Of the promises made in the early days of IC at least one has been kept: that it would appear irregularly. Do you want to see it more frequently? This is more likely to happen if you send in material; either original work or relevant quotations (but please understand if we are not able to… read more »
COMING ATTRACTIONS In IC27 we shall be reprinting another article by HAROLD WALSBY, entitled: ‘What is the Answer?.’ Written in 1951 it draws attention to a problem facing purist ‘socialists’: Have their numbers kept pace with the increase in world population? THE LETTER in this issue from Austin Meredith takes off from the suggestion, made… read more »
Ideological Commentary announces itself as “an independent journal of systematic ideology,” but we do not claim final knowledge of this theory; the formulation that looked like the ultimate last month needs alteration now, and the account given here will be subject to continuous revision. The theory was created and largely developed by the late Harold… read more »
IC holds out a continuing invitation: We undertake to print any statement of up to 1,000 words carrying the approval of this party or one of its branches. Letters from individual members or supporters will be printed if they are cogent, interesting and concise, and if space permits. If you want your letter to appear… read more »
Dear Editor, I found the Outline Sketch of Systematic Ideology to be, superficially at least, quite an interesting pamphlet. However, closer investigation revealed that behind the words there was little of substance. Also, the reasoning contains several flaws. On page 29 appears: A purely eidodynamic society could not do so [i.e. survive]. Every society, if… read more »
Dear Editor, There is some good news about publishing-for-profit, and some bad news. The good news is, as you have noticed in IC23, that for-profit publishing filters submitted writings for whatever will be of interest to masses of readers. The bad news is that for-profit publishing filters submitted writings for whatever will be of interest… read more »
At school we were told of a medieval philosopher named William of Occam. (Because he grew up in a place whose name is spelt Ockham; they did tell us the strangest things at school). He introduced a principle of logic, first known as Occam’s Razor, more recently as the principle of parsimony, which declared, in… read more »
Suppression of traits or features considered undesirable is preceded by the isolation, of those exhibiting the tendency in question, from the general body of the people; they are identified as criminals, or kulaks, or mad, or female, or unemployed, or disadvantaged, or black, or immigrant, or young, or old, or disabled or addicted to something;… read more »
This is from the speech which Friedrich Engles delivered at Marx’s funeral: He [Marx] discovered the simple fact, hitherto concealed by an overgrowth of ideology, that mankind must first of all eat and drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, religion, art etc. and that therefore the production of the immediate… read more »
In TLS 5 Sept 86 John Gray reviews Marxism by J. G. Merquior. (Paladin paperback, £3.95). Gray starts off fireworks, describing this body of literature as a treasury of the absurd. He instances Lukacs saying the Kronstadt rebels were serving the bourgeoisie and Althusser blaming the Stalin regime for an excess of humanism. He almost… read more »