It's why I'm inclined towards distributism (Incidentally, before distributism, I labelled this sort of unorthodox view 'Jeffersonian socialism') - property is key to democracy, but rather than excluding the proletarianised (in the Roman sense), it's better for the stakes in the country, especially the land, to be widely owned. Likewise, aristocracy, if it is to really mean 'rule of the best', should be in the universal sense that Stapledon means - a rule of the best of everyone, rather than merely a synonym for oligarchy.
Wonderful video, one related book that comes to mind is the Managerial Revolution. While there are many issues arising in our modern world, I feel you’ve hit near the jugular with this video, I’ll certainly give those 2 books a read.
I would recommend a book by Ian Dunt, titled “how Westminster works… And why it doesn’t”. It puts into succinct detail the dynamics and the structural issues behind the dysfunction in UK politics. Politicians “I’ve told what to think by the party, and spend their tenures in short term bursts of activity, not achievement, and mostly in putting out fires and reacting… Not deliberate policy making.” There are many reasons, but the political structures, history, incentive, and the very architecture of number 10 contributes to this. It is a book I definitely did not regret buying. I hope to hear your thoughts on it, perhaps in another video?
I wonder what George Stapledon would have made of the new metropolitan boroughs introduced in 1974. We used to have an urban district council on which my father served as a councillor. This was then subsumed into a metropolitan borough council and councillors no longer sit in council chambers in our local town, but in the larger town with a population of a million or more. Apparently service provision is more efficient done at scale. Though the ideal of people being engaged with their local community has been lost to some extent.
Also, regarding the property qualification, that is a fundamental point regarding the evolution of democracy and its issues in our age. I fear that we are slowly moving towards Caesarism, however long that may take, but if there is to be any holdout of self governance, it is in the ideas put forth by people such as Stapleton.
I've shared this with an Imam due to the insight into the dynamic between personal character and national leadership. I hope your audience grows in all directions!
thank you for providing this young American stranded in the great monoculture seas of corn and hog barns a consistent source of agrarian socialist radicalization
Here in Minnesota, the Democratic Party is officially the "Democratic Farmer-Labor Party", consisting largely of people who sneer down at farmers and workers. Brilliant video.
I really liked the point that politicians are all raised in the same schools and play politician with each other until they're old enough to pick which party they will govern over. Here in Sweden I feel like I've seen it first hand, where a lot of the leading figures in any party left of the nationalists basically all go to a secondry school called Södra Latin. And if not, then one of the other big three (now including the nationalists): norra real, östra real and Kungsholmen, meaning they all socialise and mix and decide how they want society to look essentially together before they boost each other up, first within the youth federations and then the actual parties, starting out with administrative roles and kissing their way up toward more showy positions. And this is even before university In my mind this calls for a complete remake of the political system What aided Sweden's democracy was the wave of revolutionary power that swept Europe during the war years in the 1900's. I don't think the same masse-politik factors exist at the moment, or at least we shouldn't rely on them Farmers make up a huge force in modern politics. Peasant revolts define the early modern era and are still relevant outside of "the west". They made up the base for toppling governments in Russia, for example, and were undermined as backwards plebs by those elites as well (both before and during) Being raised in a city I grew up undermining the importance of where food came but I think we've all seen how important it is in recent years I'm really interested in reading these authors now, see more where they're coming from and what they mean. I do believe that the best thing for us in Sweden is to abolish land ownership, and I agree with Stapledon that local politics is the foundation for building democracy and peace and freedom Thanks for the video!
@amirmichaelroyer i mean basically all of history before feudal peasantry and even in some parts beyond that into the modern age says otherwise These days we have creative commons, but in the past holding land in commons was a way for peasantry to pasture livestock and basically do economic activity that was beyond the reaches of feudal lords. Decision making would be done informally, by people you knew for people you knew, so if there was a bully there was always a way to get accountability But these lands got colonised in the same way that the new world eventually would be. The book worth reading is Elinor Ostrom's "Governing the Commons" and the lecture worth listening to is David Graeber's "Debt, Service, and the origins of Capitalism" here on RUclips. The cultures worth comparing the lives of are any pastoral cultures, like the Ingush, the evenk etc, or any forest Mesolithic populations in the Amazon/on Papua etc
@jasonlongsworth4036 I agree that the common ownership of part of the land, before the Industrial Revolution, did much benefit communal ties, but I think that in addition to that some element of land ownership is beneficial for a society. A certain balance between communalism and individualism. But I’ll check out that book.
Class as per, you deserve to be way bigger. Keep at it, influence a generation, maybe even clip yourself (from your existing videos) and put it on shorts to reach the youth. All the best 🧡
Good stuff. So many points to discuss l dont know where to start! Living and working in deepest Lincolnshire with a long family history in agriculture, albeit on the labouring side and as a socialist, Stapletons beliefs make sense and of course, citing Disraeli, ties it at all in with the municipal socialism of the late 19th century. Socialism is not inimical to British farming. Corporate capitalism is.
