[Peace-discuss] Guess the author (no googling)

[C. G. Estabrook]

Gee, did I misinterpret you, John?

There have I believe been a a number of polls showing that somewhere near half 
the population believe that the U.S. Constitution - as we know, a sacred 
document - is the source of Marx's phrase "from each according to his ability, 
to each according to his need" - so obviously right does the sentiment seem. 
See, e.g., "Poll on the Constitution," Boston Globe, 13 September 1987, cited by 
Julius Lobel in "A Less than Perfect Union" (Monthly Review, 1988), p. 3.

The interests of Americans - no more than a local variation of universal human 
desires - are a great source of anxiety for our rulers, because of course their 
desires are opposed to them. They have to work very hard to thwart them, without 
seeming to do so. We should be pointing that out.

As the greatest Liberal historian of the 19th century put it, "Power tends to 
corrupt..."

On 5/8/10 4:09 PM, John W. wrote:
>
> On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 3:28 PM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu
> <mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>> wrote:
>
> You're wrong to be so censorious, John: I think Stuart has already
> occasionally said actually sensible things...
>
> Indeed, he always does.  That of course was the point.
>
> And your low opinion of your fellow citizens in this case betrays you:
> almost half of Americans believe that "From each according to his ability, to
> each according to his need" is enshrined in that Sacred Document, the
> Constitution.
>
> Your source of that information?
>
> We don't have to make them interested in the "communist creed" because they
> already are; they see it as an American (and hence universal) ideal - at
> least until it can adequately besmirched as "Communist" by a Good
> Education...
>
> And your point is....?  Did you answer my question?  Do you feel that you
> did?
>
> On 5/8/10 4:46 AM, John W. wrote:
>
>
> On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 10:22 PM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu
> <mailto:galliher at illinois.edu> <mailto:galliher at illinois.edu
> <mailto:galliher at illinois.edu>>> wrote:
>
> ... the remarkable unwillingness of supporters of the administration even to
>
> hear the complaints of people like Stack is the real problem.  The
> willingness of the bien-pensant simply to dismiss them is outrageous and
> even dangerous.
>
> Stack wrote, "The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to
> each according to his need. / The capitalist creed: From each according to
> his gullibility, to each according to his greed."
>
> We don't make progress toward the former by acquiescing in the latter.
>
> So what do you propose, Carl?  The bien pensant, as you call them, are not
> INTERESTED in the communist creed, either in theory or in practice. They're
> INTERESTED in the capitalist creed as articulated by Joe Stack. All of our
> laws and our customs and our culture and our social policies support the
> capitalist creed.  Short of flying an airplane into a building (which is
> ineffective anyway), how do you propose that we MAKE them interested in the
> communist creed?  How do you propose that we move America in the direction of
> the communist creed? Wayne, why don't you weigh in, too? Quote some Chinese,
> make some esoteric puns. And then maybe Stuart will have something to say
> that is actually sensible.
>
>

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