Oswald's Three Alternative Societies:

[Greg Parker]

System one:

A System Opposed to the Communist

In that the state or any group of persons may not administer or direct funds or value in circulation, for the creation of means of production.

A. Any person may own private property of any sort.

B. Small business or speculation on the party of a single individual may be guaranteed.

C. That any person may exchange personal skill or knowledge in the completion of some service, for renumeration.

D. That any person may hire or otherwise renumerate any other single person for services rendered, so long as that service does not create surplus value.

System two:

A System Opposed to the Capitalist in That:

No individual may own the means of production, distribution, or creation of goods or any other process wherein workers are employed for wages, or otherwise employed, to create profit or surplus profit or value in use or exchange.

A. In that all undertaking of production, distribution or manufacture or otherwise the creation of goods must be made on a pure, collective basis under the conditions:

1. Equal shares of investment be made by members

2. Equal distribution of profit after tax, be made to all investors

3. That all work or directive or administrative duties connected with the enterprise be done personally by those investors

4. That no person not directly working or otherwise directly taking part in the creational process of any enterprise, have a share of or otherwise receive any part of the resultant profit of it.

System three:

The Athean System [most likely meant to be the Athenian System]

A system opposed to communism, socialism, and capitalism

1. Democracy at a local level with no centralized State.

A. That the right of free enterprise and collective enterprise be guaranteed.

B. That fascism be abolished

C. That nationalism be excluded from every-day life.

D. That racial segregation or discrimination be abolished by law.

E. The right of the free, uninhibited action of religious institutions of any type or denomination to freely function.

G. Universal Suffrage for all persons over 18 years of age.

H. Freedom of dissemination of opinions through press or declaration or speech.

I. That the dissemination of war propaganda be forbidden as well as the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.

J. That Free compulsory education be universal until 18.

K. Nationalization or communizing of private enterprise or collective enterprise be forbidden.

L. That monopoly practices be considered as capitalistic.

M. That combining of separate collective or private enterprises into single collective units be considered as communistic.

N. That no taxes be levied against individuals

O. That heavy graduated taxes from 30% to 90% be leveled against surplus profit gains.

R. That taxes be collected by a single ministry subordinate to individual communities.

That taxes be used solely for the building or improvement of public projects.

Against In so far as Reason.

communism

(international) limitations on freedom of travel, press, religion, speech,

elections

taxes income taxes and some building license taxes

sale of arms pistols should not be sold in any case, rifles only with police

permission, shotguns free

extremist of purely racial

character or regional anti-Negro or Jew or nationality or anti-religion

unemployment it is caused by other than voluntary means of employers such

as automation

For

medical aid: free hospital beds and operations

aid to education state and national subsidy of universities and free or paid expenses for

students of higher educational units

welfare all encomp. higher pensions independent of amount of work; only curbed as to type of

work and rank of worker upon retirement

disarmament general disarmament and abolition of all armies except civil police force

armed with small arms

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/oswaldsutopia.htm

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Here are some systems/individuals I believe may have directly or indirectly influenced the above:

EMERSON, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882): American essayist and leader of the TRANSCENDENTALIST movement. He was minister of the UNITARIAN SECOND CHURCH of Boston (1829-1832) but resigned over THEOLOGICAL issues to become an independent lecturer and writer. His PHILOSOPHY drew on YOGIC religions to combined RATIONALISM and MYSTICISM. It also encouraged a strong emphasis on self-reliance and a BELIEF in the ability of the individual to overcome all problems. Although much more profound, he was the forerunner of Dale CARNEGIE and other "POSITIVE THINKERS" which characterize American popular PIETY. His influence can be seen in the so-called NEW AGE MOVEMENT and a host of other popular spiritual movement of inner truth.

FREE THINKERS: people who refuse to accept the AUTHORITY of RELIGION, instead favoring a BELIEF in REASON as the ultimate and only AUTHORITY in human affairs. TRADITIONALLY free thinkers have been

violently anti-religious although this need not necessarily be so.

HEGEL, George Wilhelm Friedrich (1770-1831): German philosopher whose system is commonly known as "HEGELIANISM." His complex idealist philosophy contains many elements the most influential of which are: (1) the DIALECTIC which is generally interpreted to mean that all reasoning is dialectical proceeding from a CONCEPT to a new and contradictory concept which gives way to a third concept that transcends and

synthesizes both earlier concepts. This is usually stated as thesis-antithesis and synthesis; (2) the theory of self-realization by which the dialectical process in the individual leads to a determinate "SELF" which is "for itself;" (3) the theory of history which is a dialectical process leading to the manifestation of the ABSOLUTE SPIRIT and arguing that in every specific age the spirit manifests itself in the Zeitgeist or the "spirit of the age" which determines social and political life, knowledge, religion and art. Hegel's work strongly influenced such people as FEUERBACH and MARX. Critics contend that it leads to TOTALITARIANISM and is so obscure as to bewitch the intellect.

