From: Kevin (kevin@xap.com)
Date: Mon Jan 13 2003 - 22:04:20 GMT
Platt and DMB quoted Pirsig:
"That's what neither the socialist NOR the capitalists ever got figured
out.
From a static point of view socialism is more moral than capitalism. Its
a
higher form of evolution. Its an intellectually guided society, not just
a society that is guided by mindless traditons. That's what gives
socialism its drive. But what the socialist left out and what has all
but killed their whole undertaking is an absence of a concept of
indefinite DQ. You go to a socialist city and it's always a dull place
because there's little DQ. On the other hand the conservatives who keep
trumpeting about the virtues of free enterprise are normally just
supporting their own self-interest. They are just doing the usual
cover-up fro the rich in their age-old explotation of the poor. Some of
them seem to sense there is also something mysteriously virtuous in a
free enterprise system and you can see them stuggling to put it into
words but they don't have the metaphysical vocabulary for it any more
than the socialists do."
Kevin:
It's interesting that this quote is being shoe-horned into an argument
for each side.
This quote is interesting but leaves me with questions.
If socialism is "more moral" and "more evolved" than why is it dying
out, according to Pirsig? He seems to suggest that it lacks DQ. How can
it lack DQ and be "more moral" at the same time? Something doesn't quite
jive with that.
Maybe Pirsig is making a distinction between the Theories and the
Systems involved? The IDEA of the Left is more moral, but historically
the socialists (and I assume he means the Hard Left not just Social
Democrats like most of western europe) failed to implement actual
Systems that made good on these high ideas without resorting to regimes
devoid of DQ. Is that the point?
Or is he saying that in practice, a low-moral idea that allows for DQ
(capitalism) is superior to a high-moral idea that doesn't? Or has
practice nothing to do with it and even in theory this is the case?
-Kevin
MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net
To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Jan 13 2003 - 22:04:35 GMT