No
1
COMMENT
The Looking Glass: An Introduction
VOL .
I
TRUTH | STORIES | CULTURE | FUN PUBLISHED OCCASIONALLY
APRIL 16, 2021
Welcome to the first edition of The Looking Glass. The purpose of this publication is to serve as a crucible for (amongst other things) some balanced discussion on truth and the nature of truth. However, the main thrust is fun: the thrill that comes with a balanced and rational contest of ideas and viewpoints. With that, stories and fiction (clearly demarked or obvious) are every bit as welcome. Stranger than fiction, weird facts about this strange sphere we are on are also included. All contributions are considered. What has inspired this publication? I won't go into the full log cabin story at this point, but two things jump to mind. One inspiration is the self-styled “Rabbit Hole Resistors” and their refreshingly sane objectives. The organisation (kindred but not connected to this paper) is touched on in this issue. Also, there’s my encounter at 14 with these Continued overpage
2
THE LOOKING GLASS April 16, 2021
COMMENT (continued from front page)
strange little books by Lewis Carrol. It was the only day I ever spent in bed from sunrise to sunset. I was, and am still, a slow reader, and the book had Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass bound together into one volume. Secondly, since something like the age of eight, for various reasons, I have taken an interest in the publishing world: I love everything there is to love (and much of what there is to hate) about magazines, newspapers, books and - thanks to the modern use of computer screens – the newly invigorated scroll format, alongside its ancient counterpart. As noted, one important cornerstone for this publication is the ongoing review of the ideas of what is Truth. To be blunt – and sure to be explored in these pages – the world seems to have dodged a black hole with the election of Joe Biden as the president of the United States. Of that we’ll say no more for now. Except that, an important feature of current politics is what appears to be happening worldwide to establishment right-wing political parties. More notes on that can be seen in The Evils of Wonderland. Related to ideas of truth, this should be taken seriously. This inaugural issue is, I’m afraid, dense on politics and philosophy. While that is by no means the desired standard for The Looking Glass, no apology is made. Philosophy and Politics frame our lives. At worst, this paper is an indulgent gift to the like-minded, and that could well be you, if you have made it this far. And at the most grandly ambitious, it is some kind of staff or handrail to help us through our bursts of collective human illness, if it cannot be the medicine. Hopefully, it can offer a few optimistic glimpses of the future.
The Looking Glass is currently published on an irregular basis (as content and time permits) by the Community Rags of Aotearoa NZ Trust Project. Submissions and monographs will be accepted, subject to any issues of space, length and quality. At the present time, no payment is made for content, but property will be retained by the original author in all other uses, and contact must be made to that author if republication is sought. Property is held long-term by the publisher only in the format published (and not at the exclusion of the author). Opinions and positions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of CRANZ (TP). Editor: J. D. Newman
Volume I Number 1
April 16, 2021
The Community Rags of Aotearoa New Zealand Trust Project is envisaged as a not-for-profit co-operative of writers, artists, thinkers and readers. The Project aims to support and facilitate the publication of relevant and small-scale community newsletters which are grassroots-based and which allow communities to see themselves locally reflected in print, art and image. The Project holds the lofty ambition of fair pay for fair work, all within an encompassing non-profit structure (with returns to the community or back into the Trust and its projects). Much of this is a work in progress. For more information on the Trust Project: https://ragsandmags.tumblr.com/post/182743017613/about-the-community-ragstrust-project Email: c.rags.co.nz@gmail.com
Volume I
The Evils of Wonderland The Rabbit Hole Resisters have recently been formed. According to their Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/gro ups/1242338166144939), they present: “[a] safe space for those concerned about the rapid spread of conspiracy theories across the globe and locally within our communities. We want to halt the polarising effect this is having by sharing resources, supporting each other and encouraging respectful compassionate dialogue. “As a general guideline this is a place for support. Polarisation is a concern for us and we would like to avoid the tone devolving into an us/them mentality. By all means express frustrations but please avoid resorting to insults and derogatory remarks. “We support people's rights to hold whatever views and beliefs they wish. We also support people’s right to challenge authority and question the narrative handed to them. However, this is a safe space for people frustrated with the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation. With that in mind the groups admins will not tolerate the promotion of unsubstantiated theories in this group.” Nicely put. Conspiracy theories can be appealing. Tales of moon-lizards and Donald Trump’s secret solitary war on paedophile rings are clearly outlandish. But calling it a conspiracy that the powerful get lazy and cut every corner they can, when responsibility and
Number 1
THE LOOKING GLASS April 16, 2021
supervision are alack, is too much like claiming it is a conspiracy for water to run downhill, given half a chance. That isn’t a conspiracy. It’s the nature of reality. It is important to ensure (somehow) that people are dealing in fact rather than fantasy as they hold the powerful to account. Especially when governments sometimes seek to deal in fantasy over fact themselves. Fake news is the name some governments will award the output of news organisations who refuse to toe their line and present their exaggerated or downright deceitful spin as the truth. This is but one of the undesirable features of Trumpism and Boris-ism: what might be called neo-Mussolinism. It’s one aspect of the recent phenomenon of right-leaning governments having a choice, but taking the path which is easier but also dirtier, and ultimately destructive. There is an old established rule in the study of electoral politics that the major parties of two-party systems will generally try and meet each other in the middle of the electoral divide. This way they maximise their vote, having roughly half each of the votes. The trick is to push as far as possible into opponent territory – just enough to seize a parliamentary majority without taking on too much of the other side’s policy – to do so risks alienating your own base on the right or the left, as the case may be. The problem for conservative parties is that their ‘half’ is shrinking relative to the other ‘half’. Power on the right end comes from money and establishment, but there aren’t actually many people there, and thus not many votes.
