[lbo-talk] A liberal geek defense of Ron Paul

nathan tankus somekindofheterodox at gmail.com
Fri Dec 30 19:16:31 PST 2011


"if you think capitalism can be fixed - proper adjustments to alleviate its horrors -- it is a liberal. "

what does the word "fixed" mean in this context? does that mean people who think a benevolent technocrat can "fix" capitalism? what if you think that life for the average person under capitalism can be improved by mass social movements and intensive organization by working people and other such groups but still wants to see the creation of a socialist-or non-capitalist egalitarian- society? are they "liberals" too? what if someone thinks that mass social movements and organizations are the only way to improve society but they aren't convinced by the efficacy of revolution? are they also liberals?

you've pretty much confirmed my intuition that this word is being used as a non-radical catch all. I think that is a bad abuse of that word. I personally like to preserve the meanings of words. by all means criticize people who don't think we should create a post-capitalist society. stuffing them all into one group and calling them liberals i think is an analytical mistake.

-- -Nathan Tankus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



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