Great video! I was yearning for a more historical piece. One thing i found extremely interesting is when you said that the government has to design the average man. In a sense that's what facists around the world did. Hitler wanted the arian race, António Salazar's ideal was: "Deus, Familia, Pátria" which translates to God, Family and Patriotism. In the case of Salazar it wasn't necessarily a bad design but its interesting how this type of vision is used by many dictators around the world. In a way that might be how they got so easily into power. On a completely unrelated note. Im halfway thru the book on biodinamic agriculture by Rudolf Steiner. It's a hard read for me as Steiner is a bit of a mysticist. He speaks a whole lot about how distant planets effect specific elements on our planet, and speaks a ton about the spiritual world which we have become blind to. He believes that chemical elements are living spirtual creatures with verying diferent qualities that effect plants in diferent ways. He loves his spiritual science which is his antroposophy movement. But i would say this despite his spiritual jargan, most if not all the things he says are true. im not sure if it is because he has a strong knowledge of actual science or if he truly knows something we don't. Until now the book dicusses very little about actual farming practices and it is mostly a philosophy book on farming. Just to give a little snipped of one of the less mistical paragraphs of his: "(...) it is not at all a bad thing if he which has farming to do can meditate. He thereby makes himself receptive to the revelations of nitrogen.(...)we suddenly begin to know all kinds of things(...). All kinds of secrets that prevail in farm and farmyard - we suddenly begin to know them." Here is a few more quotes: i found of relevance to understand his view point on actual farming: "(...) you will be able to do more, the more you restrict yourself in regard to the area of land which you begin to cultivate in our ways." "You can hardly be a farmer nowadays without using machines" "It is no longer as it was fifty or forty years ago. (...) You could learn far more from the peasant than in university(...)you lived with the peasents in the country, and when those people came along (...), introducing the socialist Movement of To-day, they were only the eccentricities of life." ( i think by socialists he means the nazis as he lived in germany) He did seem to have a disdain for politics and science done by non farmers. In a way i feel as thought what he thinks of spirituality is rather the pratical knowledge the farmer has of his own land. The only farming practice that i found as of yet is where he takes a several cow horns stuffs them with manure incases them with pig entrails and burries them for a year. Then after digging them up they stir the contents of one horn in half a buckrt full of water and than they would spray this mixture on the fields has to be additional fertilization on top of manuring. He shrouds this practice in a ton of misticism but i do believe it has an actual good impact has it is similar in way to what a compost tea does. It most likely multiplicates the micro biology of the soil in the water content and then when sprayed this microbiology would live in the humus of the soil creating more nutrients for the plants to take advantage of. He does warn agaisnt using to much of this mixture as it could have adverse effects. The example he gives is that potatoes would grow very vividly but produce mostly leaves and less of the part that we eat. Personally i believe this to be to much work specially when in modern organic farming there are other easier methods that produce the same results. Thank you for your video has it always interesting to learn more about the history of our practice.
Thanks for the musings on Steiner! I certainly agree there is a value in the spiritual connection-to-nature side of farming, as there is value in the wisdom of cultivators (Albert Howard's point) so there is definitely some merit in this style of thinking. Personally I think stapledon lifts the good bits and makes it fit with science and politics in a coherent way which is why I like him. Do let us know what else you find in the book!
As an Ottomanaboo I weep thinking about the potential a long lasting British-Ottoman alliance could have had and I wake up every day cursing Gladstone. In this house we don't say the name Disraeli without prefacing it with "The Right Honorable".
question: where could one acquire these books? "Disraeli and The New Age" by George Stapledon and "alternative to death the relationship between soil family and Community" by Lord Limington?
I watched this video with great interest, and I genuinely find myself agreeing with most of what you explained in the video despite having some slight disagreements here and there. What I found myself particularly agreeable was your video's paragraph about local patriotism. I live in a relatively big city with little connection to rural communities but also little connection to my own town. The town I live in has many degrading neighborhoods and this is reflected also in the behaviours of the people who live there, and we'd benefit more if we built politics on territorial representation rather than a system based on party lines. A socialist like Stapledon taking inspiration from a conservative like Disraeli is something I find very positive about because, while I wouldn't call myself a Socialist, I believe that socialism NEEDS to be socially conservative to function. Instead of promoting class struggle, harmony among all classes of the nation should be the goal of politics. After all workers who vote for a labour oriented party do so primarily for the sake of fair pay and decent working conditions, because they have families to feed at home. This doesn't make them opposed to the traditions of their land, they actually want to have both (social traditions and good working conditions), and yet all parties only promise one of the two and deliver neither.
Hey Oli, thanks for another thought provoking video. I’m a bit confused on how your points on the property qualification fit in with socialism at the national scale. If property in the UK is distributed unequally, would reinstating a property qualification disenfranchise those without property? Would such a qualification be instated before a redistribution of property? I am caught up on this series and always look forward to hearing your perspective. Happy new year!
