Big Ideas That Changed The World : Democracy-Tony Benn (2/5)
Posted by admin on Jul 23, 2008 in Recent Posts | 47 comments
Tony Benn discusses the history of democracy, how it has been undermined and how it can be won again.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Tony Benn discusses the history of democracy, how it has been undermined and how it can be won again.
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Want to Live Extra Years?
No related posts.
@421ikoom actually you’ll find that we can all him any range of things, but wikipedia does a much better and more accurate job of letting people know the kind of man he was in their opening statement on him
“…was an author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary & one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.”
It mayfollow on that he was influenced by the european enlightenment: that society should be organised based on more fluid rational lines than static aristocracy
@PeteJones100 you dont need to entitle yourself as “communist” to actually agree with communist views. simply thinking that marx created the idea of the masses rising up against the capitalists or that men are equal is ludicrous. surely someone in the history of mankind has had that idea before marx.
Paine was one of them. in his own way he ensured a new world which gave the poor more power over the rich. the best way we can descibe people like him in modern speak is communist.
@lottiesuzie Who? Oh that political party from the old days you mean. I remember them…
@SPAG22 how exactly can Paine have been a communist? He died before Marx and Engels had created the concept of communism, and generally speaking Marxists did not refere to themselves as ‘communists’ until the early 20th century. Please read a little more history, it will greatly improve your knowledge
New Labour is as far from socialism as the Thatcher Administration was
Paine was a Communist though.
No he wasn’t. He was a Deist.
New Labour can barely claim to be socialist!
Thomas Paine was an atheist.
thats awesome. you meet tony benn
New Labour is as socialist as Norman Tebbit. They are Thatcher’s Children, she said so.
that proves the point though. even half socialist parties fail in teh end.
the new labour government is hardly that socialist
yes, but the labour party or socialism can’t possibly be the answer as the 12 past years have shown that method doesn’t work.
A simple but very important reminder that we are mostly to complacent about democracy!!!
I love all these comments. It’s a shame for some of you who have not seen more of him. I met him a few times and he is the kindest, bravest, most decent old gentleman..but with a twinkle in his eye that we should all keep hope that everything will be all right if we stick together.
someone told me he was only a “medium talent” statesman. To me, as an American, he is the ultimate British leader. A man who still wants more power for the people.
what a MAN one of the greatest statesmen of all time just think of tony benn galloway n scargill running our country it would a been the only real demogracy since 5th centruty BC Athens what a watse of a truly great man not to have run Brtitain
Tony Benn has revealed to me the History books taught at my school in Australia had a few pages missing. Perhaps other parts of the Commonwealth suffer a similar deficiency?
assaultive bear, your depth of interesting videos is amazing. Tony benn is a great man
and to think it went up on my birthday. What a gift. Thank you Tony and thank you assaultivebear
This is deep stuff. This should be show in the United States, because we are never taught were our democracy comes from.
@TheZanipolo
Your profile says you’re 35 so lie #1 is that at the grand old age of 1 you were ‘strangely’ aware of your surroundings.
Socialism is a philosophy that rewarded returning WW2 troops with the NHS; something that selfish arseholes like you would have voted against.
–
As for Ireland. I didn’t realise there was a rule that says invaded land becomes the property of the invader on completion of a default time limit.
As for terrorism – it’s a two way street.
@TheElasticJesus I remember the endless strikes, the power cuts, the corrupt government propping up failing state-owned industries with taxpayer cash to buy votes, having to go to the IMF, ah yes I remember Benn’s communist utopia – which he didn’t have to suffer because he’s peronsally very rich (there’s the hypocrisy you see)- I see you you’re a big fan of terrorism – the issue wasn’t the Brits moving in – it’s that most of Ulster already living there for hundreds of years were British
@TheZanipolo
Communist tyrant?
And tell us, what do you remember of Tony Benn – exactly?
–
Trashed UK economy?
