Thought Experiments : The Blog

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Welcome to the Quantum Flux

The ideological chaos on the Republican side yesterday was understandable. The backwoodsmen persisted in thinking they were supposed to believe in the free market, apparently unaware that their party was penetrated some time ago by entryist neocons still in thrall to Irving Kristol's admiration of Trotsky's Fourth International.  Neocons are statists, $700 billion bailouts are approved by the politburo. What this made clear, yet again, is that the categories of right and left are now entirely meaningless other than as tribal badges. One stares in wonder at phenomena like Iain Dale's Top 100 Right-Wingers.  What can this mean? The confusion is compounded by the presence of the great Frank Field at 100. It's as if he's been paintballed by a bunch of giggling pol-geeks. I suppose people find it hard to accept the loss of these categories and the ensuing spectacle of a featureless flux of events and characters. Get used to it, geeks, and welcome to post-classical, quantum politics.

# posted by Bryan Appleyard : 6:25 AM  

8 Comments:

  • At September 30, 2008 8:30 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Can we ever trust free market capitalism again? I think not. Sure, it is all flux now, but when the flux has settled the categories will reemerge and they will be more clearly defined than ever.

     

  • At September 30, 2008 9:30 AM, Blogger malty said…

    Ah, the looming new order, led by the McCawberites, (in 10 years time will there be neoMcCawberites) if reeds could clearly see the road.
    Poor Frank, more ammunition for Browns Einsatzgruppen. That list is even more boring than the top 100 rich list. On a more serious note, democracy is at least seen to be in action in America, whence our dissenting voices?

     

  • At September 30, 2008 9:32 AM, Blogger Bryan Appleyard said…

    I often wonder who you are, Malty.

     

  • At September 30, 2008 10:05 AM, Blogger Brit said…

    Now this is politics I can understand: a world where everyone is confused as me.

     

  • At September 30, 2008 11:22 AM, Anonymous passer by said…

    Yep things get mixed up at the big money car crash.

    Just remember that there is more than one car in this smash up, not only financial fundamentalists who believed they mastered the universe, but also the political fundamentalists who thought it would be a jolly good idea to give poor people mortgages. (but as with the hard left, they will be excused as they meant well)

    Social engineering meets mathematical stupidity. Its hard to choose who we should throw out of the Empire State first?

    Barney Frank gets my vote, but many more will follow.

    http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print

     

  • At September 30, 2008 11:51 AM, Blogger Mark said…

    Oh well, people are basically tribal I'd guess. So the "teams" will soon re-establish themselves. Red, white, left, right, it probably doesn't matter much since belonging to a team may be more important to its members than what the team stands for, if anyone can even agree on that. Alternatively, there are two teams that no one has ever succeeded in putting out of business: the rich and the poor. George Monbiot has a good article about this today in the usual place (it strikes a chord with me, anyway). It seems that civilization ends not with a bang but with a pork barrel.

     

  • At September 30, 2008 12:02 PM, Blogger mongoose said…

    I have voted for them all - well, all except the SDP. I have never been on any of the teams, although I did once pretend to be a CND supporter. That I had a selfish motive for doing this is perhaps food for thought. As is the fact that she saw through me in an instant. Ho hum.

     

  • At September 30, 2008 12:17 PM, Blogger Bryan Appleyard said…

    Ho, as is so often the case, hum.

     

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