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offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

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Human Rights in Ireland
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.

offsite link Trump hosts former head of Syrian Al-Qaeda Al-Jolani to the White House Tue Nov 11, 2025 22:01 | imc

offsite link Rip The Chicken Tree - 1800s - 2025 Tue Nov 04, 2025 03:40 | Mark

offsite link Study of 1.7 Million Children: Heart Damage Only Found in Covid-Vaxxed Kids Sat Nov 01, 2025 00:44 | imc

offsite link The Golden Haro Fri Oct 31, 2025 12:39 | Paul Ryan

offsite link Top Scientists Confirm Covid Shots Cause Heart Attacks in Children Sun Oct 05, 2025 21:31 | imc

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Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Fri Dec 19, 2025 00:21 | Will Jones
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link It?s Not Misogyny But Misandry in the Classroom We Need to Worry About Thu Dec 18, 2025 19:00 | Joanna Gray
With just 35% of secondary teachers and 15% of primary teachers being men, it?s not misogyny but misandry in the classroom we need to worry about, says Joanna Gray. We have an education system designed by women for girls.
The post It’s Not Misogyny But Misandry in the Classroom We Need to Worry About appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Face Masks Harmed Care Home Residents in Ways No Health and Safety Apparatchik Can Ever Understand Thu Dec 18, 2025 17:00 | Simon Cavadino
Care delivered by masked people is frightening. It's literally faceless. Smiles are life-giving. Face masks harmed care home residents in ways no health and safety apparatchik can ever understand, says Simon Cavadino.
The post Face Masks Harmed Care Home Residents in Ways No Health and Safety Apparatchik Can Ever Understand appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link BREAKING: ?Superflu? Wave Goes into Decline Early Thu Dec 18, 2025 15:39 | Will Jones
The 'surging' wave of 'superflu' that is supposedly threatening the NHS with collapse this winter has gone into decline early, with prevalence dropping in the most recent week and hospital admissions falling flat.
The post BREAKING: ‘Superflu’ Wave Goes into Decline Early appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Problem With the Minimum Wage Thu Dec 18, 2025 13:31 | Mark Ellse
The UK's minimum wage has hit ?26,500 a year for full time work, an extraordinary level that may seem 'humane' but is having a devastating impact on employment and is dragging the economy down, says Mark Ellse.
The post The Problem With the Minimum Wage appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

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Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

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Utilitarianism and Irish Left

category national | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis author Friday January 22, 2016 12:58author by Paddy Hackett Report this post to the editors

Utilitarianism is the hidden basis for the moral and philosophical basis of much of the Irish Left


In general the Left in Ireland is utilitarian in their moral and political philosophy. It is forever making demands for this and that. Generally its demands are not concerned with the need for the emancipation of the working class together with the need to eliminate alienation. This is because it does not seek the elimination of capitalism. Instead it seeks the Utilitarian increase in pleasure and reduction in pain. The greater happiness principle of Jeremy Bentham. The latter believed that “the greater happiness of the greatest number” was achievable within capitalism. This is essentially the position of much of the radical Left. This Left is not even reformist. Reformists claim that it is possible to incrementally turn capitalism into socialism by means of reforms. This Left’s call for socialism is at most aspirational. It does not dialectically tie it in with its Utilitarian Action Programmes. It's political philosophy is a vulgar version of Utilitarianism. It is not even aware of the Utilitarian moral assumptions underlying its political outlook.

Utilitarianism is a reductionist moral philosophy. For it the unit of society is the individual. Consequently it ignores class division and advocates cross class policies as does much of the Irish Left. It's active leadership of the anti-property tax and anti-water rates campaigns are an example of this. It's support for electoralism is another. The latter means the support of the atomisation of the working class though elections under representative democracy.

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   Please do us a favor     Mike Novack    Sat Jan 23, 2016 12:52 
   Bullshit Watcher.     Pesky Pete.    Sat Jan 23, 2016 17:56 
   Mike and Utilitarianism     Paddy Hackett    Sat Jan 23, 2016 18:53 
   You really need to keep focused on the argument     Mike Novack    Sun Jan 24, 2016 23:09 
   Bentham Again     Paddy Hackett    Sun Jan 31, 2016 23:46 


 
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