Dear John B.,
Glad you appreciated my 1/5 23:52 +0200 post.
You wrote 2/5 20:58 +1000:
'I also liked your first four points for progress ...
Though you completely lost me with your others, especially
- measures stimulating the export of Palestinian products in which
Palestinians and Jews have both had a minimum input of labor.
Can you explain?'
The last bit of my post was written too hastily. I am going on holiday for a
week tomorrow, had worked on it for several days (evenings) and wanted to
finish it.
Having read your emphasis on individual morality it is no wonder that I lost
you with the last two points: they were intended as suggestions for
collective morality.
E.g. Dutch/European Union government could stimulate co-operation between
Palestinian and Jews by requiring imports from Palestine/Israel to be
produced with both Palestinian and Jewish labor. If they want to restrict
imports of certain products that compete with Dutch/Western European
industries anyway (I don't want them to, they do it anyway), then they'd
better make sure that this restriction has some positive effect also: by
discriminating against production processes in which the groups making up a
society don't properly co-operate.
The same effect can be created with individual morality by the way. I prefer
to buy bananas, coffee etc. that are produced with good labor conditions,
ecologically sustainable etc.. If I would be able to distinguish them on the
market, I would certainly buy ecologically grown vegetables that came from
say a Kibbutz where Jews and Palestinians work harmoniously together, in
order to support such a shining example in that region (even when it would
use a disproportionate share of available water resources ...; social
justice is somewhat more important to me than ecological sustainability).
The authority of supra-national institutions to grant or deny peoples the
right to an own state (which Jonathan's history 9/4 21:49 +0300 referred to)
is also an example of collective morality. This too has a parallel in
individual morality: individuals claiming/supporting national sovereignty or
claiming/supporting cosmopolitanism.
As a matter of 'fact' reality consists of both individual and collective
morality. My MoQ doesn't point to only one of the two.
Regarding what you write about Wilber's 'holarchic structure of morality': I
wrote before that I consider that to be a (welcome) differentiation of
(sub-levels of) Pirsig's intellectual level. I'm afraid I don't have time to
expand on that before going on holiday. And after that I first have to read
lots of excellent contributions of others before I can/want to write
anything myself again. So long!
With friendly greetings,
Wim
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