1) Secessionism

Since one of the rare NYC area library copies of "The Question of Separatism: Quebec and the Struggle over Sovereignty," which I borrowed last year, has since been lost or stolen, and the otherwise very large and dependable nearby Strand (used) bookstore has never had any copies whenever I've asked over the years, I decided to try buying a copy on-line (my first ever on-line purchase of merchandise).

When I first looked into it, about two and a half weeks ago, perhaps the cheapest copy being offered on-line was amazingly cheap: $3.33 plus $3.99 for shipping and handling. (When the book was first published in 1980 or so, the hardcover edition was about $9.00, I believe.) The other copies being offered on-line were also pretty cheap -- being only a bit more expensive than this one. There was one, for instance, that was going for about $10.00, and the seller said it was only a slightly soiled first edition.

But I decided to go for the cheaper $3.33 offering for a reason I'll mention in a bit, but also because it was touted as being in mint condition ("probably never read") and because I believe the book only had one edition anyway (and it might never have been published in paperback either). So my thinking was that, in any case, the worst that could happen (if the seller was honest -- and the seller did have a very good on-line rating) was that I would MAYBE be getting a mint condition paperback version.

Therefore, I went ahead and ordered the book on Wednesday, 9/24/08, and the book finally arrived on Thursday, 10/09/08 -- and the book was indeed a hardcover first edition in mint (probably never read) condition. But the "fun" thing about this particular copy of the book was something that was mentioned in the original on-line offering -- that on the front flyleaf is stamped, "Alaska Statehood Commission"! (Now that I have the book [but not with me at the moment] I see that there are actually two stamps: 1) one says, if I remember correctly, received by the Alaska Statehood Commission, with maybe the date it was received (?); 2) and other one has the name and the street address of the Alaska Statehood Commission.)

As to the substance of the book, I highly recommend it. As I mentioned previously, Jacobs looks at the history of separatist and unification movements and makes a good case that countries often do worse (e.g., economically) after unification and better after separation.

PLUS Jacobs also makes a positive case for Balkanization, talks a bit about small vs. large in a general way (and says, for instance, that small is NOT ALWAYS beautiful), the roll of emotion in this issue, gives a fascinating detailed history of the peaceful separation of Norway from Sweden in 1905, etc. Also, although the book is ostensibly about politics, she talks quite a bit about economics -- so in some ways the book is a case study and illustration of her economic theories.

Posted by: Benjamin Hemric on October 11, 2008 2:20 PM

P.S. to my post above: “. . . the roll of emotion in this issue . . .” should have been, “. . . reflects upon the role of emotion in discussions of this issue” . . .

2) Mandatory Public Education

I just skimmed the linked to article, "How public education cripples our kids, and why," by John Taylor Gatto, and based upon my quick reading at least, he doesn't seem to be as negative about mandatory public education as the blog post blurb, perhaps unintentionally, indicates. From a quick reading, at least, what he does seem to be saying instead is that mass public education inevitably has a number of negatives that wise parents can and should mitigate against.

If that’s what he’s saying, I do disagree, though, with the idea that mass public education necessarily has to have the negatives he ascribes to it. It seems to me that the public schools I attended in NYC in the 1950s and 1960s, for instance, weren’t like that. For instance, pretty much all of my teachers seemed to stress the importance of independent thinking over rote learning when appropriate. (Obviously, there are times, especially in the early grades, when rote learning is useful and appropriate.) This didn’t seem to be the case, by the way, with the (Catholic) parochial schools of the time. Friends and relatives who went to them did seem to get the negatives of mass public education that Gatto writes about.

In general, despite the problems we have today, I think it’s just amazing what a great job the public schools of NYC (and other cities too?) have done in educating the masses of kids who’ve attended them, a great many of them the children of poor and working class illiterate migrants / immigrants (e.g., my maternal grandmother never really learned English, and she was illiterate even in her native dialect of Italian -- she signed her name with an "x").

Posted by: Benjamin Hemric on October 11, 2008 4:51 PM

I will second Gorman's recommendation of Chabrol's Story of Women.

Posted by: Thursday on October 11, 2008 7:01 PM

When they mentioned punk rock traditionalists, I wasn't too shocked. What's more traditional than a DIY culture and a "mind your own fucking business" attitude towards things? Those types of punks definitely outnumber the Jello Biafra types, and even then a former Dead Kennedy's politics are better than the current live one's.

Of course there are weirder things. Stereolab are techno-pop Mutualists, complete with lyrics about how such a system would work set to weird retro space-age lounge set music.

Posted by: Spike Gomes on October 11, 2008 8:44 PM

The complete guide to bikini waxing

Oh, no ...

Posted by: Peter on October 12, 2008 12:16 AM

My reasoned guess is that Roissy's angry-nerd readership would be greatly dismayed by the marriage article to which you linked. Being deprived of the opportunity to marry is more tolerable when marriage is a declining institution. It is plainly more difficult to accept that fate if marriage remains alive and thriving.

Posted by: Peter on October 12, 2008 9:33 AM

I heard Gatto interviewed on a talk radio show (I think it was Jerry Brown's) about 10 years ago and was quite impressed. I've given copies of "Against School" to lots of people. I think that the successful mainstreaming of homeschooling in the 10 years since I first heard him shows how correct he is in many ways.

From the perspective of having two children go through a mix of public and parochial schools and the troubles that they had, I agree with much that he has to say. Also, looking back on my own life it's humbling to admit how totally brainwashed I was by the system

Posted by: Reid Farmer on October 13, 2008 3:35 PM

pigeonholing peter wrote:
My reasoned guess is that Roissy's angry-nerd readership

one man's anger is another man's joie de vive.

Being deprived of the opportunity to marry is more tolerable when marriage is a declining institution.

i'd safely guess for those hard-up male readers, it's not the opportunity to marry that they fear being deprived, it's the opportunity to get laid.

It is plainly more difficult to accept that fate if marriage remains alive and thriving.

there's a sucker born every minute.

Posted by: roissy on October 13, 2008 6:12 PM






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