I'm not suggesting we reintroduce the property qualification (although I take Stapledon's point about the merits of being connected to a farm). My point was more that our system is designed for the property qualification and not popular democracy, so we should have a new system for popular democracy. What this should be is beyond my paygrade but a more representative, less adversarial system would break the stranglehold of the two main parties I think
Hi, I'm a politics and society teacher in Ireland and grew up a dairy farm. There are two theorists on the course that I must teach, Vandana Shiva and Fr Sean Mcdonagh. Both of whom rail against modern agriculture and the damage it does to our ecosystem. I have huge concerns about climate change but I also feel the question is never asked "and what happens if billions die without fertiliser"?. Who is a good person to teach about in terms of defending modern agriculture without denying global warming or being alt right?
Hi! Historically figures like John Boyd Orr emphasise the political need for food. Today there seem to be very few defenders of the status quo (a void I intend to fill). Climate scientist Myles Allen's thinking allows food production within a net zero framework but as a scientist he doesn't really set out a policy framework. Sorry I can't be of more help but you identify a massive problem that will become increasingly apparent as the effects of climate change grip the food system
Those polite English protests will show us an Oli in 2030, who no longer lives on a farm, and will be talking about "going back". By 2040, we'll hear about Oli arming himself and his family, and teaching his kids to "fight back". And perhaps by 2050 or 2060, we'll get live updates from the battlefield. The longer you take to fix corruption, the worse it will be.
Noone likes standing in a queue, we just do it naturaly from mimicking other people before us. It's bascially anarchy as nonone is governing the queue other than those in the queue.
Polish gent pointed out the inefficiency of queues. It is actually quicker for people to mill about and trust in the good nature of the people to insure no one gets left behind.
In reference to the section no ideology, only power, you simply must watch Yes Minister and the recent interviews with Dominic Cummings on this subject.
Well done, young man I think you’re right on track. The question is is how do we develop this new aristocracy to govern us and how do we create new synthetic communities that are based on local patriotism? Perhaps the answer lies in the degradation of the existing financial system? If we can inspire those people with more money than they know what to do with to create new institutions tied to the land to help facilitate transition to local sustainable small farming communities and get beyond the industrial model that is heavily subsidized in every way and get beyond animal farming back towards a new system of farming where in animals are valued as partners in environmental restoration we can move in that direction. There are many young people, who realize the world were leaving them is broken and we need to think outside of the box and incorporate new systems from the ground up social systems as well as new farming systems. Where is the money gonna come from? Certainly not from the broken political system so if we can give wealthy people a form of status they can’t achieve within the existing system as heroes in environmental restoration. Perhaps we have a chance to move the needle in the right direction. Keep up the good work.
Quote of the day ✨️ The DIALECTICS of SPACE ‘We can only live in the present; the past has gone, and the future has not yet arrived’ “We learn from the past and develop ideas for the future, but we can only live in the present” Colin and Clive Conversations in the Kitchen (2018) Towards a Theory of Social Reality S.A.R.M. • SUBJECTIVITY • ACTIVITIES • RELATIONSHIPS • MEANS Colin and Clive Burgess 2014-2024
Distributism Has been a considerate concept of another 3rd way. For about 80years, distributism has wained, it could return. But we must atleast, learn, of what it actually wants.
Lessons from history to take heed of in Merry Ol' America, too... and thus, will be gleefully ignored by the powers-what-is here as well. But, it's a nice thought all the same. 🙂
I have this on while I'm digetsing my dinner. Stapledon, no doubt, would be disappointed but not surprised. Edit: You've used "anarchy" a couple of times through this essay but I'm not entirely certain that's the best fit in any of the contexts here. "Dysfunction" or "disorder" may be more appropriate. Anarchy refers to a community without government. However, the term is frequently used disparagingly, to dismiss anarchy out of hand as a possible means of living in society. As humans we lived in anarchic groupings until someone decided they wanted to be head honcho and they had enough brawn or ruthlessness to keep themselves at the top. You're better than that. Don't use these lazy tropes.
Should all people constrain their use of the highly-common-for-centuriess word "Anarchy" because some pedophiles in the 19th Century adopted it as a ideological label
Go use the aristotles defintiion, not post enlightenment , re-rationalisations. Afterall he was the one that coined these terms. . and yes, all the terms have been warped with the passage of 2000+years of time.
@@rat_king- here I go using Aristotle's definition:- but first: Surely Aristotle political writing, particularly "Politics", was a continuation of an older Athenian philosophy which started well before his time - writers like Herodotus and Thucydides were already using terms like "democracy" and "anarchy" well before. If I were to define my own politics in Athenian terms, I would have to claim myself a Cynic, of the style of Diogenes of Sinope ( with a splash of the Epicurean). The ancient Greek word anomia (ἀνομία) meaning "lawlessness" or "without law" - from 'a-' (without) and 'nomos' (law/custom), which is how the word anarchy is often (mis)used in modernity. "Anarchy" from the Greek "anarchia" (ἀναρχία) - from 'an-' (without) and 'archos' (ruler/authority) - literally meaning "without rulers" or "without authority." The root 'arch-' specifically relates to leadership or rule, as seen in words like "monarch" (single ruler) or "hierarchy" (rule by rank). In ancient Greek texts, anarchia was used to describe the absence of a leader or formal authority, although admittedly often with negative connotations because of the context of their society. Anomia was used specifically to describe a breakdown of social order or lack of adherence to law and custom, both political and religious. You use the words "warping" and "re-rationalizing" but that don't really do justice to the contributions of political thinkers over the centuries. Actively engaging with historical concepts while adapting political theory to address new social and technological realities seems like useful progress to me. Evolution in political philosophy reflects the lessons of history as long as we maintain or invent terms that convey the same meanings to everyone. Language and ideas naturally develop over time, For the most part, that's no bad thing. If anything, it shows how enduring and adaptable these core political concepts are and gives us the tools to improve the future, sometimes by returning to the past, or at very least learning from it.
