William Godwin Thought

William Godwin (1756-1836) is said to the father of philosophical anarchism.  He is also famous for being the husband of Mary Wollstonecraft, the father of Mary Shelley, and the creator of the detective novel genre, and the inspiration for the political ideals of Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Here is a sample of his writing and ideas.

The great cause of humanity, which is now pleading in the face of the universe, has but two enemies; those friends of antiquity, and those friends of innovation, who, impatient of suspense, are inclined violently to interrupt the calm, the incessant, the rapid and auspicious progress which thought and reflection appear to be making in the world.  Happy would it be for mankind if those persons who interest themselves most zealously in these great questions would limit their exertions to the diffusing, in every possible mode, a spirit of enquiry, and the embracing of every opportunity of increasing the stock, and generalizing the communication, of political knowledge.

   

CHOMSKY, ANARCHISTS,  SOCIALISTS

This is from Alan Ritter's 1980 book, Anarchism: A Theoretical Analysis.

 

The error of those who claim that anarchists are socialists at heart stems from blindness toward their disagreement about the causal efficacy of the state qua state.  A typical version of this claim is advanced by Noam Chomsky.  Anarchism is not to be identified with socialism simpliciter, since many socialists rely on legal government.  But there are also socialists (Chomsky cites Anton Pannekoek and William Paul) who are who are at one with finding the state antipathetic.  It is part of this 'libertarian wing of socialism' that Chomsky thinks anarchism should be classed.

 

If the antipathy to legal government of council communists, syndicalists and similar representatives of socialism's libertarian wing came from alarm about the effects of the state's inherent attributes, Chomsky's claim that anarchism is  a type of socialism would be correct.  But even the most libertarian of socialists is alarmed by the effects of the state's changeable characteristics, such as its organization or policies. . . . And what they project as a successor to the existing state is not a society  freed of legal government, but a society organized, in Chomsky's words, 'on truly democratic lines, with democratic control in the workplace and in the community'.

 

. . . Libertarian socialists . . .  are not anarchists but democrats.  [Libertarian socialists] . . . . cannot possibly be called anarchists.

I am starting a series of quotes by Anarchists and about Anarchists.  These will be according my own taste.  There is a nice collection of quotes  by Anarchists edited by Paul Berman  I may or may not use some of them.  Check the book out anyway.  My first will be from Emma Goldman's essay, Anarchism.  In a day or two I'll post one about Chomsky as an Anarchist.  Here's Emma.

As to methods, Anarchism is not, as some might suppose, a theory of the future to be realized by divine inspiration.  It is a living force in the affairs of our life, constantly creating new conditions.  The methods of Anarchism therefore do not comprise an iron-clad program to be carried out under all circumstances.  Methods must grow out of the economic needs of each place and clime, and of the intellectual and temperamental requirements of the individual.  The serene, calm character of a Tolstoy will wish different methods for social reconstruction than the intense, overflowing personality of a Michael Bakunin or a Peter Kropotkin.  Equally so it must be apparent that the economic and political needs of Russia will dictate more drastic measures than will England or America.  Anarchism does not stand for military drill and uniformity; it does, however, stand for the spirit of revolt, in whatever form, against everything that hinders human growth.  All anarchists agree in that, as they also agree in their opposition to the political machinery as  a means of bringing about the great social change.

Emma Goldman from Anarchism and Other Essays, 1917.

THE CHILDREN'S  INVESTMENT FUND

A group of Spokane citizens is making an effort to get a petition on the ballot to raise taxes for helping Spokane youth.

The plan is similar the ones in Portland and a few other cities.  And as is obvious, it is a mom and apple pie issue.  So who should object?

Well, first, let us look at this fact.  Few, if any, voters will read the actual proposed ordinance before they sign the initiative.  I know this from personal experience.  While the solicitors may have the full text with them, signers are on the fly and do not want to take the time to read it. Then once it reaches the ballot, there will be no text, only the title.

There will be a body of eleven citizens who decide where this money goes.  Four of these will be at-large and some others are what  I will call quasi-at-large.  Now one of the most active groups putting this campaign together is the Spokane Alliance, which is made up of mostly labor unions and churches.  It seems to me likely that a fair number of these at-large positions could end up filled by folks affiliated with this or that church.   And so tax money could end up being filtered to groups with a religious bent.  Not good.

 Now isn't the above a silly quibble where our children's future is at stake?   Some will say that.  I don't want to debate the issue here but it brings up the point of what this program will accomplish.  Here are some examples of trouble: One of the major claims is that it will decrease the drop out rate.  Well, The Spokesman recently  had an interesting article showing that the school district itself has been  hopelessly confused about just what is meant by drop out.  The state has rushed to the rescue - somewhat.  But some confusion seems to have lingered.  So how are we going to  measure success?

An Alliance hand-out quotes this so-called fact: Children who attend preschool  are 17% more likely to complete the 12th grade.  Now, this is could be a classic example of confusing correlation with causation.  One can not be certain without more information on the study. 

The law states that money will only be given to agencies with track records (I assume this means good track records).  Well, if we have agencies with track records, how did we get into these alleged dire straits?

I do support help for our youth, but I could use a better thought out plan than what we may be looking at if this gets on the ballot.   And I think the school district is being given too much of a free pass as to their responsibility.

PLEASE FORGET THE PRAYER BREAKFAST

President Obama held an Easter prayer service the other day and it made the news as to how diverse the Christian attendees were.  Hey, if he puts on  a breakfast I don't want to hear the word Easter.  And as to diversity, I want to see a guest list of Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Atheists, Hutterites, and every other color of belief.

This snuggling up to the religious community by Obama reveals a sad flaw in his thinking.  In general,  I am a fan of his and believe him to be an honest man, so I reject for now that he does this kiss-ass for strictly political purposes.  But then that leaves me to realize he is not the deep thinker I usually admire, which puts me in  a quandary.

I'll just have to live with it by remembering one of my basic principles of public policy:  We must learn to go for the lesser evil because that is usually all we will have.