalities, citizens' assemblies, trade unions and workers' councils.
This kind of small, localized community democracy sounds like a promising idea, and when the world economy and oil supply collapse in the coming years, it's likely what we'll end up with anyway.
By the way, did you know that addiction experts and our own health unit consider the consumption of caffeine to be an addiction too? Look out folks, they'll be coming for your Timmies next!
6 comments:
I may buy into getting rid of the Senate and Governor General but this Libertarian Socialism is too far out there. Making trade unions part of a governing process sounds like another name for communism to me.
Unions out but Boards of trade in, Chambers of Commerce in, Rotary Clubs in, just how do you allow for freedom of assembly if you equate unionism to communism - not well thought out
As soon as "Libertarian Socialists" start dividing up the world's wealth and resources through municipalities, citizens' assemblies, trade unions and workers' councils you can kiss your liberty goodbye. Sounds great, direct democracy, but in practice decisions are never be stable as they can be overrriden by another vote. And who decides when decisions of municipalities, citizen's assemblies, trde unions, workers' councils etc are contradictory?
"Unlike the conservative variety who want to do away with government all together"
That is highly inaccurate. Most conservatives I have ever met and/or read wants various degrees of minimalized government, not to do away with it. Conservative mantra as I have often heard it is, LESS GOVT IS GOOD GOVT. I must say that that has appeal to me, however, it is largely a bumper sticker slogan.
"the Libertarian Socialists believe in direct democracy through municipalities, citizens' assemblies, trade unions and workers' councils. This kind of small, localized community democracy sounds like a promising idea,"
I always get skeptical about this. Castro's governing family of nepotistas set up all kinds of neighbourhood "assemblies" to micro-manage policy. Various dictatorshits have found that control groups under the guise of "community assemblies" or "citizen initiatives" or "workers councils" are ideal for control purposes -- especially with the snitch-&-enforce crowd. It's used by right & left. All of the "Peoples Socialist hellholes" used that technique. Some remnants of that failed ideology continue to use it to this day.
The technique of atomizing people into managable groups is a popular feature of the rightwing facist regimes in the Middle East Umma
"and when the world economy and oil supply collapse in the coming years, it's likely what we'll end up with anyway."
Deb, I was getting a thrill-a-minute reading your piece, soul-sista-sorta-sing, asserting individualism, but unfortunately it ended badly.
The stone age didn't collapse due to a lack of stones, or the bronze age due to the lack of bronze. The oil age will fade in the same manner, because humankind will have developed newer better sources of energy.
In any event, when I consult my waistline, my joints, etc. I find myself more concerned about my physical degradation than the continuous expansion of wealth-generation by human beings since the Enlightenment -- life on this planet will continue to get better for more and more people.
Btw, I'm not sorry for the unbridled optimism for humanity
Anonymouse:
You are right about the cyclical nature of economics. But I do not see any of these posts pinning blame to any particular ideology. Governments that run continuing deficits create big problems for the country in the intermediate and long term. Unfortunately it is only the government in power that can reverse the trend.
In Canada Trudeau started the deficit trend, and Mulroney continued it (although he did say it was a sacred trust to fix it). Chrétien fixed the problem, but Harper has run continuing deficits and we have more rhetoric than action.
For 40 years I have been ignoring UK politics as irrelevant to Canada. You should realize they really are different, for instance they have only just adopted minimum wage laws, and the idea of sexual equality has never made much headway ( read their wants ads, especially the ones for Girl Fridays, they will make your hair curl).
However at the moment I am watching the UK with a certain amount of envy as they currently have a leadership that appears to be trying to fix things.
Maybe I'm mistaken but it seems Greg's comment was intended to be appended to a subsequent post titled "Britain's New Regime Forges Ahead" If so, then I refer you to the line in it "It kind of looks like the new British version of coalition government is a lot like a conservative government" That clearly makes an ideological reference.
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