You argue that ideologically motivated politicians are better than pure power motivated politicians, and I would agree with you, but I want to play devil's advocate. So would it be better if Steve Reed was ideologically anti-farming? If rather than being a politician looking to advance his career and this being the route to doing that, he was instead ideologically anti-farmer. Would it be better if he believed that the (small c) conservativism that permeates farming culture was bad for the overall culture of the nation and that in order for a more dynamic culture to take root, that farmers had to be eliminated? Just something to think about.
I have thought of this before. Lots of people in the labour party are ideologically opposed to farming and it is a miracle that DEFRA has remained the bottom of the ministerial ladder and someone passionate about deconstructing the food supply hasn't taken over. I guess those people might not win votes so the party acts against them. A politician who does nothing would be preferable to one who destroys things
The way you use the term "anarchy" is inaccurate. The word chaos would be more appropriate for the concept that you are describing. Anarchism is an idea that state that hierarchy and domination is ethically wrong and should be abolished.
This was a very unexpected video for me to be recommended. However several of the ideas sum up very well on why I personally am an Anarchist. I came to the conclusion that it is ultimately impossible to insure that a political class can be kept self-sacrificing. Someone who is self-serving will eventually gain some position of power and then use that power to entrench themselves or gain more. Which is why I believe in eliminating these positions where possible and if not possible reforming them to entirely prevent any shenanigans such as by allowing recall votes for delegates.
Funny you should bring up Wallace and grommit, as that show is actually a product of the britsh social-democrat welfare state, as many of the artists were taught in subsidized universities where they were free to create.
29:30 So are you advocating for popular election to the House of Lords since you want to remove hereditary peers & don't support political cronyism either
@jasonlongsworth4036 The US upper chamber of the senate was originally chosen by state legislatures until the 17th Amendment changed it to popular vote. I'm not certain what the equivalent would be in the UK
advocating for the property qualification to vote is insane 😂 vote = accountability. Wanting your political class to not be accountable to those not able to afford property is a recipe for those in our ignoring the problems of those without property, and presumably shrinking the land owning class.
No, because it has no definition nor an identity of itself, and can only be defined when compared to extremes, which can shift further on one side than the other. Twelverism (wilayat of the 12 Divinely Appointed ones) is the best ideology and governing system, because it is from God.
@@موسى_7 isn't that a Shia Muslim idea that the different Islamic communities themselves debate against. How can it be a universal system when most people don't follow Islam itself ?
Very good! I'm not sure how many times I can watch this but I will give a second viewing. Politics in the UK are very distressing right now I agree. But as we are now again a country at war then I guess the food security issue and our farmers are more important than they give them credit for. The fact that our elected representatives are often so inadequate as human beings with no ethics is distressing for many of us. But don't talk about Gaza - the BBC has been shown to be a propaganda organisation supporting Zionist colonialist aggression along with so many of our compromised politicians.
Class as per, you deserve to be way bigger. Keep at it, influence a generation, maybe even clip yourself (from your existing videos) and put it on shorts to reach the youth. All the best 🧡
It's why I'm inclined towards distributism (Incidentally, before distributism, I labelled this sort of unorthodox view 'Jeffersonian socialism') - property is key to democracy, but rather than excluding the proletarianised (in the Roman sense), it's better for the stakes in the country, especially the land, to be widely owned. Likewise, aristocracy, if it is to really mean 'rule of the best', should be in the universal sense that Stapledon means - a rule of the best of everyone, rather than merely a synonym for oligarchy.
Wonderful video, one related book that comes to mind is the Managerial Revolution. While there are many issues arising in our modern world, I feel you’ve hit near the jugular with this video, I’ll certainly give those 2 books a read.
I would recommend a book by Ian Dunt, titled “how Westminster works… And why it doesn’t”.
It puts into succinct detail the dynamics and the structural issues behind the dysfunction in UK politics. Politicians “I’ve told what to think by the party, and spend their tenures in short term bursts of activity, not achievement, and mostly in putting out fires and reacting… Not deliberate policy making.”
There are many reasons, but the political structures, history, incentive, and the very architecture of number 10 contributes to this.
It is a book I definitely did not regret buying. I hope to hear your thoughts on it, perhaps in another video?
I wonder what George Stapledon would have made of the new metropolitan boroughs introduced in 1974. We used to have an urban district council on which my father served as a councillor. This was then subsumed into a metropolitan borough council and councillors no longer sit in council chambers in our local town, but in the larger town with a population of a million or more. Apparently service provision is more efficient done at scale. Though the ideal of people being engaged with their local community has been lost to some extent.
