From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Sun Nov 07 2004 - 02:24:58 GMT
Hi Scott,
On 6 Nov 2004 at 9:23, Scott Roberts wrote:
> msh says:
> The idea expressed here is precisely what Freud meant when he said
> religion is the opiate of the masses. Don't try to fix things
> through politics; the people who are running things know best: let
> them handle it. Scott, I'm gonna be depressed for the rest of the
> evening... say it ain't so.... :-(
It hardly implies that the people who are running things know best.
It implies that nothing is going to run well unless and until people
evolve, so that no one seeks power over others, and so no one seeks
escape through drugs or religion. Marxism is just another drug -- a
way to ignore the necessity for self-critique by identifying an
external enemy to blame. Neo-conservatism and religious
fundamentalism are other such drugs, identifying a different enemy.
Such enemies may be real, but one's own imperfections are always the
most immediate problem needing addressing.
msh says:
Hope you read my addendum to this post. But you are right, my
thinking here was sloppy and incomplete.
I agree that one's own imperfections are the most immediate problem,
to the extent that they prevent one from making valuable
contributions to our ground of common humanity. Taken too far,
concern for one's own problems and imperfections leads to a kind of
withdrawal from humanity, as well as a sad kind of neurosis and
Narcissism. Observe the main character in just about any Woody Allen
movie, for example.
And just for the record, I am not and never have been a Marxist.
Although he's contributed tremendous value to my understanding of
political and economic reality. If someone needs to label me, I'd go
for something like rational-empiricist-anarachist-libertarian, hey,
REAL. Now there's an acronym that should catch on!
I'll get back to you on the WEALTH part of this post, as I think
there remains some important things to be said.
Best,
msh
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