tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post9129477447646664776..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: “It’s probably that socialism, isn’t it?” - Pelle The Conqueror, Volume 2 - suspense in starvation itselfAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-17797384693639358242014-08-16T22:17:55.208-05:002014-08-16T22:17:55.208-05:00I guess I was thinking more of a dictionary defini...I guess I was thinking more of a dictionary definition of the word.<br /><br />The shoemaker is way ahead - he already thinks the socialists are evil. That idea will presumably be turned on its head as Pelle discovers and joins a union somewhere in the next couple of volumes.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-45527033240120371032014-08-16T07:40:08.825-05:002014-08-16T07:40:08.825-05:00I think socialism has changed a bit in meaning; at...I think socialism has changed a bit in meaning; at Nexø's time it was a new thing and a source of hope; looking at the dangerous turn to extreme right and left-wing parties in Europe recently, socialism is now considered a worthless, evil thing that left the continent bankrupt.LMRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08538873868140070018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-38699230226605200492014-08-15T14:51:32.608-05:002014-08-15T14:51:32.608-05:00The character thinks that the decline in his trade...The character thinks that the decline in his trade is caused by socialists, who he thinks of as some kind of outside agitators. In reality, the rise in the number of socialists was caused by the decline in the trade. That's what I was getting at; that's the irony I think Nexø was going for.<br /><br />Nexø is writing just over a hundred years ago. I don't think "socialism" has changed all that much. Has it? Maybe I am assuming too much about what seems to me like common knowledge.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-27656255773109434672014-08-15T14:39:27.851-05:002014-08-15T14:39:27.851-05:00The meanings of words change over time, so it is i...The meanings of words change over time, so it is interesting to think of the word "socialism" then and now. Of course, the meaning -- in addition to being context-bound by time and place -- has variations based on perspective: a person's position in society matters when words like "socialism" are uttered. Sometimes an idealistic word, and sometimes an obscene word, "socialism" remains open to debate.R.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13220814349193561823noreply@blogger.com