tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.comments2023-10-25T08:27:37.972-07:00Viridis LumenViridis Lumenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08097453038753328641noreply@blogger.comBlogger311125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-56796644769540972192023-10-25T08:27:37.972-07:002023-10-25T08:27:37.972-07:00My father was born in Polish occupied Ukraine as p...My father was born in Polish occupied Ukraine as per the Versailles peace treaty. Recent events have, despite continued tensions, brought Polish and Ukrainian workers together as never before. Your post is excellent. You might have noted the Ukrainian peasant army which fought with the Reds against the Whites in the Russian civil war. True to form, after defeating the Whites, Trotsky turned on the peasant anarchists, in much the same way as at Kronstadt. The 'leader' of the peasant army, Nestor Machno, had visited the soldiers, sailors and others at Kronstadt to offer his support. The Bolsheviks then tried to annex Poland. They failed, with thousands of deaths of workers in uniform on both sides.<br />Keep up the good work<br />Simeon Scott (Zobolewicz) simeon.scott@mail.uk<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-51188383721547115832019-12-12T04:02:07.522-08:002019-12-12T04:02:07.522-08:00What a beautiful little piece, and we've all b...What a beautiful little piece, and we've all been there !<br />Cut through all the smoke and mirrors; the spin, lies and obfuscation, and this election comes down to just one thing - do people matter? Does everyone deserve a fair crack of the whip? Are we a decent, caring society?<br /><br />If the answer is yes then there is only one way to vote today.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16008255170675068670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-80046560231661095212019-11-10T02:57:54.403-08:002019-11-10T02:57:54.403-08:00Wonderfully Written Article. I enjoyed readingWonderfully Written Article. I enjoyed readingAl Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06768370680422852012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-5486317014957347652019-09-18T05:48:48.517-07:002019-09-18T05:48:48.517-07:00There is not even a tiny grain of integrity in Lib...There is not even a tiny grain of integrity in Lib Dem Swinson's politics. The harm her party has caused by their collusion with the Tory policies of austerity is till being felt today. Her arrogant and undemocratic attitude to both Brexit and Scottish Independence makes a nonsense of the party's title 'Liberal Democrats'.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00267895879892637827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-50052562098299177822019-07-17T12:22:31.592-07:002019-07-17T12:22:31.592-07:00Superb post identifying the role of centristrism i...Superb post identifying the role of centristrism in facilitating the rise of fascism. Truly the extremism of the centre.Syzygyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15033334461020443772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-81064470491450661132019-04-08T15:15:29.782-07:002019-04-08T15:15:29.782-07:00Thanks Paul.Thanks Paul.Viridis Lumenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097453038753328641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-4873114282811725742019-04-08T15:15:15.203-07:002019-04-08T15:15:15.203-07:00Thanks Mark. Thanks Mark. Viridis Lumenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097453038753328641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-72257946848291808662019-04-08T15:14:47.408-07:002019-04-08T15:14:47.408-07:00I wish you well, Unknown.I wish you well, Unknown.Viridis Lumenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097453038753328641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-78095096430992090772019-04-08T07:03:22.106-07:002019-04-08T07:03:22.106-07:00That's a shame Adrian. Just as I am drafting ...That's a shame Adrian. Just as I am drafting a paper which sets out the various ways in which different parts of the party have chosen to come together to build a new way of being, aiming to be kinder and more loving to each other again. And accepting one another for who we are in a spirit of inquiry and understanding.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18180307425218652828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-68762680519644325312019-04-08T02:04:43.504-07:002019-04-08T02:04:43.504-07:00Written from the heart with thought as always Adri...Written from the heart with thought as always Adrian. While you write about the Greens, your comments resonate with my experience in another party in recent years. In fact, you are describing my experience too! We agree on much in practice - social liberalism, the transgender issue, the need for radical change that challenges capitalism fundamentally, global warming and economic localism, and much else besides. I wish you well in what you do - and would urge you to find a way to promote the things you believe in, however you decide to do that.Mark Eyrenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-46108074858384104042019-04-07T23:34:42.184-07:002019-04-07T23:34:42.184-07:00Well written as always Adrian. I hope you find a p...Well written as always Adrian. I hope you find a political home, if you wish one.Paul Cooneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11135708075542589111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-63804795132898080872019-01-06T03:23:19.101-08:002019-01-06T03:23:19.101-08:00This is the Media/Advertising dominated, mind-cont...This is the Media/Advertising dominated, mind-controlling world we live in today. Sickening isn't it? The cure? WAKE TF UP!!!! Use the thing mysteriously residing within the gelatinous blob of grey stuff that sits within your cranium to THINK!!! I know it's a momentous task to contemplate... but see... you're starting to have a go at it already......... Namaste........Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-59016947232610066102018-10-06T08:03:17.728-07:002018-10-06T08:03:17.728-07:00I haven't changed my mind, so why should I sto...I haven't changed my mind, so why should I stop advocating what I believe in. I believe the UK is better in Europe and the Green Party better represented. Why should I fall in with a less democratic system than what exists? The fudge that looks likely to happen will leave us having no say in the rules we have to follow. I'd rather have No Deal with all the chaos that will ensue - at least the old politics would get shaken up.Martin Corneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03314581918459499025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-27457565473322365342018-10-06T00:37:38.434-07:002018-10-06T00:37:38.434-07:00Excellent article, really well-put. I too voted re...Excellent article, really well-put. I too voted remain, and am increasingly fed up of the campaign for a second referendum, as a green party member, particularly by the green party. Your analysis clarified for me the problem. Having listened to some leave voters, the EU, whilst offering some much-welcomed protections, as you describe, is not a panacea. In many ways it may be easier to effect change within a single nation state than the EU superstate with such diluted influence, and it could be that possibility that the greens focus on and not a second referendum. I am more inclined now to feel relieved about leaving the EU. Had the referendum campaigns been honest and untainted by racism and xenophobia, I may have voted leave. The greens have an opportunity to promote a localism-that-protects-the-world, which like you say is being squandered on a campaign that leave voters must find insulting, and put them off the green party. Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00149616566388636701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-39859657159384184922017-10-19T17:12:36.181-07:002017-10-19T17:12:36.181-07:00Well indeed - the article postulates ways forward,...Well indeed - the article postulates ways forward, perhaps not quite where things are today. But there are eoncouraging signs.Viridis Lumenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097453038753328641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-49029913113238440012017-10-19T17:10:17.536-07:002017-10-19T17:10:17.536-07:00"Steady-state economy" refers to an econ..."Steady-state economy" refers to an economics not based on continued growth; it is not about state control and the article makes clear the need to develop localised economies - a sine qua non of which would be both decentralised polities and common/ community ownership. No one here is proposing a return to giant nationalised state capitalism.<br /><br />That said, the idea that humanity will be saved by Silicon Valley billionaires is at best misplaced. While some may operate in genuinely philanthropic ways, embracing such a future would leave it at the mercy of the whimsy of an unelected, unaccountable elite which ultimately seeks profitability far ahead of sustainability or equity. Elon Musk may have some great tech developments under his wing (often as not fashioned for him by his workers), but he is also a very shrewd businessman, a corporate billionaire and provider of hi tech to the rich. If you feel this is nothing to worry about, I'd recommend reading Yuval Harari's New Statesman article, "Who Owns The Future?" on the risks of ceding humanity's fate to the geek elite: https://www.newstatesman.com/lifestyle/2015/06/who-owns-future-how-prophets-silicon-valley-took-controlViridis Lumenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097453038753328641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-91307417634696778632017-10-19T17:00:13.193-07:002017-10-19T17:00:13.193-07:00Iain, "ecosocialism" is not statist - as...Iain, "ecosocialism" is not statist - as with much Green thinking it is founded on localism, closely aligned to Bookchin's thinking on federated municipalities and heavily influenced by his thinking on social ecology (notably Bookchin said that social in that term denoted socialism but he dropped the -ism to avoid confusion with contemporary state socialism). So the article does not present him as "just a socialist" if you are thinking along the lines of bureaucratic socialism or orthodox Marxism. The democratic confederalism in Rojava, which draws almost entirely on Bookchin's thinking, is probably closer to ecosocialism in terms of its vision of new social structures, although ecosocialist thinking does draw on many sources for informing and inspiring its continuing development. It is a political philosophy embraced by many on the Green-Left. For a fuller piece on Bookchin and ecosocialism, this link takes you to a good piece: http://londongreenleft.