Saturday, February 26, 2005

From the horse's mouth

Venezuelan trade unionist Ricardo Galindez recently spoke to a meeting in Cambridge (the university town in the UK, not the posh little place with the neat watertower near Hamilton) about the political situation in Venezuela and workers' control in the paper, sugar and oil industries (see the Q and A section, at the end). Fascinating stuff - read it here.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey maps,

Your blog "From the horse's mouth", leads me to believe you will find my information on practice tests to be very beneficial.

Some of the not so common searches that found our extensive site included ... gradual level entrance exam practice tests, psychological practice tests wpt, practice written tests for the drivers permit test, practice tests for social workers, security plus practice tests, nbrc practice tests and texes practice tests.

We have many hundreds of study prep guides and aids to help you pass your exams without weeks and months of endless studying.

Best Wishes
Emily

7:55 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey maps,

Your blog "From the horse's mouth", leads me to believe you will find my information on our Best Career Wages site to be very beneficial.

Some of the not so common searches that found our extensive wages site included ...

Agricultural Equipment Operators Wages
Agricultural Inspectors Wages
Agricultural Workers Wages
Animal Breeders Wages
Fallers Wages
Fishing Workers Supervisors Wages
Forestry Workers Supervisors Wages
Farming Workers Supervisors Wages.

We have many hundreds of "essential to read" articles on wages and career topics in addition to many other popular subjects in our Average Career Wages site.

Best Wishes
Emily

8:30 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A sort of side issue here concerns the ways in which people change their minds about politics and other subjects. Some commenters at Kiwiblog suggest that leftists hold on to their beliefs in an essentially dogmatic way, ignoring evidence that ought to make them change their minds. On the other hand, many on the left charge advocates of free market capitalism with an essentially religious attitude toward their doctrine, and a failure to absorb the lessons of recent history.

When someone from the left or the right does change their mind on an important subject they tend to be criticised rather than applauded. Jim Bolger, for instance, hasn't won many plaudits from his old comrades for his rethink of neo-liberalism, and Christopher Hitchens became a hate figure for the left when he abandoned Marxism for neoconservatism and became a supporter of George W Bush and the war in Iraq.

It seems to me that most us would consider dogmatism a bad thing, but that at the same time we are suspicious of people who seem to change their minds suddenly about important subjects. When we change our own minds we tend to do so incrementally and incompletely rather than rapidly and radically.

I think the philosopher of science Imre Lakatos developed a compelling explanation for the way that both scientists and people in general assimilate evidence and modify their beliefs.
Lakatos argued that every 'research programme' - that is, every body of beliefs about the world - has both a hardcore and a softcore of ideas. The hardcore ideas are the ones we cannot throw away without fundamntally changing our minds, and abandoning our research programme. We hold to them in a somewhat dogmatic way. The softcore ideas are, however, dispensable. We can drop them if they seem to be contradicted by evidence, and replace them with other ideas. The softcore ideas exist to protect the hardcore from refutation.

Lakatos argued that a research programme could be either degenerating or progressive. If it was progressive it was explaining more and more facts and generating new ideas; if it was degenerating it was doing the opposite. Lakatos considered Marxism a degenerating research programme. He thought that the

If we looked at the 'programme' of the National Party, in the eight or so decades since its creation, then we can identify advocacy for and defence of private business and the farming sector as two of its hardcore ideas. They've remained intact over time, but less important 'softcore' ideas

4:16 pm  
Blogger Kelly Cain said...

Interpages

Guest Blogger

Best Guest Blogging Site

Guest Posting Site

Guest Blogging Website

7:02 am  
Blogger Amsberry Law Firm said...

TX Sexual Harassment lawyer
Best Estate Planning Lawyers San Antonio
Best San Antonio Probate Attorney
Best Employment Lawyers in San Antonio
Best Probate Lawyers in San Antonio
family law lawyers near me

12:42 am  
Anonymous topxlisting said...

Thanks foe sharing!Best Seo company in indio so Indeed SEO is a certified white hat SEO Company in India that has a squad of experienced SEO experts. Top seo companies indiaIn fact, from the start till the end, SEO marketing professionals produce an outcome that grows the value of their business.

4:28 pm  
Blogger Socio Labs said...

Nice blog. It was a good piece of content. Thanks for sharing.

2:18 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home