RE: Fascism - Anyone else here read Asimov's Foundation Series?

[PCIntern]

Written in the McCarthy era, it is about the fall of galactic civilization into ignorance and technological disrepair; the heroes are the Foundation(s) which will preserve intellect and science thru this nightmare. A terrific allegory for its time, it seems even more prescient now. We are filled with ignorami who have taken over the media and many of the municipal works, such as the school boards and city/town councils.

We need a Hari Selden to plot our future, utilizing psychohistory as it were, and move on. I know this sounds trite but this didn't win the Hugo award for Best sf series of all time for nuthin'.

Those who read it: recall the interaction in the first book with the head of the delegation when he decries the scientific method IN MUCH THE SAME MANNER AS THE RWers do today.

Stunning...

[HamdenRice]

1. I read it decades ago as a kid

The thing I remember (I think) was that the group dedicated to preserving civilization was called "the historians" (?).

Also there was a twist at the end of the series, where you realize that some group has been manipulating history from behind the scenes for centuries.

[PCIntern]

3. "Encyclopedists" I think...

exactly right...they were in charge from the beginning...but they were the intellectuals, not the politicians...

[Motown_Johnny]

2. Foundation series, Robot series, Galactic series, all the short stories, and about 100 other novels

plus a dozen or so non-fiction and another half dozen or so mysteries. Also some collections of other authors he put together and then commented on each story. Fascinating stuff. Maybe 150-175 of his titles in total
.
He is by far my favorite author



From your post it appears you have not read them all (R.Daneel Olivaw is the real hero here). We do have a Psychohistory of sorts now, Watch the History Channel's "The Next Nostradamus".

[PCIntern]

4. and thousands of columns and short stories...

:hi:

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Didn't Read That, But Vonnegut's "Player Piano" Is Sorta Similar

In that it describes some characteristics of today's world. One big difference is that Vonnegut saw engineers as being the "overclass" - sadly, it's bankers instead.

Very influential book for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_Piano

[PCIntern]

6. Try "Foundation" the first 100 pages...

if you like it keep reading...if not, stop. I think you'd enjoy it based upon reading your posts over the years...

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Found It As An Audiobook For Free

http://www.archive.org/details/IsaacAsimov-TheFoundationTrilogy

I'll toss it on my iPod for my 1.5 hours of commuting each day. Thanks for the tip!

[Junkdrawer]

8. Thanks. I checked Audible, but the recordings there were panned...

:hi:

[PCIntern]

10. thanks for that!!!

great for the car!

[leveymg]

9. The Mule Lives

That was the most compelling character, the one I remember best, from when I read Asimov's trilogy the year I spent away at private school in 9th Grade, way back when. The Mule was a "mantalic", he had the ability to manipulate human emotions which he uses to sway people to his cause against their own better judgment and interests. This gives him the capacity to disrupt Hari Seldon's plan for a rational, eternal galactic order by invalidating Seldon's assumption that human emotional responses to stimuli will remain the same. He is the archetypal trickster or shaman character, who conquers through managed chaos and seeming randomness - he's a figure familiar today on Wall Street and the Fox network as much as figures in history of antiquity, such as Genghis Khan or Alarac.

A worthwhile read, if you have the time. It helped me get through a year spent in an unfamiliar structured environment of Latin Class, striped ties, Episcopal Mass, and Frosh Football.

[zbdent]

11. a few notes on what constitutes fascism can be found here ...

where they do their level best to spin the Pope's "Hitler Youth" days ...

I don't recall Obama doing any of the things that the Nazis did ...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-04-23-new-pope-defied-Nazis_x.htm