:: There was a party once named Peace and Freedom. They garnered no more than 3% of teh vote., Some among them became discouraged. But others had an idea. There still is a Peace and Freedom party, Nik. Same as in 1968 when it formed to provide peaceniks with a protest vote to the Nixon/Humphrey choice. But try not to excite anyone here, Nik. The only success this progressive party has ever acheived (32 years from conception) is to actually garner enough votes to stay on the ballot for the next election. You want to place hope in that? At least they keep up with the Monster Raving Loony Party, which appears from my perspective as the most suitable British counterpart.
:: The party leader issued a directive. "Each of you," he said, "Take someone you knwo and devote this year to showing him why socialism is the best alternative."
Show him how? Do we get to visit Sweden again?
:: Obviously, not everyone fulfilled teh directive. But it began to have effects. No mroe than 25% of the party members had the time to do this. But by the next year, these 25% had each converted someone to the way.
:: Workers converted their coworkers and soemtimes even their bosses. Priests convinced drug addicts off the streets. Motehrs convinced their teenage kids. Students convinced their best friends. Soldiers convinced tehir commanders. Grape pickers converted everyone on teh farm.
:: And by the end of teh year there were 25% more socialists.
: But it didn't stop there. A quuarter of tehse new converts took the time to convince THEIR friends, neighbors and coworkers of the value of communism.
:: This continued year after year, growing according to teh law of exponential growth. In a mere 10 years, 23% of the California vote went to Peace and Freedom!
Ah, compound interest! Funny how the concept is encouraged in the dreamworld of progressives but is repudiated as a hard fact/benefit of the reality of capitalism.
:: And because the members were committed and devoted, as oppsed to so many other politicians, tehri representatives got measures passed and formed a powerful bloc in the state legislature. at teh same time, strikes and rallies launched by teh party increasingly made teh state ungovernable. At long alst, teh Peace and Freedom party went to teh people of California.
So victory is achieved by disruption rather than legitimate debate in the arena of ideas? Some ideal you have there, Nik! This does not reveal a truly altruistic or egalitarian nature.
:: 'This is teh fruits that teh capitalist system has brought you". they said.
:: And teh people believed them.
:: That year tehir vote share increased to 30%. They beat the Reublicans, teh democrats, and teh reform Party. And they were masters of America's biggest state at last.
Expect that if a party resorts to guerilla tactics to obtain power they will be ousted at the first opportunity thereafter unless Barry is right. Then they will solidify power unto themselves by legislation and general corruption.
What ennobles the proletariet?
::Just a fable....but we can hope.
Hope for your chance to demonstrate human nature - go ahead. But if you advocate disruption and mayhem to accomplish your goals and you will relegate yourself to the rank of the malcontent - at least in this highly successful capitalist society. You are an emminently capable young man Mr. Jaikumar. Your desire to compile and reference information in support of your ideals dwarfs mine. I try to process the world as it comes to me as rationally as possible without relying too much on the colorations of other perceptions. This causes me to constantly question those things I acknowledge and identify as belief. At some point you may identify and acknowledge your own programming. This will be the day you begin to use your talents for something productive.
Stuart Gort
