Will Shetterly's Blog, page 21

shared on April 24ths: a voting test, more

I generally dislike the idea of tests for the right to vote, but I could support having to answer one question: Do you trust your government? No one who answers yes should be allowed to vote. - When rich Americans say their family was driven from Russia or Cuba or China, they mean their family was exploiting Russians or Cubans or Chinese, then came to the US to exploit Americans. - I

shared on April 23rds

If you think your years of study have made you wise, think of the people who have spent years studying things you do not respect. The wise know that knowledge is only knowledge. - Comparing democratic socialism to totalitarian communism is like comparing democratic capitalism to fascism. - Depressing thing: "Democrats" defending party policies that keep "the wrong kind" of voters (like Erica

Things shared on April 22nds: the problem with "socioeconomic", more

I don't find "socioeconomic" useful. Economic class and social class are distinct if you are willing to look closelya member of the social elite can be unlucky enough to become working class, and someone who snobs consider "trash" can be lucky enough to become bourgeois. A sneer is a powerful weapon in a conflict about social class. But when the war is about economic class, only capital matters

shared on April 21sts: Basic Income is Living Insurance, Job Guarantee authoritarianism, more

I always suspect people who refer to others as idiots are projecting. From a tactical pov, namecalling is idioticit's counterproductive. - You have to yell at clouds. They're too far away to hear if you don't. - Basic Income could be called Living Insurance. I was mentioning to Emma Bull that the middle class should think of #BasicIncome as a form of insurance, something to cover them if

Malcolm X's take on black nationalism rejects left identitarianism

Malcolm X: I used to define black nationalism as the idea that the black man should control the economy of his community, the politics of his community, and so forth. But when I was in Africa in May, in Ghana, I was speaking with the Algerian ambassador who is extremely militant and is a revolutionary in the true sense of the word (and has his credentials as such for having carried on a

shared on April 20ths: Christian Zionists, more

The people who make the rules that let them win always think the rules are fair. - Christian Zionists are never called antisemitic, but they may be the worst antisemites: They support Israel because they believe the Bible requires Israel's existence before God can send Christians to Heaven and Jews to Hell. - If you prefer "liberal" to "neoliberal", you are hiding the way the wealth gap

shared on April 19ths

When someone says we need a woman in power, I remember Maggie Thatcher. When someone says we need a black person in power, I remember Idi Amin. Yes, identity should not limit you, but your politics always matter more than your identity. #WhatIdentitariansCannotGrasp - Neoliberals, I'm sorry. I keep trying to find a name you won't object to, but nothing else is as precise. I realize that's why

shared on April 18ths

My problem: When I see sacred cows, I want to barbecue them. - The funniest argument against raising taxes is the idea that rich people might fire workers. Rich people do not hire workers out of the goodness of their hearts. They hire them because they expect to make more money by hiring them. Taxes are irrelevant. - I defend the right to speak of people I wish would shut up to protect the

shared on April 17ths

When people complain about Assange, they are complaining that Wikileaks revealed embarrassing truths about someone they like. Reminder: Wikileaks has never lost a law suit. - We need a term like "visceral socialism" to describe the unsophisticated anticapitalism of people like Malcolm X, who was killed before he had time to develop anything like Du Bois's communism or King's democratic

shared on April 16ths: two kinds of Basic Income, more

The silliest thing some leftists believe: That by hiding from Fox News, the left can win and Fox will be discredited. Cowards never win. Speak bravely and patiently where anyone will listen. - catastrophe = cat ass trophy. Coincidence? I think not. - I could support either of two versions Basic Income: 1. A smaller UBI of around $1000 US a month, plus medicare and food stamps for all. 2. A