As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and as what has been known as the middle class shrinks (largely thanks to artificial intelligence) right-leaning parties have to move in to the left in order to avoid permanent opposition. Either that, or do something far more sneaky. The right have discovered a completely different strategy to make a play for a certain subset of the left end or ‘poor’ end (read, ‘deplorable’ end) of the political spectrum, where many votes are ripe for the plucking. Hence, we get to witness the manipulation of this less educated and more ‘ignorant’ base. But the Trump/Republican coalition is pretty shaky, comprising at its roots the gun people, religious nuts, and the Trump cult-followers, and of course the neoliberals. In the U.S., the Republican party, assuming it survives any civil wars between Trump followers and those mulling the alternatives, will sooner or later be making a choice between perpetual opposition or having to move meaningfully to the left. It is hard to imagine that those who have been duped will not start seeing the light. At some point they will notice these rightwing parties aren’t looking out for their interests at all, but holding out on a more rational shuffle to the left. We seriously cannot underestimate the intelligence of these people, however ‘deplorable’ they may seem in their ‘baskets’. These are ordinary every-day street-smart people. And with some justification, they are angry. They are too busy with their daily grind to pay deep attention to politics, they are so worn down that a few simple opiate indulgences take up whatever
3 little free time they have, before tumbling into bed to face the next day. Which suits these political parties right down to the ground, of course. There is cause for optimism. More and more people will get galvanised into making politics their own: supplanting the distant figures in shiny suits who view politics as their ‘specialty’ (and theirs alone, apparently, if Australia’s Scott Morrison’s chastisement of sportsmen venturing political opinions is an indicator), the stage created just for them to advance a glittering career. There is nothing in the constitutions of most democratic nations to prevent a genuine process to allow everyday folk to learn more about politics and to colonise it for themselves: slowly, perhaps, but surely.
Your Inner Philosopher Philosophy often seems dense and terrifying, and it sure can be esoteric and impenetrable. But we can’t deny its importance. And make no mistake, we all do philosophy. Philosophy centres on metaphysics (how we think the universe and everything in it is made up, and the forces and/or the personae – for example, god(s) - behind it all) and epistemology (how we decide what is and what is not the truth). Epistemology is built on metaphysics, since our belief and understanding of the universe, and what underlies it, is going to determine what, how and whether we decide things are factual or not. Religions are built this way too.
4 So is politics. And there is a lot taken on faith in politics. Here is a classic example. People from the political far right might think that taxation is a form of theft. Whereas those from the far left might think that labour (being forced to work for ‘the man’ in order to survive) is a form of slavery, and also thereby, theft. Right here we have two competing definitions for theft which are both logical (each with consistent metaphysical origins) but which also clash with each other, politically – and it seems that both cannot be right. However, both are right, within their own frame of reference, and like ships in the night they glide past each other, unable to see each other’s ‘rightness’. Either brand of thinking on theft is almost certainly a product of the thinker’s circumstances and ‘class culture’ if not their upbringing. These factors help to shape their views on the way the world (and power relationships) work. Strictly within our legal framework, however, neither is correct. The legal system gets to define what theft is, and it does so alone. The system clearly allows both types of ‘theft’ to flourish, and the courts, the police and the army and those in control of it all back both up. And they will do so unless or until it changes as the result of an election, or an act of parliament, or even some kind of revolution. Where revolution is attempted, or occurs, the legal system of the day will end up getting to define theft … and would you believe it? It will do so in the interests of the newly powerful, whoever has won out.
THE LOOKING GLASS April 16, 2021 Everyone’s every-day actions and decisions are based on metaphysics and epistemology, whether they realise it or not. We all act and think based on our beliefs - the way that either we believe or hope things work which seems like an obvious thing to say. That’s philosophy for you. Sometimes, simple things can be put in ways that are necessarily convoluted, since it gives us tools to move on to more complex ideas and scenarios, and make sense of those. Sometimes, philosophy can make things seem crystal clear, or make it clear just how messy things really are. And this makes it all the more worthwhile.
GENERAL NOTICES
What is this newspaper? (if that’s what it is…) Specifically, what does it aim to amount to? What is its goal, purpose or function? A lot of what we are trying to do is laid out in image and substance in what you see in the pages so far. But like any publication, it is evolving, and assuming it doesn’t run aground, the tenth issue will be very different from the first, the 100th from the 10th, the 1000th from the 100th. This paper is for readers and writers. If you have something to say, or an interesting story, if there is some book or event that has inspired you, write about it. We’ll print it. You can choose to support this paper by printing it out to read, and leaving it in public locations. If you do print one off, don’t throw it away! Others may benefit. If you liked it, pass it on to a friend. If you hated it, pass it on to someone you despise.
Volume I GENERAL NOTICES
Book Swaps Is there a book swap in your area? The Community Rags Trust project supports book swaps. Let us know where yours is, and how it operates, and we will include it on our notice boards on our blog, and where space permits in our publications. Books shouldn’t really be mouldering away on shelves! Like money, they should be in circulation. In fact, it is probably as important for books to be in circulation as for money to be. Knowledge is a form of capital. The exchange of ideas is the seat of growth. Books and articles and journals really are a form of conversation (and they also have a quite fetching and quaint bit of art, craft and design involved). Books, like individuals, are part of that giant dialogue with past and present. Set up a book swap in your area, and tell us all about it.
Your Notice Some portion of this publication is given over to general notices every issue, in this General Notices section. To have your notice included to reach a like-minded audience so they can learn about things they are likely to find interesting, let us know: c.rags.nz@gmail.com
Community Rags The Community Rags of Aotearoa New Zealand Trust Project is envisaged as a not-for-profit co-operative of writers, artists, thinkers and readers. The Project aims to support and facilitate community publications. See page 2 for information and contacts.