Alice in Blunderland
Jan. 13th, 2026 05:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
varidogI've been listening to Alice in Blunderland: An Iridescent Dream. It's a political hack-job from 1907, written by John Kendrick Bangs.
The job of this piece is to sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt in public ownership of utilities and services. In essence, it asserts that the government is stupid, abusive, foolish, and over controlling, and only through private ownership can those things deliver actually reliable and sensible services.
You'll recognize the themes, because those are the same themes that conservatives argued in the 80's when dismantling many such arrangements.
The piece also conveniently and efficiently skips over most of the issues behind private ownership, and the inherent abuses perpetrated by private corporations. It makes some pretense to being even handed, but those are the most shallow of pretenses. This work is 100% insincere.
That much said, Bang's writing is smooth and efficient. You can tell that this guy is smart, witty, and capable. He has fun creating his examples, crafting his absurdities, and pretending just how bonkers all this new thinking is. If you want a fine example of how to write fluidly and well, in a somewhat Carrollian style, this is it. Overall, I'd call the piece rock solid in its composition, pacing, scope, and devilry. It's a real pleasure.
I can't recommend this unless you're particularly interested in this particular form of political writing, but if it should catch your fancy, it's not very long and it'll amuse you for a car trip or for the afternoon.
The job of this piece is to sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt in public ownership of utilities and services. In essence, it asserts that the government is stupid, abusive, foolish, and over controlling, and only through private ownership can those things deliver actually reliable and sensible services.
You'll recognize the themes, because those are the same themes that conservatives argued in the 80's when dismantling many such arrangements.
The piece also conveniently and efficiently skips over most of the issues behind private ownership, and the inherent abuses perpetrated by private corporations. It makes some pretense to being even handed, but those are the most shallow of pretenses. This work is 100% insincere.
That much said, Bang's writing is smooth and efficient. You can tell that this guy is smart, witty, and capable. He has fun creating his examples, crafting his absurdities, and pretending just how bonkers all this new thinking is. If you want a fine example of how to write fluidly and well, in a somewhat Carrollian style, this is it. Overall, I'd call the piece rock solid in its composition, pacing, scope, and devilry. It's a real pleasure.
I can't recommend this unless you're particularly interested in this particular form of political writing, but if it should catch your fancy, it's not very long and it'll amuse you for a car trip or for the afternoon.