Also, regarding the property qualification, that is a fundamental point regarding the evolution of democracy and its issues in our age. I fear that we are slowly moving towards Caesarism, however long that may take, but if there is to be any holdout of self governance, it is in the ideas put forth by people such as Stapleton.
Spot on, yet again! Well done, you need a spot on the BBC just before the news at 10.
I've shared this with an Imam due to the insight into the dynamic between personal character and national leadership. I hope your audience grows in all directions!
The man on the talking box is telling me the talking box is bad for me again
thank you for providing this young American stranded in the great monoculture seas of corn and hog barns a consistent source of agrarian socialist radicalization
Here in Minnesota, the Democratic Party is officially the "Democratic Farmer-Labor Party", consisting largely of people who sneer down at farmers and workers. Brilliant video.
I really liked the point that politicians are all raised in the same schools and play politician with each other until they're old enough to pick which party they will govern over. Here in Sweden I feel like I've seen it first hand, where a lot of the leading figures in any party left of the nationalists basically all go to a secondry school called Södra Latin. And if not, then one of the other big three (now including the nationalists): norra real, östra real and Kungsholmen, meaning they all socialise and mix and decide how they want society to look essentially together before they boost each other up, first within the youth federations and then the actual parties, starting out with administrative roles and kissing their way up toward more showy positions. And this is even before university
In my mind this calls for a complete remake of the political system
What aided Sweden's democracy was the wave of revolutionary power that swept Europe during the war years in the 1900's. I don't think the same masse-politik factors exist at the moment, or at least we shouldn't rely on them
Farmers make up a huge force in modern politics. Peasant revolts define the early modern era and are still relevant outside of "the west". They made up the base for toppling governments in Russia, for example, and were undermined as backwards plebs by those elites as well (both before and during)
Being raised in a city I grew up undermining the importance of where food came but I think we've all seen how important it is in recent years
I'm really interested in reading these authors now, see more where they're coming from and what they mean. I do believe that the best thing for us in Sweden is to abolish land ownership, and I agree with Stapledon that local politics is the foundation for building democracy and peace and freedom
Thanks for the video!
Why abolish land ownership? Isn’t that where at least part of the basis of personal responsibility and community arise from?
@amirmichaelroyer i mean basically all of history before feudal peasantry and even in some parts beyond that into the modern age says otherwise
These days we have creative commons, but in the past holding land in commons was a way for peasantry to pasture livestock and basically do economic activity that was beyond the reaches of feudal lords. Decision making would be done informally, by people you knew for people you knew, so if there was a bully there was always a way to get accountability
But these lands got colonised in the same way that the new world eventually would be. The book worth reading is Elinor Ostrom's "Governing the Commons" and the lecture worth listening to is David Graeber's "Debt, Service, and the origins of Capitalism" here on RUclips. The cultures worth comparing the lives of are any pastoral cultures, like the Ingush, the evenk etc, or any forest Mesolithic populations in the Amazon/on Papua etc
@jasonlongsworth4036 I agree that the common ownership of part of the land, before the Industrial Revolution, did much benefit communal ties, but I think that in addition to that some element of land ownership is beneficial for a society. A certain balance between communalism and individualism. But I’ll check out that book.
Class as per, you deserve to be way bigger. Keep at it, influence a generation, maybe even clip yourself (from your existing videos) and put it on shorts to reach the youth. All the best 🧡
Thanks for more amazing content, so rare to hear this perspective, keep up the good work!
Hi really enjoy your talks. Gives one something to ruminate upon on the tractor.😊
Good stuff. So many points to discuss l dont know where to start! Living and working in deepest Lincolnshire with a long family history in agriculture, albeit on the labouring side and as a socialist, Stapletons beliefs make sense and of course, citing Disraeli, ties it at all in with the municipal socialism of the late 19th century. Socialism is not inimical to British farming. Corporate capitalism is.
Enjoy the channel. Keep up the good work!
Thank you, I'm finding this so interesting, not a subject I know much about. You have the balance perfect, I can just keep up!
Excellent video. Very thought provoking. Many thanks.
Great video! I was yearning for a more historical piece.
One thing i found extremely interesting is when you said that the government has to design the average man. In a sense that's what facists around the world did. Hitler wanted the arian race, António Salazar's ideal was: "Deus, Familia, Pátria" which translates to God, Family and Patriotism. In the case of Salazar it wasn't necessarily a bad design but its interesting how this type of vision is used by many dictators around the world. In a way that might be how they got so easily into power.
On a completely unrelated note. Im halfway thru the book on biodinamic agriculture by Rudolf Steiner. It's a hard read for me as Steiner is a bit of a mysticist. He speaks a whole lot about how distant planets effect specific elements on our planet, and speaks a ton about the spiritual world which we have become blind to. He believes that chemical elements are living spirtual creatures with verying diferent qualities that effect plants in diferent ways. He loves his spiritual science which is his antroposophy movement. But i would say this despite his spiritual jargan, most if not all the things he says are true. im not sure if it is because he has a strong knowledge of actual science or if he truly knows something we don't. Until now the book dicusses very little about actual farming practices and it is mostly a philosophy book on farming. Just to give a little snipped of one of the less mistical paragraphs of his:
"(...) it is not at all a bad thing if he which has farming to do can meditate. He thereby makes himself receptive to the revelations of nitrogen.(...)we suddenly begin to know all kinds of things(...). All kinds of secrets that prevail in farm and farmyard - we suddenly begin to know them."
