tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post3981975611073773120..comments2024-03-29T17:12:19.648+13:00Comments on Bowalley Road: A Social Democrat's CredoChris Trotterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-55963003146206311652009-09-27T16:43:09.132+13:002009-09-27T16:43:09.132+13:00Well said, Sanctuary!
And I think of Willi Brandt...Well said, Sanctuary!<br /><br />And I think of Willi Brandt, who fought the Brownshirts in the streets of Berlin; who (in World War Two) placed his loyalty to Social Democracy and to working people above the calls of race and nation and then stood up to Stalinism in the bombed-out ruins of post-war Berlin; who helped build Germany's impessive post-war democracy; who championed the 'social market economy'in which the state sought to provide whatever the market could not; who forwarded workers' participation in industrial decision-making,sank unrehearsed to his knees on the site of the Warsaw Ghetto, helped build humane detente between the two parts of a divided Europe and then channeled his energies into reducing the gap between 'North' and 'South'.<br /><br />As Social Democrats, we stand on the shoulders of giants and should not forget it.<br /><br />It may be my age but I can't see Social Democracy as anything other than the wisdom distilled from the experiences of the twentieth century, with all its horrors and all its triumphs.<br /><br />I am perpepetually amazed that its merits are not self-evident and the follies of its opponents not immediatly seen as risible .<br /><br />The neo-liberal credo of the atomised individual as the source of all value and all creativity totally ignores the social and cultural capital that makes all human achievement possible.<br /><br />Conversely , doctrinaire , dirigiste Socialism can too often stifle creativity , individuality and common sense. <br /><br />A really good article, Chris. It's only weakness is the shortage of economics, but that's more than made up for by the equally excellent previous item.<br /><br />VictorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-61891063356991551272009-09-25T10:46:07.105+12:002009-09-25T10:46:07.105+12:00Why am I a Social Democrat? Go to Bastion point an...Why am I a Social Democrat? Go to Bastion point and stand and consider the Savage Memorial. Cast your eyes about yourself and wonder. Wonder what may have motivated a taciturn, isolated and parochial people to build such a memorial to a mortal man, a mere politician of no great presence, who conquered no new lands and won no great victories. Ponder that this monument was built because "He loved his fellow Men". Such is the power of a noble idea.Sanctuaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03107330732524823291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-88385645300253048842009-09-24T21:53:45.828+12:002009-09-24T21:53:45.828+12:00No, there's no such thing.
I'm making a ...No, there's no such thing. <br /><br />I'm making a case for a society in which the key social services and all the natural monopolies are in public hands; most of the agricultural sector is co-operatively owned - along with the lion's share of food distribution; but in which the bulk of the retail and service sectors remains in private hands. <br /><br />I don't want my electricity or water supply to be privately owned, but neither do I fancy dining at a state-run restaurant. <br /><br />To keep everyone honest there would, of course, be a fiercely independent, publicly funded, news media, and a large and proudly democratic trade union movement. <br /><br />Something like Sweden - except with cabbage trees.Chris Trotterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09081613281183460899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753486518085091399.post-83830823705497648842009-09-24T19:39:27.244+12:002009-09-24T19:39:27.244+12:00Chris, do I take from this post that you nail your...Chris, do I take from this post that you nail your colours to the mast of capitalism controlled by social democrats, as opposed to a socialist society free of capitalism? Are you making the case for capitalism "lite"?Nicknoreply@blogger.com