Which book are you reading now? Volume XI
- Thread starter NedimNapoleon
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Snerk
Smeghead
A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin. Loving it. Nearly done now, not sure whether to go straight to A Dance with Dragons or take a little break from Westeros and go for something else.
Paul in Saudi
Emperor
Fateful Lightening; A New History of the Civil War quite seminal in its political analysis.
I recommend switching to a far better author such as Terry Pratchett.
Snerk
Smeghead
Well I've never read any of Pratchetts books so I can't comment on that comparison, though I doubt I would agree that one is far better than the other. At any rate I'd like something a little more prosaic for my next read. I really enjoyed Stoner by John Williams, would love to start something same-ish.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
Modern Political Ideologies (3rd ed) by Andrew Vincent. Covers liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, fascism, feminism, ecologism, nationalism, and fundamentalism. Still not sure what the grand principle of conservatism is, other than the hackneyed platitude "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it". It's interesting seeing an ideology rail against classical liberals then later go on to claim classical liberal ideology as its own.
Verarde
Pondering Wearing A Hat
Currently reading Waiting For Godot, by Samuel Beckett, for school. Very enjoyable. I've also been reading a lot of T.S. Eliot lately.
Ideologies by and large break down into three components - they have an idea of what the world is like, an idea of what the world ought to be like, and an idea of how to move from A to B. In the case of conservatism, they believe that the world ought to be either as it currently is (according to their imaginations) or as it was in the past (as they imagine it), and so conclude that the best course of action is either to do nothing or to reverse recent changes. Hence even supposedly radical 'conservatives' like Thatcher implemented reforms under the guise of undoing the damage of previous non-conservatives.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
But in the end it eventually accepts the changes. I guess I'm just not enamored by an ideology that denies something so fundamental as change (i.e. the last component you mentioned).
I think there's an element of 'least bad option' - most conservatives are generally pessimistic about the ability of people to make wise plans on a large scale and the usefulness of public policy to solve social problems.
I'm currently reading Damn His Blood, which I mentioned in the History Books thread - it's history in the loose sense of the term in that it can quite legitimately be read as a true crime book set in 1806. Quite excellent so far.
Oscar Wilde wrote Salomé in French, so there's precedent - plus, for all we know, Finnegan's Wake might be supposed to be French.
I'm currently reading Damn His Blood, which I mentioned in the History Books thread - it's history in the loose sense of the term in that it can quite legitimately be read as a true crime book set in 1806. Quite excellent so far.
Oscar Wilde wrote Salomé in French, so there's precedent - plus, for all we know, Finnegan's Wake might be supposed to be French.
Borachio
Way past lunacy
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Ah, but are you reading En attendant Godot in the original French?
Not that it makes any difference, as it happens. It's just curious that an Irishman would chose to write his best known work in French.
I've read it too, btw. And it's honestly not a hard read. Which for a theatre-of-the-absurd work rather surprised me.
But what's it about? There's the puzzle. Somebody told me it was about two vaudeville actors, but I don't know.
Someone else said it's a play in Two Acts, with nothing happening in either of them.
The reason many conservatives, and many libertarians too, particularly those 'libertarians' who are actually conservatives but don't want to own up to the fact for various reasons lay claim to the title of 'classical liberals' is that they are playing a public relations game. It's called branding. They try to control the debate by controlling the terms of the debate. And to do that they brand themselves as one thing, and their opponents as another thing. And then try to use the association of the thing that they are branded as, and that their opponents are branded as, as a means of influencing people. Particularly those people who have limited understanding of the subject, but have an emotional connection/response with the brands in question.
In this case, they are tying to make the case that they are the heirs of the Founding Fathers, and that progressives are not. This doesn't hold up to scrutiny. But it can hold up well enough to influence some of the ignorant. The term used in political economics, 'neoliberal' serves the same purpose. Modern conservatives, and the 'libertarians' who are also modern conservatives, except won't admit the fact, lay claim to 'classical liberal' because they want to make an association between themselves and a group that is popularly, that is ignorantly, seen as anti-government/anti-tax. The problem with that is, the more you know, the more that that characterization isn't a fair or accurate one when applied to the actual Enlightenment era classical liberals. Those people weren't against government per se, they were against arbitrary and unrepresentative government. They weren't against taxes per se, they were against taxation without representation.
And, most importantly, the classical liberals of the Age of Enlightenment were about, you know, enlightenment. It was about rationality. It was about finding the facts of the real world. No Enlightenment classical liberal would think, for example, that man made climate change was not a real thing. Because to do so is utterly irrational.
Such a good book.
"What a great friend I have in the eagle" heh
Here's a few hundred more free ones if anyone likes to read:
http://www.openculture.com/free_ebooks
Verarde
Pondering Wearing A Hat
Haha, no. Just the translation to English.
It really isn't. I've been telling people who don't like it to read it out loud while doing different voices for each character. It makes more sense to me that way. I mean, heck, it's a play. It's not supposed to read like a novel.
My professor made a really good point in class today. He noted that it is a very circular play, wherein you could finish it, turn back to the beginning, and not lose any momentum. I think it's a great work.
ParkCungHee
Deity
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Makes more sense than writing it in English.
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Mark Twain
I've paused for a moment to re-read a childhood favorite, Where the Red Fern Grows --the story of boy and his two beloved hunting dogs.
I've paused for a moment to re-read a childhood favorite, Where the Red Fern Grows --the story of boy and his two beloved hunting dogs.
SS-18 ICBM
Oscillator
Finished Inventing Wine by Paul Lukacs. A history of wine that emphasizes the importance of invented traditions over perceived continuities. Some important points of the book are how old wines were mostly spoiled and bad-tasting, the importance of England in shaping wine, and how advances in techniques and changing attitudes fueled two golden ages interrupted by disease and two world wars. I feel like I know more about wine varieties, which will help with some Christmas shopping, actually.
Testing out my new tablet reader with Stopping Mass Killings in Africa: Genocide, Airpower, and Intervention (edited by Douglas C. Peifer), a 187-page US government document that I feel does not cover the downsides of airpower enough. Still makes a good case for the importance of air assets, and even reminded me that electronic warfare can have a role to play.
Testing out my new tablet reader with Stopping Mass Killings in Africa: Genocide, Airpower, and Intervention (edited by Douglas C. Peifer), a 187-page US government document that I feel does not cover the downsides of airpower enough. Still makes a good case for the importance of air assets, and even reminded me that electronic warfare can have a role to play.
Zkribbler
Deity
The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History by David Hackett Fischer
Describes four great "waves" in the world's economic history, each having three phases. First is about 100 years of inflation; followed by crisis and calamity; followed by about 100 years of equilibrium. The mutual influence of history and economics on each other is fascinating.
Describes four great "waves" in the world's economic history, each having three phases. First is about 100 years of inflation; followed by crisis and calamity; followed by about 100 years of equilibrium. The mutual influence of history and economics on each other is fascinating.
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