Here is a few more quotes: i found of relevance to understand his view point on actual farming:
"(...) you will be able to do more, the more you restrict yourself in regard to the area of land which you begin to cultivate in our ways."
"You can hardly be a farmer nowadays without using machines"
"It is no longer as it was fifty or forty years ago. (...) You could learn far more from the peasant than in university(...)you lived with the peasents in the country, and when those people came along (...), introducing the socialist Movement of To-day, they were only the eccentricities of life." ( i think by socialists he means the nazis as he lived in germany)
He did seem to have a disdain for politics and science done by non farmers. In a way i feel as thought what he thinks of spirituality is rather the pratical knowledge the farmer has of his own land.
The only farming practice that i found as of yet is where he takes a several cow horns stuffs them with manure incases them with pig entrails and burries them for a year. Then after digging them up they stir the contents of one horn in half a buckrt full of water and than they would spray this mixture on the fields has to be additional fertilization on top of manuring. He shrouds this practice in a ton of misticism but i do believe it has an actual good impact has it is similar in way to what a compost tea does. It most likely multiplicates the micro biology of the soil in the water content and then when sprayed this microbiology would live in the humus of the soil creating more nutrients for the plants to take advantage of. He does warn agaisnt using to much of this mixture as it could have adverse effects. The example he gives is that potatoes would grow very vividly but produce mostly leaves and less of the part that we eat.
Personally i believe this to be to much work specially when in modern organic farming there are other easier methods that produce the same results.
Thank you for your video has it always interesting to learn more about the history of our practice.
Thanks for the musings on Steiner! I certainly agree there is a value in the spiritual connection-to-nature side of farming, as there is value in the wisdom of cultivators (Albert Howard's point) so there is definitely some merit in this style of thinking. Personally I think stapledon lifts the good bits and makes it fit with science and politics in a coherent way which is why I like him. Do let us know what else you find in the book!
As an Ottomanaboo I weep thinking about the potential a long lasting British-Ottoman alliance could have had and I wake up every day cursing Gladstone. In this house we don't say the name Disraeli without prefacing it with "The Right Honorable".
question: where could one acquire these books? "Disraeli and The New Age" by George Stapledon and "alternative to death the relationship between soil family and Community" by Lord Limington?
I got mine on Ebay. They're quite rare but a good university library should have them
@@farmingexplained thank you
I watched this video with great interest, and I genuinely find myself agreeing with most of what you explained in the video despite having some slight disagreements here and there.
What I found myself particularly agreeable was your video's paragraph about local patriotism. I live in a relatively big city with little connection to rural communities but also little connection to my own town. The town I live in has many degrading neighborhoods and this is reflected also in the behaviours of the people who live there, and we'd benefit more if we built politics on territorial representation rather than a system based on party lines.
A socialist like Stapledon taking inspiration from a conservative like Disraeli is something I find very positive about because, while I wouldn't call myself a Socialist, I believe that socialism NEEDS to be socially conservative to function. Instead of promoting class struggle, harmony among all classes of the nation should be the goal of politics. After all workers who vote for a labour oriented party do so primarily for the sake of fair pay and decent working conditions, because they have families to feed at home. This doesn't make them opposed to the traditions of their land, they actually want to have both (social traditions and good working conditions), and yet all parties only promise one of the two and deliver neither.
Hey Oli, thanks for another thought provoking video. I’m a bit confused on how your points on the property qualification fit in with socialism at the national scale.
If property in the UK is distributed unequally, would reinstating a property qualification disenfranchise those without property? Would such a qualification be instated before a redistribution of property?
I am caught up on this series and always look forward to hearing your perspective. Happy new year!
I'm not suggesting we reintroduce the property qualification (although I take Stapledon's point about the merits of being connected to a farm). My point was more that our system is designed for the property qualification and not popular democracy, so we should have a new system for popular democracy. What this should be is beyond my paygrade but a more representative, less adversarial system would break the stranglehold of the two main parties I think
@@farmingexplained Are you familiar with Abdullah Ocalan's theories about socialist participatory democracy?
A brutal, articulate and wonderful denunciation of modern Politicians in this episode Oli. Thank you.
Hi, I'm a politics and society teacher in Ireland and grew up a dairy farm. There are two theorists on the course that I must teach, Vandana Shiva and Fr Sean Mcdonagh. Both of whom rail against modern agriculture and the damage it does to our ecosystem.
I have huge concerns about climate change but I also feel the question is never asked "and what happens if billions die without fertiliser"?.
Who is a good person to teach about in terms of defending modern agriculture without denying global warming or being alt right?
