Re: Australian pinko communists

Patrick Wilken (patrickw@cs.monash.edu.au)
Sat, 21 Aug 1999 18:45:28 +1000

> Mike:
>
>It is more fascinating listening to people in a country whose relative
>standard of living continues to drop rubbishing a country that is inventing
>the future. It is particularly true in our area of Psychology, don't you
>think?

I assume you are somehow suggesting that I have in someway been rubbishing the US. I was not aware that I had done so. I in fact love many aspects of the States and travel there regularly. I spent time in Caltech, Berkeley and Harvard in January. No doubt a large part of the future is being created in North America (though don't forget Europe, and smaller pockets elsewhere). However if I want to criticise I certainly will.

Yes. Academic psychology has fallen on hard times here in Australia. But its because money has been taken away from education by the government. Our "socialist" government no longer wants to spend the same amounts of money on education (and research in general is an even lower priority).

Personally I find it very difficult to argue with the basic fact that the Australian public does not value basic research (at least non-medical) so why should it be forced to fund it? I am all for reduced taxes and therefore reduced spending. Unfortunately only the latter seems to apply.

But you can hardly argue that the government in the States doesn't spend large amounts of money on research. Isn't that a pretty socialist thing to do?

>Pat, do you know what Nazi is an acronym of?
> National SOCIALIST Party.
>That is the name which Hitler chose: he may be a qualified judge, no?

To be honest I wouldn't buy a used car from Hitler. I certainly wouldn't swallow anything he claimed publically about the Nazi Party. Spectemur Agendo: By our actions we shall be known. If you can't distinguish between a fascist and a socialist you are either highly enlightened or not all. Either way this conversation is not going anywhere.

ciao, patrick



Patrick Wilken
Editor:        PSYCHE: An International Journal of Research on Consciousness
Board Member:      The Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness
http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/                 http://www.phil.vt.edu/ASSC/