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/murray-bookchin-and-ecosocialism.htmlViridis Lumenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097453038753328641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-47588775992057513252017-10-19T16:47:32.256-07:002017-10-19T16:47:32.256-07:00Para 6, line 3: "where now, then, for their t...Para 6, line 3: "where now, then, for their twin pillars of environmental sustainability and social justice?"Viridis Lumenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097453038753328641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-77202544762239512672017-10-19T14:07:05.238-07:002017-10-19T14:07:05.238-07:00What are the twin pillars? It doesn't say.What are the twin pillars? It doesn't say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-62473588553543103412017-10-19T01:09:21.130-07:002017-10-19T01:09:21.130-07:00Murray Bookchin, "ecosocialist"? Serious...Murray Bookchin, "ecosocialist"? Seriously? He considered himself an anarchist for most of his political career -- and the few years towards the end of his life, he still considered himself a libertarian. And that quote comes from "Post-Scarcity Anarchism," does it not?<br /><br />Sure, anarchists are socialists (libertarian socialists) but trying to present Bookchin as just a socialist is revisionism of the worse kind.<br /><br />Iain<br />An Anarchist FAQ<br />http://www.anarchistfaq.orgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-42403698789231248962017-10-18T04:28:52.765-07:002017-10-18T04:28:52.765-07:00The author has a valid idea when it comes to "...The author has a valid idea when it comes to "embracing the bounty that new technology can bring in freeing people from labour and that stewards our limited resources fairly & sustainable".<br />Yet, sandwiches this idea between statist statements promoting government to demigod status. "A steady-state economy that brings nearly all resources into common ownership" is hypocrisy in itself, as whatever the state touches, is far from actual common ownership (i.e. resources being placed within the commons). The radical nature of Green policy is its support for decentralisation. local economies (& what fits but is currently missing support for cryptocurrencies) as it removes the economy from the hands of the state. Whether the economy is in the hands of a state run by Tories or Labour, it is still the establishment who win out. As for "how to remove the market system from large swathes of economic activity and so reduce waste and inequity" - it is government that causes so much waste & inequity - it is government power that is used to destroy the countryside & frack local communities. It will be Basic Income that empowers people to free themselves from servitude to the state, ensuring needs are met to spend more time on other areas that add value to their quality of life (i.e. the environment). <br /><br />I think Green Party activist Anne Power, who is described as 85 with a disability had enough state intervention making tea for fracking protestors near Little Plumpton, Lancashire as agents of the state dragged her across the floor. <br /><br />As for "the imbalance of wealth, nationally and globally", this is caused by the protectionist policy of government. The EU with its 'single market' & 'customs union' imposes tariffs so harsh upon so called 'developing countries' that it contributes to ecological stability, including famine, war and drought. Meanwhile, the EU does vast financial deals with dictators in Africa - to keep refugees out of the EU - which provides funds & resources to keep their people downtrodden. <br /><br />The radical cultural change you seek will not occur within the hands of the state - it is people like Elon Musk, producing Clean Technologies & offering the patents to the commons so people can replicate what he has designed that will help generate change. It shouldn't be rocket science for Green Strategy to say - hey, we'll have more of that & provide the conditions to enable clean technologies to thrive (like by removing state subsidies on fossil fuels, nuclear, fracking etc). Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419322826872295307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-52476588340077240952017-10-17T22:27:10.254-07:002017-10-17T22:27:10.254-07:00We need some divine assistance in getting the Gree...We need some divine assistance in getting the Green house in order for this revolutionary assault on an inhuman value system.Flipside Visionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10203813523197155107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-36072609296673153552017-05-06T17:23:02.553-07:002017-05-06T17:23:02.553-07:00In the current situation, there is no space for an...In the current situation, there is no space for any other party to offer an alternative. Jeremy Corbyn represents a chance for an alternative, and to say anything else is political naivety.Karl Greenallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07156805807981796175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-72786528511196798562017-04-02T23:24:51.731-07:002017-04-02T23:24:51.731-07:00Spot on as usual! Great to catch up this weekend t...Spot on as usual! Great to catch up this weekend too.Stuart Jefferyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12414305399511760663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5190994177632420720.post-23184584199178975182017-04-02T19:54:44.354-07:002017-04-02T19:54:44.354-07:00thanks adrian...sigh..thanks adrian...sigh..Shan Oakeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04531090703134312107noreply@blogger.com