Hi! Historically figures like John Boyd Orr emphasise the political need for food. Today there seem to be very few defenders of the status quo (a void I intend to fill). Climate scientist Myles Allen's thinking allows food production within a net zero framework but as a scientist he doesn't really set out a policy framework. Sorry I can't be of more help but you identify a massive problem that will become increasingly apparent as the effects of climate change grip the food system
Young man, I direct you to the Garland Nixon’s channel and especially his interviews with Joti Brar.
Those polite English protests will show us an Oli in 2030, who no longer lives on a farm, and will be talking about "going back". By 2040, we'll hear about Oli arming himself and his family, and teaching his kids to "fight back". And perhaps by 2050 or 2060, we'll get live updates from the battlefield.
The longer you take to fix corruption, the worse it will be.
The subway surfer 😂😂 well done mate!
Noone likes standing in a queue, we just do it naturaly from mimicking other people before us. It's bascially anarchy as nonone is governing the queue other than those in the queue.
A very beautiful way of describing a queue. It is very much anarchy, in that we are communally abiding by (and maintaining) the mutually agreed rules.
Polish gent pointed out the inefficiency of queues. It is actually quicker for people to mill about and trust in the good nature of the people to insure no one gets left behind.
I was mid bite of my afternoon tea when he said "I hope you're not watching this during your dinner". I feel terribly called out 😂
In reference to the section no ideology, only power, you simply must watch Yes Minister and the recent interviews with Dominic Cummings on this subject.
good video, i gotta get into reading
Well done, young man I think you’re right on track. The question is is how do we develop this new aristocracy to govern us and how do we create new synthetic communities that are based on local patriotism? Perhaps the answer lies in the degradation of the existing financial system? If we can inspire those people with more money than they know what to do with to create new institutions tied to the land to help facilitate transition to local sustainable small farming communities and get beyond the industrial model that is heavily subsidized in every way and get beyond animal farming back towards a new system of farming where in animals are valued as partners in environmental restoration we can move in that direction. There are many young people, who realize the world were leaving them is broken and we need to think outside of the box and incorporate new systems from the ground up social systems as well as new farming systems. Where is the money gonna come from? Certainly not from the broken political system so if we can give wealthy people a form of status they can’t achieve within the existing system as heroes in environmental restoration. Perhaps we have a chance to move the needle in the right direction. Keep up the good work.
Quote of the day ✨️
The DIALECTICS of SPACE
‘We can only live in the present; the past has gone, and the future has not yet arrived’
“We learn from the past and develop ideas for the future, but we can only live in the present”
Colin and Clive Conversations in the Kitchen (2018)
Towards a Theory of Social Reality
S.A.R.M.
• SUBJECTIVITY
• ACTIVITIES
• RELATIONSHIPS
• MEANS
Colin and Clive Burgess 2014-2024
Heard of both books award 🥇
You’re describing America, Oli!
So what can we do about it?
Isn’t a kolkhoz or a kibbutz what socialist agriculture would mean?
Distributism Has been a considerate concept of another 3rd way.
For about 80years, distributism has wained, it could return. But we must atleast, learn, of what it actually wants.
Had Tolkien read Stapleton?
Lessons from history to take heed of in Merry Ol' America, too... and thus, will be gleefully ignored by the powers-what-is here as well.
But, it's a nice thought all the same. 🙂
I have this on while I'm digetsing my dinner. Stapledon, no doubt, would be disappointed but not surprised.
Edit: You've used "anarchy" a couple of times through this essay but I'm not entirely certain that's the best fit in any of the contexts here. "Dysfunction" or "disorder" may be more appropriate. Anarchy refers to a community without government. However, the term is frequently used disparagingly, to dismiss anarchy out of hand as a possible means of living in society. As humans we lived in anarchic groupings until someone decided they wanted to be head honcho and they had enough brawn or ruthlessness to keep themselves at the top.
You're better than that. Don't use these lazy tropes.
Should all people constrain their use of the highly-common-for-centuriess word "Anarchy" because some pedophiles in the 19th Century adopted it as a ideological label
He sounded like he might support sortition
9:50 Democracy without ideology is ANOMIA. Anarchy is participatory democracy with egaliterian ideology.
Go use the aristotles defintiion, not post enlightenment , re-rationalisations. Afterall he was the one that coined these terms. . and yes, all the terms have been warped with the passage of 2000+years of time.
@@rat_king- here I go using Aristotle's definition:- but first: Surely Aristotle political writing, particularly "Politics", was a continuation of an older Athenian philosophy which started well before his time - writers like Herodotus and Thucydides were already using terms like "democracy" and "anarchy" well before.
If I were to define my own politics in Athenian terms, I would have to claim myself a Cynic, of the style of Diogenes of Sinope ( with a splash of the Epicurean).
The ancient Greek word anomia (ἀνομία) meaning "lawlessness" or "without law" - from 'a-' (without) and 'nomos' (law/custom), which is how the word anarchy is often (mis)used in modernity.
"Anarchy" from the Greek "anarchia" (ἀναρχία) - from 'an-' (without) and 'archos' (ruler/authority) - literally meaning "without rulers" or "without authority." The root 'arch-' specifically relates to leadership or rule, as seen in words like "monarch" (single ruler) or "hierarchy" (rule by rank).
