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Another book from the Pushkin Collection - this is a collection of short pieces by George Orwell of his observations on England and its sociology. Some pieces are well known (Shooting an Elephant) but it was the final piece of the book - The Lion and the Unicorn - that really captured me, as it is still applicable in many ways today as it was years ago. Warning: some outdated language common to the time in which it was written.

“What distinguishes fascism from ordinary right-wing patriarchal autocracies is is the way it attempts to cultivate a revolutionary aura”

Sound familiar?
#Thewholethingithinkitssick
#gobacktosleep

“Is fascism merely a dictatorial force in the service of capitalism? That may not be all it is, but that certainly is an important part of fascism‘s raison d‘être.“

The Cheeto and his minions co-opt nationalist rhetoric and militarism to channel discontent away from economic inequality and toward scapegoated groups. The Cheeto wants workers to remain divided and unable to organize effectively against exploitation.

#gobacktosleep

History teaches us that all ruling elites try to portray themselves as the natural and durable social order, even ones that are in serious crisis, and that threaten to devour their environmental base in order to continually recreate their hierarchical structure of power and privilege.

#Firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

I tag @MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Yuki_Onna @jen_the_scribe

Third World revolutionaries are branded as the enemies of stability.
“Stability” is a code word for a society in which privileged social
relations are securely entrenched. When popular forces mobilize
against privilege and wealth, this causes “instability,” which is judged
to be undesirable by U.S. policymakers and their faithful flacks in the
U.S. corporate media.

This was a purchase while in London and I am just finishing the final piece in it - The Lion and the Unicorn. “England cannot possibly be allowed to remain as a sort of funnel through which deadly ideas from the Atlantic flow into the police states of Europe.” Whew - as a Canadian this is hitting hard looking to the rhetoric from the south these days. Some dated language but many ideas are still so relevant here.

Great analysis of the overthrow of bourgeois society by the people and its eventual suppression by the collusion of Prussia and the French government.

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

It might be time to re-read this... ??

This LitHub article quotes from the book: "The incumbents refused to get out. It was very simple. They merely charged illegality in the elections and wrapped up the whole situation in the interminable red tape of the law." Sounds familiar! ?
https://lithub.com/how-jack-london-foresaw-the-anti-democratic-future-with-the-i...

I suppose the fact that I have given this book a PICK says all that I need to say.

It's fine. At this point in history the Communist Manifesto is more of a novelty than anything else. Discovering that about a third of this plus-sized pamphlet is devoted to shit-talking other leftists really drove home that nothing in it was new or scary even at the time. The Communist Manifesto is, upon inspection, revealed as really nothing more than a single piece of a long running, much more widespread conversation.