tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768837596065776364.post3276013599207705178..comments2024-03-25T07:13:31.136+00:00Comments on Wonderman Diaries: History Repeats Itself, Repeats Itself...Wonderman Diarieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07546209431515011553noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768837596065776364.post-66573334119846230372011-02-25T12:20:41.364+00:002011-02-25T12:20:41.364+00:00Whoa there, Wonderman! Don't put words into my...Whoa there, Wonderman! Don't put words into my mouth, especially patronising ones like "nasty". Is history to be understood in the language of pantomime? I am trying to focus on your aestheticised vocabulary ("refine the culture of expectation") and the assumptions it occludes, e.g. that wealth is created exclusively by capitalists. I wonder if that's true.Richard Collingbinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16281396488155099747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768837596065776364.post-2412069516832446262011-02-24T14:36:57.587+00:002011-02-24T14:36:57.587+00:00Ah, there are many things about which Wonderman is...Ah, there are many things about which Wonderman is unaware, which is why he attends the history discussion group. On the subject of soup kitchens, and what they represent, he has this reflection; suppose the nasty capitalists never generated any wealth, then how would it be possible to put any of it back into society through wages, taxes or simple philanthropy? I guess we would just have to rely on it growing on trees, like in the good old days.Wondermannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768837596065776364.post-70172428668480409052011-02-24T13:48:40.817+00:002011-02-24T13:48:40.817+00:00You claim that "self-reliance" is a pre-...You claim that "self-reliance" is a pre-industrial phenomenon, but seem unaware of the distinctly Victorian echoes of Samuel Smiles and the philosophy of self-help which you invoke. It sounds to me like the same old moralistic cant that capitalists trot out whenever they find themselves oversupplied with labour. What's the difference between a "refined culture of expectation" and a soup kitchen?Richard Collingbinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16281396488155099747noreply@blogger.com