In ancient Greek texts, anarchia was used to describe the absence of a leader or formal authority, although admittedly often with negative connotations because of the context of their society. Anomia was used specifically to describe a breakdown of social order or lack of adherence to law and custom, both political and religious.
You use the words "warping" and "re-rationalizing" but that don't really do justice to the contributions of political thinkers over the centuries. Actively engaging with historical concepts while adapting political theory to address new social and technological realities seems like useful progress to me. Evolution in political philosophy reflects the lessons of history as long as we maintain or invent terms that convey the same meanings to everyone.
Language and ideas naturally develop over time, For the most part, that's no bad thing. If anything, it shows how enduring and adaptable these core political concepts are and gives us the tools to improve the future, sometimes by returning to the past, or at very least learning from it.
"I hope you've not got this on while eating your dinner"
Uhhhh... yeah... about that....
You argue that ideologically motivated politicians are better than pure power motivated politicians, and I would agree with you, but I want to play devil's advocate. So would it be better if Steve Reed was ideologically anti-farming? If rather than being a politician looking to advance his career and this being the route to doing that, he was instead ideologically anti-farmer. Would it be better if he believed that the (small c) conservativism that permeates farming culture was bad for the overall culture of the nation and that in order for a more dynamic culture to take root, that farmers had to be eliminated? Just something to think about.
I have thought of this before. Lots of people in the labour party are ideologically opposed to farming and it is a miracle that DEFRA has remained the bottom of the ministerial ladder and someone passionate about deconstructing the food supply hasn't taken over. I guess those people might not win votes so the party acts against them. A politician who does nothing would be preferable to one who destroys things
The way you use the term "anarchy" is inaccurate. The word chaos would be more appropriate for the concept that you are describing. Anarchism is an idea that state that hierarchy and domination is ethically wrong and should be abolished.
This was a very unexpected video for me to be recommended. However several of the ideas sum up very well on why I personally am an Anarchist. I came to the conclusion that it is ultimately impossible to insure that a political class can be kept self-sacrificing. Someone who is self-serving will eventually gain some position of power and then use that power to entrench themselves or gain more. Which is why I believe in eliminating these positions where possible and if not possible reforming them to entirely prevent any shenanigans such as by allowing recall votes for delegates.
Funny you should bring up Wallace and grommit, as that show is actually a product of the britsh social-democrat welfare state, as many of the artists were taught in subsidized universities where they were free to create.
29:30 So are you advocating for popular election to the House of Lords since you want to remove hereditary peers & don't support political cronyism either
@@sgabig he was talking about proportional representative distribution at one point, maybe that's what he stands for?
@jasonlongsworth4036 The US upper chamber of the senate was originally chosen by state legislatures until the 17th Amendment changed it to popular vote. I'm not certain what the equivalent would be in the UK
House of Lords, the biggest challenge to British democracy
@@sgabig possibly just making a single house out of it, and dividing the seats by representation instead of first past the post
We have to keep democracy as it lets the people vote out poor governments.
advocating for the property qualification to vote is insane 😂
vote = accountability. Wanting your political class to not be accountable to those not able to afford property is a recipe for those in our ignoring the problems of those without property, and presumably shrinking the land owning class.
... made even more beige by incorrect white-balance setting. 😎
You should have seen how orange the raw footage was lol
@@farmingexplained Ah, that fun. This is a video that deserves a fuller reply (as usual). Hopefully I will get round to making one.
@@farmingexplained
You must be using old lights
The walls in the room are orange and the lights are dim (next time I'll just stick a studio light in there)
So against progress is conservatism ???? Oh !
Oh dear, talk of meritocracy again. But now dressed in overalls and speaking of a common bond.
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
Quite poignant of the issue of third world mass immigration as well.
Centrism or the Center-left is the best governing system
Haven't most euro countries been centre left for more than half a century
Almost all of them are degrading or degraded to a situation of the newly industrial "democracies" of the past
@@biosavat9475yes to the point that Trump himself is wondering why the Nords don’t send immigrants to America
No, because it has no definition nor an identity of itself, and can only be defined when compared to extremes, which can shift further on one side than the other.
Twelverism (wilayat of the 12 Divinely Appointed ones) is the best ideology and governing system, because it is from God.
@@موسى_7 isn't that a Shia Muslim idea that the different Islamic communities themselves debate against. How can it be a universal system when most people don't follow Islam itself ?
0:19 TNO reference
I love TNO fans. Perhaps the most brainrotted fandom there is
Very good!
I'm not sure how many times I can watch this but I will give a second viewing.
Politics in the UK are very distressing right now I agree. But as we are now again a country at war then I guess the food security issue and our farmers are more important than they give them credit for. The fact that our elected representatives are often so inadequate as human beings with no ethics is distressing for many of us. But don't talk about Gaza - the BBC has been shown to be a propaganda organisation supporting Zionist colonialist aggression along with so many of our compromised politicians.
Class as per, you deserve to be way bigger. Keep at it, influence a generation, maybe even clip yourself (from your existing videos) and put it on shorts to reach the youth. All the best 🧡