MetaFilter posts tagged with Solidarity

Leszek Kolakowski dies at age 81.

orrnyereg — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:52:17 -0800

Leszek Kolakowski, a distinguished Polish philosopher who critiqued the Communist system and helped inspire the Solidarity movement, passed away last Friday in Oxford, UK. Kolakowski was born in Radom, Poland in 1927. Largely self-taught as a youngster, he received his doctorate from Warsaw University in 1953. In 1950, he came to reject Marxism following a Party-sponsored visit to Moscow. In 1956, his publication What is Socialism? coincided with unrest throughout Poland and was formally banned. In 1966 he was kicked out of the Polish United Workers' Party; lost his professorship in 1968; and went to live in exile. Adam Michnik, one of the founders of Solidarity, called Kolakowski "one of the most prominent creators of Polish culture." Some of the awards he received throughout his life: the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest honor; a MacArther "genius" grant; and the first John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities and Social Sciences from the Library of Congress. One of his key beliefs was that the cultural role of philosophy was “never to let the inquisitive energy of mind go to sleep, never to stop questioning what appears to be obvious and definitive, always to defy the seemingly intact resources of common sense.”

No freedom without Solidarity

orrnyereg — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:12:49 -0800

June 4, 2009 marks 20 years since Poland's first semi-free election under Communism. The election marked the beginning of the end for Polish Communism with its overwhelming mandate for the pro-democracy movement, Solidarity. Today, the world recognizes Poland's accomplishment.

The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class

kliuless — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:22:59 -0800

"The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class" With inequality on the rise [1,2,3], what can be done to combat the "credit crunch"* and restore the link between wages and productivity? [cf.] Afterall, "economic inequality makes democracy repugnant to elites and attractive to the masses. It is a recipe for civil conflict and unstable democracies. But a sizeable middle class is conducive to democracy: civil society is stronger, while the dangers of unbridled populism are reduced." Otherwise, "globalization will fail and capitalism or even humanity itself may come to an end. The real alternative to good globalization is world war. And because of the nature of today's technology, such a war would be apocalyptic in the twenty-first century. Because there is not much time left, the Great Boom, taken as a whole, either is not a bubble at all, or it is the final and greatest bubble in history." --- *when "what the US economy produces is no longer well matched to what Americans consume, and we are structurally unprepared to generate tradables, goods or services, in quantity adequate to cover the difference," is it -- US living standards -- even defensible and/or is another revolution on the way?

Youtube-- SolidarityTV1985

acro — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 18:14:32 -0800

A tale of the Polish resistance, radio astronomers, and the nearly 25 year-old ZX Spectrum computer (youtube; some links open with nice music)(via, previously)

Activist aid convoy defies Israeli "no-drive" zone

mano — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:44:31 -0800

This Saturday, an aid convoy of internationals and civilians plans to make a political statement by risking their own lives to deliver desperately needed aid from Beirut to the south of Lebanon in defiance of the Israeli military. Israeli threats to bomb any moving traffic have put a halt to aid convoys through traditional channels and curtailed the ability of journalists to cover the conflict. But the activists are hoping extensive media coverage of their "non-violent direct action" generates political pressure to protect them as they head for the "no-drive" zone without any guarantee of safety from the Israeli government.

Keystone Kops Nick Numerals

Embryo — Tue, 29 Mar 2005 21:39:18 -0800

"Freedom of speech does not exist, don't try to test it." Anarchist web portals Infoshop.org and flag.blackened.net are under investigation by the FBI. While site operators are under gag order and cannot discuss the specifics of the situation that prompted this action, they confirm that logged IPs have been handed over under threat of arrest and seizure. This is eerily familiar. Just how slippery has this particular slope become?