Monthly Archives: November 2016

Against Lost Cause Communism…

Posted on November 30, 2016 by bsixsmith

It can be hard, even impossible, to make significant achievements in this world without doing harm. Let us not be euphemistic and reference omelettes and eggs. Sometimes you have to kill people to save other people. Still, it is striking … Continue reading →

Posted in Communism, History | Leave a comment

Conservatism and the Status Quo…

Posted on November 28, 2016 by bsixsmith

What has happened to conservatism, Nick Cohen asks, in an age of Trump, Farage, Le Pen et cetera? Cohen makes reasonable points about right wing populism. It is true that populists are often opportunists, pursuing their own ambitions and dismissing … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatism | 2 Comments

Atomised Ethnonationalists…

Posted on November 27, 2016 by bsixsmith

To put whiteness at the core of one’s identity is to imagine oneself as possessing some kind of deep kinship with Slavic miners, Sardinian olive farmers, New York real estate agents, Swedish academics, Texan ranchers, Belgian chocolatiers and Westminster politicians. … Continue reading →

Posted in Identity, Ideology | Leave a comment

On Judging Dead Rulers…

Posted on November 27, 2016 by bsixsmith

Fidel Castro was perhaps the best communist. This is, of course, to damn him with faint praise but it is nonetheless worth noting that he murdered thousands rather than millions of his people and never drove his nation to economic … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics | Leave a comment

In Defence of Offence…

Posted on November 23, 2016 by bsixsmith

Assuming that fact claims that offend you must be false is wrong. Assuming that laws should spare you from offence is wrong. Seeking out that which offends you to indulge your psychic status as a victim is stupid, pathetic and … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

How to Succeed in Journalism…

Posted on November 22, 2016 by bsixsmith

It pains me to think that tens of thousands of young men and women pay tens of thousands of pounds to study journalism. Only one or two of them will ever work in media. Most journalists study PPE at Oxford. … Continue reading →

Posted in Media | Leave a comment

Ideology and Scale…

Posted on November 21, 2016 by bsixsmith

What do Marxists, fascists, Islamists and liberals have in common? This is not some cheap joke. There is one thing. They all exaggerate the scale of people’s loyalties, to their class, their race, their faith and, well, their fellow man; … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Conservatism, Ideology | 4 Comments

How Abnormal Journalists Normalise Abnormal Ideologues…

Posted on November 21, 2016 by bsixsmith

It has struck me there is, contrary to what I suggested in a previous post, an element of “normalisation” that goes on when mainstream journalists interview radical right wing figures. Journalists are abnormally sensitive to expressions of nationalism or traditionalism, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ideology, Media | 2 Comments

Winter…

Posted on November 13, 2016 by bsixsmith

I enjoyed a break from politics this weekend in the Beskid Mountains. This blog needs a break from it as well.

Posted in Personal, Poland | Leave a comment

On Normalisation…

Posted on November 13, 2016 by bsixsmith

Progressives delude themselves into believing that the media have “normalised” nationalist politicians. Andrew Marr, for example, is being attacked for interviewing Marine Le Pen. It is in fact world events that have “normalised” such a politician: once abnormal problems have … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe | Leave a comment