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| Gasp!: I must be a far-left extremist! |
I first posted the above graphic on Facebook. As this may have prompted an inquiry as to whether I was becoming too “woke” I thought I had better give some explanation and posted the text below by way of response:
I can enthusiastically get behind all the statements in the
above pictorial. However, I’d want to qualify that although accepting of people
of other religions, politics & beliefs, I'm at liberty to sharply and
openly disagree with their views. We are, after all, in an open democratic
society in the UK where contentious public debate should be tolerated as part and parcel of
our constitution. Otherwise, there is very little that should, repeat SHOULD be
disputed in the above pictorial. For example, does, “Taking an interest in
history and philosophy” nowadays register one as “woke” and “left wing”??. Should we ignore injustices in society?
In my view the above graphic is inflammatory as a result of the underlying connotations
that the “woke” and “unwoke” tribes read between the lines of the text; these connotative reactions are used as a kind branding and badging which is supposed to reveal
your group identifications and group think; whether leftist, rightist, woke or
unwoke.
Another example: If I say I'm in favour of the monarchy, the
entrepreneurial spirit, believe that innovators, well qualified people and those in
positions of responsibility earn their money, confess that the market is a good thing,
that open sharp debate is a good thing, and that private property is a good
thing, am I then in danger of being labelled as a far-right extremist by some??
.......such is the” woke” vs “unwoke” polarisation in society!
The art is to get the right balance between individualism
and collectivism rather than people rushing off in opposite directions. I tried
to express that balance here:
Quantum Non-Linearity: Marx vs. Smith (quantumnonlinearity.blogspot.com)
One more point: The political spectrum is not a flat space
but a curved space: As “woke” and “unwoke” extremists rush off in the opposite
directions of collectivism and individualism respectively they eventually meet
at the same point; namely authoritarianism and dictatorship.
So in summary any problem with my FB post will be in the eyes of the beholder.
Addendum
* Somebody commented that "Though I don’t think everyone should be treated equally as wouldn’t expect to be treated like an actual king or whatever but that everyone should be treated well for a better future for everyone." My reply was: "Best not take the letter too literally- It's the spirit of it that counts i.e. as you say "treated well" - good way of putting it. It's a good discussion primer. "
* Although I agree with many woke sentiments, the fundamental core idea behind woke philosophy is that one can fix humanity by fixing the social, political and economic structures of society. Marxism (and academic "woke" thinking) is inclined to promote the conjecture that human nature is for all intents and purposes very largely dependent on its social environment, so much so that taking cognizance of the constraints of innate human nature are neglected. This (false) philosophy opens the way to authoritarian centralized social engineering projects that attempt to make the necessary structural changes needed to advance society (After the "revolution"!). This social philosophy (probably derived from Marxist thinking) neglects the universals of human motivations, particularly those that revolve around a strong inclination toward ambitious and selfish status seeking. This manifests itself in the aggressive pursuit of those much sought after status symbols: Viz: power, wealth and influence.
The "unwoke" define themselves in terms of who they are against; namely, those they label as "woke". For example, ex-UK-pm Boris Johnson has a favorable view towards the return of Donald Trump as US dictator president and tells us that the "wokerati" are trembling at the thought of the return of Trump. Johnson's use of the term "woke" here classifies Johnson as "unwoke" as he is using it as a tribal rallying call to those who identify themselves as anti-woke.
Among the extreme right-wing tribes who believe wannabe dictator Trump is a kind of Saviour of democracy, even someone like myself would very likely classify as "woke", "far-left" or even a Marxist. And yet I'm very much against the underlying philosophy which can often be discovered hidden at the foundation of woke thinking (That's certainly not to condemn all "woke" thinking).
At this particular juncture, we have the very real presence of people like Trump and his AR15 armed militias, Warlord Putin and his imperialist military venturism, the American conspiracy theory wielding far-right, far-right US evangelicalism and in the UK Trump poodles such as Johnson, Farage, and Rees-Mogg striding the political scene. Given this context I see the "unwoke" currently being a far greater menace to democracy than the "woke". I'm very suspicious that Johnson and Farage see support for Trump as an opportunity to hitch a ride on the populares power and status train should Trump return as US dictator president.
Links
1. Trump has no philosophy (apart from promoting His Trumpness!)
Donald Trump is an 'aberration' who has 'no philosophy', John Bolton says (msn.com)
2. Some Tories want Trump
Tory rising star described Donald Trump as ‘refreshing’ (msn.com)
Take a look at this quote about Mhairi Frazer from the article:
Her comments, rediscovered by The Times, show that she did "not see Russia as a natural enemy" and was more concerned about Islamic terrorism.
There is a difference between Russia and its would-be-warlord-dictator and Godfather, V. Putin. Why can't this dim Tory "rising star" see this?
2. Trumpite Tucker Carlson supports Putin?
Tucker Carlson interviews Putin in Moscow after years of anti-Ukraine vitriol (msn.com)
3. Trumpite Tucker Carlson promotes Putin propaganda in his interview
Tucker Carlson: Putin takes charge as TV host gives free rein to Kremlin - BBC News
3. Boris Johnson condemns Trumpite Tucker Carlson
Boris Johnson attacks Tucker Carlson over Putin interview: ‘Hitler playbook’ (msn.com)
4. Tucker Carlson defends Putin
Tucker Carlson jumps to Putin's defense again after Navalny's death (msn.com)
Carlson, 54, was speaking with fellow former Fox News host Glenn Beck on the latter's BlazeTV network when he made his remarks. 'Navalny’s death during the Munich Security Conference, in the midst of disputes about aid to Ukraine, is definitely not beneficial for Russia. People who say Putin killed him are idiots,
You utter, utter blockhead Carlson! Don't you understand that a regime which is the master of obfuscation would likely choose this very time in order to cover their tracks in the very manner you have been so eager to do! Either Carlson is an idiot or in league with Putin.
5. An unwoke Lizz Truss does the full Trump and cozies up to US far-right
Voices: The day Liz Truss went ‘full Trump’ – and embraced the deep state (msn.com)
Liz Truss blames ‘deep state’ for failed premiership in Fox News article (msn.com)
Sunak urged to act against Truss for spreading rightwing conspiracy theories (msn.com)
6. Marjorie Taylor-Greene's Jewish Space Lasers claim
