From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Sun Sep 04 2005 - 15:16:19 BST
Hi Ian, and all,
On 4 Sep 2005 at 10:01, ian glendinning wrote:
Actually, I'm with Platt on one thing - if a totalitarian government,
ordering an evacuation is the best alternative, I'm not convinced.
msh:
I expected Platt to respond the way he did, asking who wants to move
to Cuba, so I didn't respond. I'm a little surprised that you agree
with his mis-interpretation, however. It's not that a
"totalitarian" government simply "ordered" an evacuation (the US did
THAT, leaving the logistics to the free-market with the results we've
witnessed). Unlike the US, the Cuban government ORGANIZED and
carried out a safe and successful evacuation.
The point of the Parenti essay is NOT that everything in Cuba is
better than everything in the US, but that, when it comes to
providing vital social services, the free-market solution is far
inferior to that offered by the Cuban government. This is UNDENIABLE
given the evidence of the way the two governments responded to their
recent hurricane threats. But, even before this, a look at how Cuba
handles health, education, and housing for its citizens reveals a
society placing higher value on people over profits. The US
displayed similar ideals, starting with the The New Deal, but since
the 1970's has steadily succumbed to pressure from business elites to
eliminate the maintenance of "Social Capital" in favor of private
wealth.
Best to all,
Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
-- InfoPro Consulting - The Professional Information Processors Custom Software Solutions for Windows, PDAs, and the Web Since 1983 Web Site: http://www.infoproconsulting.com In totalitarian societies where there's a Ministry of Truth, propaganda doesn't really try to control your thoughts. It just gives you the party line. It says, "Here's the official doctrine; don't disobey and you won't get in trouble. What you think is not of great importance to anyone. If you get out of line we'll do something to you because we have force." Democratic societies can't work like that, because the state is much more limited in its capacity to control behavior by force. Since the voice of the people is allowed to speak out, those in power better control what that voice says--in other words, control what people think. One of the ways to do this is to create political debate that appears to embrace many opinions, but actually stays within very narrow margins. You have to make sure that both sides in the debate accept certain assumptions--and that those assumptions are the basis of the propaganda system. As long as everyone accepts the propaganda system, the debate is permissible. -- Noam Chomsky MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org Mail Archives: Aug '98 - Oct '02 - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/ Nov '02 Onward - http://www.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/summary.html MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at: http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
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