Uncontrolled population
Riots in Zaire and the Northern U.K., turmoil in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, civil war in Sri Lanka and many other countries, famine in Albania and in much of Africa and mindless bloodshed in South Africa and elsewhere.
In Australia we have increasing urban air pollution at the same time as calls for the doubling of immigration quotas and an increase in urban density.
The common thread? Uncontrolled population increase world-wide.
Those who think we are exempt from the chaos threatening to engulf established civilisation, of whatever political persuasion, are simply refusing to acknowledge fact.
If ever there was time for statesmanship in human affairs it is now. Instead, there is not one government in Australia, Federal, State or local, that is even groping towards a system of population control.
Their answer to the people problem is to build more accommodation, bulldoze more of the natural environment, pollute more oceans, rivers and air and encourage increasing density of urban population, with the attendant increase in social stress and decrease in the quality of life.
Col Friel
Alawa NT
Reviews
I would like to congratulate Green Left Weekly on its high standard of film, music and literature reviews. My comments hold true for all the reviews I've read, but as a specific example the review of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead" by Ulrike Erhardt (GL 22) was well written and without the political bias I often recognise in other "political" newspapers.
Finally, we have a paper that can apply feminist or Marxist criticism sensibly with the recognition that some art is apolitical. Readers don't have to witness their favorite films, music or literature twisted and their meanings exaggerated and distorted to meet feminist or Marxist criticism.
As a strong believer that art is sacred and should lie far beyond the censor's reach I am encouraged by the intelligent reviews of Green Left Weekly. We are taking a step towards censorship when we see artworks only in their relevance to a particular political ideal — the attitude is that art must meet political criteria. Even if the only criteria is that the art stays out of politics, this attitude severely cripples our appreciation of art and is the justification of censorship.
We have seen Thomas the Tank Engine and Noddy both fall prey to feminist and moralistic criticism. Perhaps we can expect fundamentalist Christians to alter Romeo and Juliet because it promotes suicide! As mad as this may seem, it begins with ideological reviews of apolitical art. I appreciate that this is a practice that the reviewers of Green Left Weekly avoid.
Tony
The real fight
At Arthur Murray's (of the Brewarrina 17) Application for Bail Variation on 12 September, the Supreme Court judge presiding treated the court with contempt by making no attempt to conceal his arrogant and racially biased attitude, an attitude all too often witnessed in courts across this country.
Politically aware and active people constantly exhaust their energies parrying and exposing attitudes, injustices and distortions of the truth in mainstream society.
So it ill behoves members of the left to deliberately distort the truth for their own personal point scoring. In particular, I refer to Doug Hine's article in Green Left Weekly, September 25.
Whilst rightly celebrating the results of the recent Leichhardt Council elections, Doug chose to smear an otherwise sound coverage with a deliberate and blatant distortion of the truth. In his lead paragraph, he states that the proposed ticket of the Sydney Greens collapsed due to "infighting". This is just not true. Being a member of the Sydney Greens, Doug is well aware of the decision not to run a ticket this time. His dismissive attitude toward the Sydney Greens in favour of the individual was unwarranted and had little, if anything, to do with the rest of the article.
Gay Kalnins
Glebe NSW
Human face
Thank you for Rosemary Evans' article "Where the 'human face' survives" in GL #30.
We — myself and a few friends and acquaintances "of little faith" — have been searching for such a sign that our lifetime of emotional adherence to the socialist alternative was not misplaced — not entirely, anyway.
Could you, do you intend to, commission or seek out further articles that get down to the nitty-gritty of why a socialist humanity survives in Cuba yet turned into such unspeakable horrors in Rumania and Albania?
GL would be doing a lot of people an enormous service if you can do this. I imagine very many people are having great difficulty in coming to terms with the revelations emerging still from former "communist" states.
Perhaps Rosemary could give us her opinion for a start. Does Cuba survive because it is so threatened? Is the hot breath of danger on the back of one's neck necessary to maintain a revolutionary fervour?
It seems fitting that, almost as I write this, a couple of British scholarly economists are being interviewed on a new book by one of them, attacking the fallacies of Western economic rationalism. Pity about the price, though.
Thanks again for Ms Evans's article.
With best wishes for your survival.
Jeremiah Deans
Toongabbie NSW
Lenin and Lennon
Recently I saw the life tales of Vladimir Lenin and John Lennon on video.
Now I wonder who has made the greater contribution to and impact on mankind and womankind. Was it Lenin or Lennon?
Lenin was a revolutionary that brought communism to the world whereas Lennon helped bring pop music to the world.
Both were exiled from their homelands for at least a decade and both died comparatively young despite having peace messages for the world.
Both were acclaimed for their social comments and messages. Both tried to use their messages to bring political change in big countries directly. Both knew how to put the message across. Both loved politics.
Both were great dreamers and commanded great attention.
Both started out poor and ended up rich. Both had trouble with USA Presidents and were considered troublesome by USA Administrations.
Capitalists made money out of their works.
Well, which one do you revere and remember most? Lenin or Lennon? Which made a bigger impact on the world? Which means most to you?
David Fletcher
Connells Point NSW
International Viewpoint
Thank you for reprinting Michael Lowy's article "The Pope and the Poor" (GLW #28).
That article originally appeared in the Swiss Trotskyist newspaper La Bresche. Translated into English by International Viewpoint, a fortnightly review of the Fourth International, it appeared in issue 211 of that magazine.
Green Left Weekly readers interested in subscribing to International Viewpoint can do so by sending $35 for a six months or $60 for a year's subscription to Solidarity Publications, PO Box A105, Sydney South, 2000. Cheques payable to Solidarity Publications.
David Fagan
Sydney
[As noted in our last issue, we accidentally omitted the acknowledgment to International Viewpoint. — Editor.]
Disorder in the Nile house?
All NSW Parliament needs now for both houses of Parliament to be in disarray is for the Niles to have marriage troubles and get a divorce.
Can Elaine trust Fred? After all, he has been seen around the Cross. Does she have faith?
Kerrie O'Rourke
Sydney
Employer arrogance
I hate free market economics and the accompanying jingoistic Australian nationalism that goes with it. I'm unemployed like everyone else through no fault of my own. New technology replaced me with the help of the recession we had to have.
Companies and governments shed jobs in the hundreds but create jobs one at a time. The unemployed get the full blame for their unemployment however.
The government deliberately creates the atmosphere for employer arrogance. Employers can employ who they like when they like and treat them how they wish.
Morale is low amongst the unemployed and even lower in the workforce. Competition amongst Australians is so fierce that it is psychologically and sociologically killing morale stone dead and promoting hatred. Alienation is rife.
Everyone hates and is suspicious of everyone else. Happiness is dead.
Australia's crazy free market experiment touted today as great will fail us all miserably and take us decades to recover.
At the end of the free market experiment, Australia will be totally foreign owned and all Australians will be nearly bankrupt. Not even USA will be able to rescue us from evil. It will be an economic and environmental holocaust.
Mary Guy
Sydney
[Edited for length.]