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Free World: The book
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Timothy Garton Ash
Should Britain choose Europe, hang with the US, or try to make the best of both?
| Britain is torn between a Right which tells us to reject Europe and embrace America, and a Left which tells us to do the opposite. Meanwhile, Tony Blair has persistently tried to do both. I argue that he’s right – to sever our ties with Europe or America would be to cut off our left or right leg – but he’s gone about it the wrong way. What’s your view? |  |
Debate - page 2/2
Robert Rivas, Australia
Two continents - many countries and even more opinions.
Let's not forget the French (and lesser Spanish and Dutch) contributions
to US independence; that the US and UK fought two wars against each other
and that there were tensions between the US and UK during the US civil
war. Or what about the US & USSR ganging up to force the UK &
France out of the Suez in 1956?
Countries shift alliances as suits their interests given the circumstances
at the time - if history has any lessons - that is perhaps one of them.
Mary Dawson, UK
Socialist will never get a fair hearing in the capitalist
press and media as
a whole. Comments like Garton Ash's 'as (china) emerges from Communist
dictatorship' demonises socialism and brands it and makes it synomimous
with
diacatorship, even though genuine socialist have never supported the regimes
of China and the soviet union and constantly condemn them.
It's difficult for socialist to put forward their arguements and counter
the
daily distortions of the capitalist media. If people like Garton Ash and
the
rest of the 'middle class university educated journalists would actually
read socialism and Marx, they would see that the socialist aims are not
what
came about under china and Russia.
Before continuing to brand socialist as dictators and murderers, he should
read what socialism is really about. Garton Ash's capitalism murders people
and exploits people daily. When does he ever talk about the murderous
multinationals that dominate and conrol our society?
It is so difficult being a socialist and being up against such a distorting
powerful capitalist media. Socialist will never get a fair hearing under
capitalism and havve no vehicle for challenging the daily distortions.
If Garton Ash experienced poverty and unemployment, it would be intersting
to see how liberated he would feel and how much he would love capitalism.
Johnny Arnold, England
Mark S.,from France succinctly says it all.