KEYNES, John Maynard (1883-1946): the most influential economist of his time whose revolution in economic theory led to the break with classical economics and the boom following the Second World War with the result

that this era is often referred to as the "Keynesian Era." His greatest work is General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936). Keynes placed great stock in the role of ideas in society and believed that

ultimately ideas determine events.

MARX, Karl (1818-1883): German JEWISH philosopher, newspaper editor and writer who founded Marxism and modern communism. After being expelled from Prussia for his revolutionary activities in 1849, he settled in England where he did most of his writing. A student of HEGEL, his early writings reveal (in his notebooks) that he never really departed from HEGELIAN philosophy. His most famous but little read work is Das Capital

(1867, 1885 and 1895, 3 Vols.). Other voluminous writings include The Communist Manifesto (1847). To date no complete collections of his works have been published in English or any other language.

PEALE, Norman Vincent (1928-1986): a popular American writer and PREACHER whose "POSITIVE THINKING" inspired post-war Americans and helped develop a THEOLOGY of success. He published the influential

magazine Guideposts: his most popular book was The Power of Positive Thinking (1952).

PLATO (427?-347 BC): Greek philosopher of aristocratic Athenian descent who saw Athens decline politically and commercially as a result of the Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC. He founded the Academy (perhaps in 386 B.C.) which became the first endowed university and flourished until it closed in 529 A.D. Plato held that the material and sensible world is merely a temporary copy of permanent unchanging FORMS, which are the

object of all real knowledge. True ethical values are attained only by those individuals who have the proper perspective of SOUL or MIND and who place REASON above the baser elements of their personality. The best

government is possible only when philosophers, who are rational members of the State, become rulers. His teacher was SOCRATES and ARISTOTLE was his pupil--together they are the three greatest Greek philosophers.

POPPER, Sir Karl (1902-): Austrian born British philosopher whose Jewish parents converted to CHRISTIANITY. After a short period as a Marxist, he became disenchanted and was associated with the VIENNA CIRCLE which he also found inadequate. His own philosophy is set forth in The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1934) and a series of other books including the powerful The Open Society and its Enemies (1945) which is a sustained attack on both MARXISM and FASCISM. He argued that what separates MODERN, or OPEN SOCIETY, from TRIBAL, or CLOSED SOCIETY, is the scientific method which he sees as a technique for testing theories through their FALSIFICATION. A controversial figure, his arguments are often avoided by contemporary scholars who prefer to ignore rather than face the full force of his arguments.

POSITIVIST: used by Auguste COMTE, positivism was not only a THEORY of knowledge but was also a scheme of HISTORY and program of SOCIAL REFORM. In England positivism became both a free thinking radicalism and a scientific movement.

PRAGMATISM: a theory concerning the meaning of words originated by the American philosopher C. S. Pierce. The term and basic idea was borrowed and developed by William JAMES and John Dewey (1859-1952) to create a thoroughly MODERN American PHILOSOPHY based on a theory which identified TRUTH with the notion that whatever works is true.

PRODHON, Pierre Joseph (1809-1865): French journalist and radical writer who is the "Father of ANARCHISM." The title of his famous book Property is Theft (1840) was borrowed as a slogan by Karl MARX even though he strongly attacked Prodhon's political views.

RAND, Ayn (1903-1981): Russian emigre and OBJECTIVIST philosopher who popularized her views through novels such as The Fountainhead (1943), We the Living (1935) and Atlas Shrugged (1975). Although neglected by most academic philosophers, her views have had an immense influence strongly promoting INDIVIDUALISM and LIBERTARIAN political ideas.

SMITH, Adam (1723-1790): Scottish moral philosopher and founder of the discipline of economics through his book The Wealth of Nations (1776) which is often seen as the textbook of CAPITALISM. Although he argued

for a free market economy, Smith was highly critical of greedy businessmen and distrustful of both government indifference and the ability of capitalists to create monopolies.

