tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post3648267455584431588..comments2024-03-25T19:48:24.624+11:00Comments on Oz Conservative: Liberalism, secular religion, vulnerabilityUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-75955361036223034312017-07-09T00:44:15.161+10:002017-07-09T00:44:15.161+10:00I ordered this book after reading the review you l...I ordered this book after reading the review you linked to. It was fascinating and I read it in a single day (it's only 180 pages). However his term "Liberal Democracy" is not a good one because there's nothing Democratic about this movement. Comteianism is a better choice, IMO.RobertBrandywinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11661602554300651862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-48072546997539708622017-07-05T12:07:37.367+10:002017-07-05T12:07:37.367+10:00The common people are able to find enough diversio...<em>The common people are able to find enough diversions, entertainment and enjoyment to not demand a change of regime.</em><br /><br />What we have is what Huxley predicted in <em>Brave New World</em>. People are happy to give up all other freedoms if you offer them entertainment, sex and drugs. They don't want anything else. dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-49149447142861097982017-07-05T01:39:24.036+10:002017-07-05T01:39:24.036+10:00In a normal society, this level of decadence would...In a normal society, this level of decadence would lead to revolution. The common people are able to find enough diversions, entertainment and enjoyment to not demand a change of regime. Maybe if all the electrucal signals go dark due to a solar flare or widespread famine of epidemics occur, it appears society will slowly coast along to decadent oblivion.Flavianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-46307830094789756312017-07-04T16:26:56.141+10:002017-07-04T16:26:56.141+10:00Napoleon seemed invincible until the Archduke Char...<i>Napoleon seemed invincible until the Archduke Charles defeated him at the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809. After that everybody knew Napoleon could be defeated</i><br /><br />That's a good analogy. Liberalism has won for so long that it has an aura of invincibility. We need an Aspern-Essling of our own. Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-69303791552728096462017-07-04T16:21:38.119+10:002017-07-04T16:21:38.119+10:00Yes, and the timing is good, given that that white...Yes, and the timing is good, given that that white women are already starting to be targeted by the left (as occupying a privileged place within intersectional politics). So there may not be much status left for white women on the left - attacked for "white privilege" and having their identity as women deconstructed. Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-81420339178857150752017-07-04T11:01:20.094+10:002017-07-04T11:01:20.094+10:00It means that the restoration has to be more deter...<em>It means that the restoration has to be more determined.</em><br /><br />Social conservatives and traditionalists have to start playing to win. Up till now they have at best been playing for a draw. Once you decide to play for a draw you throw away any chance of a victory.<br /><br />To switch from a cricketing analogy to a military analogy, you cannot win a war unless you give your troops an occasional unequivocal victory. Napoleon seemed invincible until the Archduke Charles defeated him at the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809. After that everybody knew Napoleon could be defeated and his final ruin was only a matter of time. The French army had been seen to retreat.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-11565919136229904012017-07-04T10:52:07.789+10:002017-07-04T10:52:07.789+10:00maybe in a year or two men won't be allowed to...<em>maybe in a year or two men won't be allowed to publicly express a preference for those born biologically as women.</em><br /><br />Yes, I agree, and I think we really are only a year or two away from that. In fact it's already started. Only a hateful bigot could prefer a real woman.<br /><br />This is one of the most hopeful signs actually because it's one of the few things that could cause a real split in the Coalition of the Fringes.The trans thing is clearly very bad for feminism. If there's no such thing as a woman, if being female is just a social construct, feminism collapses. And some feminists have started to figure this out. There has already been some extraordinarily vicious feminist in-fighting on this issue, involving high-profile feminists like Julie Burchill and Germaine Greer.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-32190498724213766582017-07-04T09:40:43.432+10:002017-07-04T09:40:43.432+10:00I think you're correct. Things have gone well ...I think you're correct. Things have gone well for liberals. There has been reaction at times, but liberals have triumphed. That, perhaps, is the only way that liberalism retains its religious character as described above. <br /><br />It means that the restoration has to be more determined. It can't be left up to individuals alone to take a stand, instead it must be a movement. And it must be a movement that is clear enough in its values, and in the rightness of its cause, that it will bear the inevitable backlash - that it will dig in so to speak. It has to be strong enough to withstand the media and mainstream public opinion. <br /><br />It won't be that difficult to find the ground to take a stand. Simply asserting that there are two sexes, two polarities to human existence - man and woman - will be enough. That will be enough to mark the movement as being apostate.<br /><br />We should try to find ways as well to aid the patriotic movements in Europe - if a Le Pen were to win in France, or the Hungarians and Poles were to hold on to their national existence - that would be a claiming of ground.Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-88237854856540266782017-07-04T09:31:11.328+10:002017-07-04T09:31:11.328+10:00Of course the transgender battle is now all but wo...<i>Of course the transgender battle is now all but won as well.</i><br /><br />Yes, good point. I notice, though, that some transsexuals are demanding that heterosexual men not discriminate against them when it comes to dating preferences. It sounds outlandish now, but who knows? Maybe in a year or two men won't be allowed to publicly express a preference for those born biologically as women.Mark Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15961688379656119701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-4997754448424520472017-07-03T13:07:00.642+10:002017-07-03T13:07:00.642+10:00This is why the triumph of same-sex marriage actua...<em>This is why the triumph of same-sex marriage actually happened too suddenly and too completely. Something else was needed to animate liberalism, and transgenderism has quickly filled the gap, defining new forces of reaction and thus enabling new iterations and celebrations of the Festival</em><br /><br />That's an interesting point. Of course the transgender battle is now all but won as well. What will be be next? It won't be polygamy. That battle can be won virtually without a shot being fired. It will have to be something far more shocking. I think we can guess what that will be.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6832901.post-11246904233495544882017-07-03T12:00:34.175+10:002017-07-03T12:00:34.175+10:00Since at least the 1960s, the only thing conservat...Since at least the 1960s, the only thing conservatives have accomplished is to temporarily pause liberal progress. I can't think of an instance where they have reinstated a traditional rule once the liberals won ground.<br /><br />Please correct me if I'm wrong.Flavianoreply@blogger.com