Tell us again what was your job at British Steel, British Rail, British telecom, British Coal, in the dockyards, in the car plants…
Oh, sorry, you weren’t even born…were you?
–
Hate to tell you this but Ulster belonged to the Irish before those NICE DEMOCRATIC ANTI-COMMUNIST ANTI-TYRANNICAL BRITS MOVED IN.
–
Hypocrisy? I suggest you look it up.
Benn harps on about democracy but he was nothing more than a communist tyrant when in power and he and the shitty Labour government trashed the UK economy in th 70s – he also supported IRA terrorism so he is not so keen on democracy. What he means by “democracy” is HIM IN POWER and everyone else doing what he tells them – like all communist hypcrites.
@6marilyn6mans0n6 Then learn, don’t let the rich and powerful run away with it! They won’t tell you or wait for you to understand.
If you search ‘Tony Benn Democracy’ into Google video you can watch the whole programme.
@PeteJones100 I think I don’t have enough politics knowledge. Sorry!
@6marilyn6mans0n6 Please dont confuse England with Britain, the two terms are not interchangable
i’ve never been exposed to English culture. I just live in US for now. Americans must be very stupid not realizing how England is playing with a toy(america). Good job England!
@SPAG22 , He isnt a lord, he was a Viscount, he removed his title by passing the Peerage act in 1963, his son, however, will also be a Viscount upon Tony Benn’s death
It’s rarely good for anyone besides demagogues.
Oh no my friend….make no mistake…as the documentary states….Democracy is not good for the elite and privileged…but for the 99% of the rest of us…it’s an evident truth.
Ah yeah, no patience, give em time bud, true genius is only appreciated in retrospect,
Tell that to the idiots who negatively rated my comment.
What do you mean? That “I feel your pain” has an alternative meaning? Altruism = mirror neurons in the brain activated. We need to anticipate the feelings and motives of others in order to survive in society. Thus, we evolved to be altruistic.
Surely thats a failing of how our language evolved to articulate our feelings.
Hardly the fault of the altruist…
well duh, anything unquestioned is surely a delusion…
Democracy as an unquestionable force of good is the biggest mass delusion since god.
It’s always interesting hearing Lord Benn talk about “Democ-rarrrr-cy”.
I’m an advocate of meritocracy and intellectualism. I despise the current malaise in society because those who are rich do not deserve it e.g Paris Hilton, 50 cent. So I don’t know what your contention is.
I do understand the meaning of that quote. But you fail to comprehend my argument. What I was saying is that freedom of (insert anything you want) should only be accorded to those who deserve it. In this case, only “giants” should be given credence and the bible fundies should stfu.
People are more often than not at high places in society because they know someone, not because of their merit.
Dan Rooney is not Ambassador to Ireland because he is qualified, but because he supported Obama. This is the same reason why Hillary is Secretary of State. This is not exclusive to the Obama Administration nor America. Meritocracy = utopia.
Newton would not have gotten where he was if not for unsung heroes of the past. That is the meaning of his quote.
Even altruism itself is selfish i.e “I feel your pain”
Shoulders of “giants”. Note the emphasis on “giants”. Not your average Joe with the inalienable right to the freedom of speech. If it wasn’t for the bible belt, how else did W win the elections? What is rights if there isn’t power to provision such entitlement?
Meritocracy? Yeah, people advance in the world solely because of their own hard work and merit. That’s a joke. People are motivated by their own greed quite often, but there are acts motivated less by egotism and more by communal concepts.
A Buddhist monk lighting himself on fire to protest a war. A soldier jumping on a grenade to save his comrades.
Democracy did not give the world George W. Bush, Mr. and Mrs. Bush did actually. So indeed there are people who receive the credit for making “big leaps”. You cite science. Newton, “If I have seen further it has been on the shoulders of giants.”
Who is Tom Brady without his offensive line, receivers, coaches, fans, and analysts to make him so ‘great’?