TOLSTOY, Leo, (1828-1910): Russian Count, SOCIAL REFORMER and author best known for his classic novels such as War and Peace (1864-1869) and Anna Karenina (1873-1877). A MYSTIC who sought GOD and rejected such TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN doctrines as the INCARNATION and RESURRECTION, his religious works such as What I Believe (1882) and What Then Must We Do? (1886) have exercised a profound influence on many modern thinkers including GANDHI.

UNITARIANISM: a modern religious movement characterized by its rejection of the doctrines of the TRINITY and the deity of CHRIST. It first appeared in Poland and Hungary among ANABAPTISTS during the PROTESTANT REFORMATION but remained dormant until 1785 and the birth of the first American Unitarian congregation in Boston. The THEOLOGY quickly spread among CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES in Eastern Massachusetts and found support at Harvard Divinity School which became its center. Unitarianism is a

creedless RATIONALIST movement which rejects ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN views about the AUTHORITY of the BIBLE stressing instead many FORMS of divine REVELATION and the inherent goodness of man.

USURY: the lending of money at exorbitant interest. The practice was banned by the CHRISTIAN CHURCH and by ISLAM which also bans all FORMS of interest on the basis of ARISTOTLE'S theory of money. Following the PROTESTANT REFORMATION most Protestant Churches distinguished between usury as extortion and interest as legitimate reward for venture capital. The ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH also adopted this position in the late nineteenth century.

All of the above come from Irving Hexham's Concise Dictionary of Religion

To which I will ad: Jack London, Voluntaryism, Social Darwinism, Kerry Thornley, William Avery Hyde, Elizabeth Bentley, Quakerism, Mutualism, Rand Corp's Game Theory

[Sid Walker]

System three: [/u]

The Athean System [most likely meant to be the Athenian System]

A system opposed to communism, socialism, and capitalism

1. Democracy at a local level with no centralized State.

A. That the right of free enterprise and collective enterprise be guaranteed.

B. That fascism be abolished

C. That nationalism be excluded from every-day life.

D. That racial segregation or discrimination be abolished by law.

E. The right of the free, uninhibited action of religious institutions of any type or denomination to freely function.

G. Universal Suffrage for all persons over 18 years of age.

H. Freedom of dissemination of opinions through press or declaration or speech.

I. That the dissemination of war propaganda be forbidden as well as the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.

J. That Free compulsory education be universal until 18.

K. Nationalization or communizing of private enterprise or collective enterprise be forbidden.

L. That monopoly practices be considered as capitalistic.

M. That combining of separate collective or private enterprises into single collective units be considered as communistic.

N. That no taxes be levied against individuals

O. That heavy graduated taxes from 30% to 90% be leveled against surplus profit gains.

R. That taxes be collected by a single ministry subordinate to individual communities.

That taxes be used solely for the building or improvement of public projects.

Very interesting Greg.

I think I might sign up with my local branch of the Athean Party.

Their policies sound like a breath of fresh air, especially I.:

That the dissemination of war propaganda be forbidden as well as the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.

[Robert Howard]

It is interesting what happens when a criminal investigation into the death of a President, is not adequately investigated, to coin an expression once very popular on the FOX News Network, "some people say" that after 43 years, it has never been properly investigated. My personal favorite is from the CIA's John Whitten pseudonym John Scelso [text below from Jefferson Morley's article]

"Whitten also said that if he had been allowed to continue with the investigation he would have sought out what was going on at JM/WAVE. This would have involved the questioning of Ted Shackley, David Sanchez Morales, Carl E. Jenkins, Rip Robertson, George Joannides, Gordon Campbell and Thomas G. Clines."

Regarding the topic of this thread, what appears to be the most problematic, in terms of getting some clarity regarding how his activities fit into the "big picture. While Oswald's personal political outlook, comments, speeches interviews and his choice of reading material, are well known to practically everyone who maintains an interest, the information blackout, to coin a phrase keeps the unresolved questions, exactly that, unresolved.

Disgust reaches its culmination, in the "so it's finally come to this" spectacle of a judge throwing out the lawsuit to force disclosure of the CIA's files concerning George Joannides, and the most well known researchers publishing an open-letter requesting the same. The last statement does not imply there is anything wrong on that line of thought, it is just the utter ridiculousness of having to do so in the first place.

But the Oswald reading materials checked out of libraries, runs the gamut of topics, it is really unfortunate to not be able to ascertain, if he was reading the books to immerse himself in topics he was generally interested in, or if there is an even deeper reason. Then there is the conundrum of the John Bowen aka Ceasar Grossi, and David Ferrie's library card. It is all truly maddening.......

Edited March 10, 2007 by Robert Howard