[lbo-talk] Re: riffraff

Daniel Davies d_squared_2002 at yahoo.co.uk
Thu Sep 7 14:01:57 PDT 2006



>
> On Sep 7, 2006, at 9:11 AM, Carl Remick wrote:
>
> > I think not. After all: "The point is that in order to attract a
> > better class of customer, you have to keep the riff-raff out. Basil
> > Fawlty understood this; why doesn't the blogosphere?"
> >

my idea was to export our riff-raff to other lists. The idea being that when a big argument about WBAI started, Doug could say "do you know what? They're longing to hear about this on the 'Greek Cookery' Yahoo group" and everyone who was involved would have to subscribe to that list and carry their argument on there. That way, if the subjects of the transformation problem or (canonically) primitivism and toilet paper, ever came up, we could say "I'm sorry, those flamewars are a cash crop meant for export only rather than domestic consumption, please send them over to HAYEK-L where they might be appreciated".

Doug wrote:


>
> What's the "Decent Left"? Those that think that imperialism isn't so
> bad after all?

basically yep. the group centred round Norman Geras and the "Euston Manifesto" which departed from (IMO) reality at the point at which someone convinced them that the invasion of Iraq was a really good way to promote the ideas of liberal democracy. Stretches from borderline types who believe in the doctrine of a UN "responsibility to protect" on one end to the "Henry Jackson Society" (followers of Henry "Scoop" Jackson who believe that this is "the British moment", when we teach you ignorant colonials how to run an Empire - to his eternal credit, Niall Ferguson spotted these loons a mile off and wants nothing to do with them, but it's the same principle) at the other.

The whys and wherefores of why they don't like me and vice versa are best glided over. Suffice to say that I suddenly decided that while arguing about this crap over weblogs was bad enough, going along to a hall in Southwark to argue about it in person was a whole nother addiction. Sort of like a sociable party where everyone's happily smoking crack and somebody brings out a syringe of heroin; you have to decide on the spur of the moment how much of an addict you are. If you get my drift.

best dd

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