No one ever sees the system they champion as "coercive". It's always the other guy.
The original definitions of socialism and anarchism visualized collective organizations and institutions arising spontaneously and democratically, directly from the people, particularly the working class, precisely like the ones I describe. The idea of the state imposing the Revolution from above was a Communist invention (yes, that's something else altogether), and anathema to pre-Soviet socialism. Of course, "original definitions" have a tendency to get corrupted and go astray. Russian socialism had about as much in common with the Paris Commune as Carnegie and Mellon did with the corner grocer.
The Cuban cigar workers were, in fact, generic 19th century proletarians and their Spanish factory owners stereotypical 19th century capitalists. The bosses moved from Sevilla to Cuba, to Key West to Tampa trying to avoid labor trouble, and it kept following them. They would have probably been better off just paying a decent wage from the start and saving themselves the relocation costs. It wasn't until they came to the US that they found a government willing and able to collaborate with them to keep the workers down. Unions were broken up ruthlessly in the bloody strikes of the 30s, with the help of gringo sheriffs and judges, proving once again that class interest trumps race and ethnicity every time, and that the champions of free enterprise are not averse to employing force when exercising economic coercion and political influence alone can't do the trick.
The last half of the twentieth century has exhibited increasingly peaceful relations between labor and capital due to the affluence made possible by unions and, ahem, liberal legislation. Now that things are starting to get tight economically the gloves are starting to come off on both sides. Neoconservatism isn't anything new at all; we've seen you guys before and we've got your number.
Flame » in reply to re: Let a hundred flowers bloom.
Again, you prove yourself impervious to irony.
The whole thread (61 posts)
- Test driving government health care
- We've driven the current system into a ditch for most Americans (n/t)
- What's going to change?
- A Century ago, in Ybor City
- "...before we put everybody in the country in the program"
- Here's the Finance Committee presentation
- Did you READ it?
- Since you love to just throw a link into a post, here's back at ya...
- Great stuff. Send us Part I.
- Non-profit medical
- No offense, but you guys are rather dense.
- All Conservatives need to justify the status-quo is "high profit".
- Great stuff. Send us Part I.
- and leave us with what?
- Since you love to just throw a link into a post, here's back at ya...
- "Are you ever going to put your strawman arguments to rest? "