George Orwell's 1984 and the Reshelving ministry.
A couple of days ago, BoingBoing featured a group on Flickr called "Ministry of Reshelving"
I found the project very amusing, even going as far as to provide a French translation of the working documents for the project.
What I also found interesting though, is the ensuing critical discussion on Chris Applegate's blog.
My first impression of the project is that it is the mix of an artistic project and a prank. Where Chris is mistaken is that he's assuming the aim of the project is to implement some change in America. While I don't presume to know the motivations of the project's originators, I don't think they had delusions of grandeur when they initiated this prank.
More to the point, Chris is assuming that change is possible through political means, and he's saying several times that the second election of Bush is one of the causes of the present state of affairs. I'd like to postulate that it doesn't really matter. The current situation is a result of choices of society. As long as there is a group of people that is isolated from the consequence of their choices, and that this group is making decisions for all of us, we have to assume their guiding principles will take into account their interest first, to the detriment of the rest of the world if the groups respective interests are divergent.
Is anybody really convinced that things would change drastically if John Kerry had been elected instead of the shrub?
Am I the only one that can't avoid thinking that should even Hillary Klingon be elected, nothing more than cosmetic changes will happen in the world?
Hoping that things will change by changing the politicians in charge is nothing more that wishful thinking.
We've been alterning political sides in France (and in Europe in general) for years and years, having presidents from the right while their cabinet was from the left, or the opposite, and everything keeps going downhill.
War is a necessity in the type of Kapitalist/Demokratic society being thrust upon us. That fact alone should lead us to question the acceptance of that model, but the debate is being carefully avoided...
I found the project very amusing, even going as far as to provide a French translation of the working documents for the project.
What I also found interesting though, is the ensuing critical discussion on Chris Applegate's blog.
My first impression of the project is that it is the mix of an artistic project and a prank. Where Chris is mistaken is that he's assuming the aim of the project is to implement some change in America. While I don't presume to know the motivations of the project's originators, I don't think they had delusions of grandeur when they initiated this prank.
More to the point, Chris is assuming that change is possible through political means, and he's saying several times that the second election of Bush is one of the causes of the present state of affairs. I'd like to postulate that it doesn't really matter. The current situation is a result of choices of society. As long as there is a group of people that is isolated from the consequence of their choices, and that this group is making decisions for all of us, we have to assume their guiding principles will take into account their interest first, to the detriment of the rest of the world if the groups respective interests are divergent.
Is anybody really convinced that things would change drastically if John Kerry had been elected instead of the shrub?
Am I the only one that can't avoid thinking that should even Hillary Klingon be elected, nothing more than cosmetic changes will happen in the world?
Hoping that things will change by changing the politicians in charge is nothing more that wishful thinking.
We've been alterning political sides in France (and in Europe in general) for years and years, having presidents from the right while their cabinet was from the left, or the opposite, and everything keeps going downhill.
War is a necessity in the type of Kapitalist/Demokratic society being thrust upon us. That fact alone should lead us to question the acceptance of that model, but the debate is being carefully avoided...
posted by ParaScubaSailor | 10:03 am
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