We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Samizdata quote of the day

Labour is to commission the mini millipede to hold an inquiry into why Labour lost the election. Which is funny really. I mean, everyone else knows exactly why they lost the election. In a recent conversation with one of their number, I was treated to ad hominem attacks for merely pointing out the obvious. They have their fingers in their ears, still believing, despite the evidence to the contrary that they won the argument, that Boris Johnson is an ignorant buffoon and that their economic polices weren’t a pile of shite.

Longrider

16 comments to Samizdata quote of the day

  • George Atkisson

    Same on the far side of the pond. Every lie, hearsay statement, conspiracy, etc against President Trump is unchallengeable Truth. Any counter factual proof, transcripts, witnesses, etc. supporting Trump are lies, irrelevant, and bigoted, racist, hate speech. There not only is no debate, there can never be a debate. The Left believes they are correct in every detail, and are morally and intellectually superior to the “Other” who should be silenced and disappeared as unworthy to share in the coming Leftist Utopia.

    One hundred years ago they would be in a lunatic asylum. Today they have podiums and run for high office to the unrestrained applause of millions.

    This Conflict cannot, and therefore will not, continue in its present form.

  • Itellyounothing

    A lot of people are egged on by big money forces to behave this crazy.

    It won’t end easily. Nor will rationality be it’s defeat. Repeat nose rubbed in defeat victories by ordinary people followed by the eventual friendly hand are the only way. But the victories must come first.

    Thankfully enough ordinary people are sick of the left….

  • APL

    That we’ve noticed the same insanity on the left over here, that they have over there. May not be unrelated to the fact that the fashion in Political parties is to retain US so called talent to organise Politikal campaigns over here.

    The left, being a bit more disposed to unthinking ‘herd like’ behaviour, are more susceptible to mass hystercs.

  • Cesare

    George Atkisson is absolutely correct, especially the part about the lunatic asylum. That said, you might want to nip this in the bud as this line of thought does not improve with either age or repetition.

  • Snorri Godhi

    One hundred years ago they would be in a lunatic asylum. Today they have podiums and run for high office to the unrestrained applause of millions.

    I blame the modern Western diet. As long as the lunatics were in a minority, they could be kept in an asylum, and they would not even notice. But once the majority* became lunatic, the problem could no longer be contained: the lunatics took over the asylum.

    * possibly including me, at least before i adopted my current diet.

  • Sam Duncan

    “Any counter factual proof, transcripts, witnesses, etc. supporting Trump are lies, irrelevant, and bigoted, racist, hate speech.”

    We know a song about that, don’t we, children?

  • The left deals in people, talk, theory, ideas. The right is busy doing things and making a living. That’s why the left has time to make noise and join/foment protests, while the right has other things to do.

    The Left is almost entirely composed of cavemen. Plato’s cave, in the higher reaches, but cavemen. And women.

  • One hundred years ago they would be in a lunatic asylum. (George Atkisson, December 28, 2019 at 1:03 am)

    No, they’d be progressive supporters of Woodrow Wilson, as sure as they are today that the constitution needs revising or ignoring, and keen to evolve the electorate to be less obstinate, though in those days via eugenics rather than importing voters.

  • Stonyground

    I’ve just finished reading “Socialism, the failed idea that never dies” by Kristian Niemietz. The book seems to be a little repetitive because it covers all of the most prominent socialist experiments and the story tends to be roughly the same one every single time. He extensively quotes left wing apologists for each socialist utopia and these also tend to be similar in each case. It was the aforementioned apologists that made the biggest impression on me, people so convinced that they are right even when the evidence that they are completely and utterly wrong is irrefutable and right in front of their noses. I’m still finding it hard to believe that there are people who have their heads so completely up their own arses.

  • bobby b

    “A review into why Labour lost the general election will not seek to recommend a particular candidate to replace Jeremy Corbyn, the group spearheaded by Ed Miliband said on Monday.”

    I’m guessing that the conclusions they announce about why they lost so badly will make their choice for a candidate going forward a bit of a problem.

    Stalin being dead, and all.

  • Snorri Godhi

    I’ve just finished reading “Socialism, the failed idea that never dies” by Kristian Niemietz. The book seems to be a little repetitive because it covers all of the most prominent socialist experiments and the story tends to be roughly the same one every single time.

    But surely, the definition of “socialism” must have been somewhat restricted?
    Because i cannot imagine the same story being told of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, in spite of similarities.
    Let alone milder forms of socialism, such as Sweden, the New Deal, and the British post-war consensus.

  • Rich Rostrom

    I’m wondering if there is “evaporative cooling” going on. EC is a physical process where exposure to heat causes the most energetic molecules in a mass to pop away, so that the average energy drops and the mass becomes cooler.

    The human analogy is when a group’s creed is challenged by factual events or its leader’s aura is challenged by defeat. The least committed members drop off, leaving only the true believers.

  • lucklucky

    “It was the aforementioned apologists that made the biggest impression on me, people so convinced that they are right even when the evidence that they are completely and utterly wrong is irrefutable and right in front of their noses. I’m still finding it hard to believe that there are people who have their heads so completely up their own arses.”

    Irrelevant. It is not the point of Neo-Marxism. That is not what they are playing. The game is a competition to engineer social promotion.

    In this game you make social points by how much effective you are attacking Western Civilization. The field is language, the ball are words , hitting Western Civilization is the goal to get those social points.

    That is what it is. There is not much more to it than that.

    That is why you can make a goal promoting Hamas or Hezbollah and also making a goal supposedly defending some gay person.
    That is why you can make a goal by supporting Cuban Government that shackles the people to poverty and at same time make a goal by criticizing the residual poverty in Western Civilization.

    This is a Game. To continue the game when Western Civilization disappears they will have to split themselves. They resort to say some on the team are anti-game and must be “banned” from the game… Until physical world hits back with famine, concentration camps, widespread unrest, then it enters in a degraded social competition where old people take over and decadence starts.

  • Flubber

    Tucker Carlson gives an interesting talk on the religious aspects of modern leftism here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1-ZwRZ2HGA

  • Stonyground

    The Scandanavians rowed back before reaching the level of socialism that always seems to end in disaster. What they have now is free market economies with very generous welfare provision. What the apologists seem to love is the complete removal of the profit motive so that happy contented workers all strive for the common good. Time after time they are then taken totally by surprise when it doesn’t work out.

  • Paul Marks

    The post is good and so are most of the comments.

    Longrider and the people who have already commented have really covered everything. So I have nothing to add.