Re: MD Beyond Liberalism?

From: edeads (edeads@prodigy.net)
Date: Fri Mar 12 2004 - 02:01:48 GMT

  • Next message: Leland Jory: "Re: MD Beyond"

    good of you to note the "inequality and failure to reduce working hours."
    these are major impediments.

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "David MOREY" <us@divadeus.freeserve.co.uk>
    To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
    Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2004 5:38 PM
    Subject: Re: MD Beyond Liberalism?

    > Hi dude, yeah the PARTY party is good for me too.
    >
    > Back to reality.... OK interesting points below.
    > So how seriously do we need to take the value
    > of the intellectual level. How are we going to get more
    > people on this level and off of the dominance of the social
    > level. I think that mal-functioning aspects of the social level,
    > such as inequality and the failure to reduce working hours,
    > is making progress currently impossible.
    >
    > regards
    > David M
    > ----- Original Message -----
    > From: "David Buchanan" <DBuchanan@ClassicalRadio.org>
    > To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
    > Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2004 8:33 PM
    > Subject: MD Beyond Liberalism?
    >
    >
    > > Morey, Sam, Matt and all MOQers:
    > >
    > > dmb says:
    > > DM's comments (below) were taken from the "When is a metaphysics not a
    > > metaphysics?" thread. As you'll see, the topic has changed to politics
    > since
    > > the thread began...
    > >
    > > DM wrote:
    > > I think we need to promote the MOQ over the limitations of SOM. I also
    > > suggest liberalism is tied to SOM, so that moving beyond SOM probably
    > means
    > > going beyond liberalism. We have to undermine the present aristocracy,
    > with
    > > its patronage, corruption, inequality, illegitimacy, etc; not uphold its
    > > power by accepting private ownership and property, appalling standards
    of
    > > education, the moral vacuum at the heart of corporate life, etc. We
    > > currently lack ambition, I would like to dream again in a manner of
    those
    > > strange mixed times of secularism and intense religiosity known as the
    > > Renaissance.
    > >
    > > dmb says:
    > > Liberalism is tied to SOM? Well, yea, but not any more than any other
    > widely
    > > held modern political ideology. In fact, its hard to imagine how any
    > modern
    > > intellectual discipline could have escaped the effects of scientific
    > > materialism. BUT - and this is a really big but, even bigger than JLo's
    > > butt, I don't think that shifting from a SOM to the MOQ requires the
    > > ejection of Liberalism. In fact, I think Pirsig's framework only
    clarifies
    > > its status and sharpens its meaning.
    > >
    > > "What passed for morality within this crowd (of liberal intellectuals
    like
    > > himself) was a kind of vague, amorphous soup of sentiments known as
    'human
    > > rights'. You were also supposed to be 'reasonable'. What these terms
    > really
    > > meant was never spelled out in any way that Phadedrus had ever heard.
    You
    > > were just supposed to cheer for them. He knew now that the reason nobody
    > > ever spelled them out was nobody ever could. In a subject-object
    > > understanding of the world these terms have no meaning. There is no such
    > > thing as 'human rights'. There is no such thing as moral reasonableness.
    > > There are subjects and objects and nothing else. This soup of sentiments
    > > about logically non-existent entities can be straightened out by the
    MOQ.
    > It
    > > says that what is meant by 'human rights' is usually the moral code of
    > > intellect-vs-society; the moral right of intellect to be free of social
    > > control. Freedom of speech; freedom of assembly, of travel; trial by
    jury;
    > > habeus corpus; government by consent - these 'human rights' are all
    > > intellect-vs-society issues. According to the MOQ these 'human rights'
    > have
    > > not just a sentimental basis, but a rational, metaphysical basis. They
    are
    > > essential to the evolution of a higher level of life from a lower level
    of
    > > life. They are for real. ...Unless you separate these two levels of
    moral
    > > codes you get a paralyzing confusion as to whether society is moral or
    > > immoral. That paralyzing confusion is what dominates all thoughts about
    > > morality and society today." LILA CH 24
    > >
    > > dmb continues:
    > > I think this is where we see Pirsig tossing out the bathwater WITHOUT
    > losing
    > > the baby. He gets us out of the soup WITHOUT losing Liberalism. We can
    > build
    > > upon that. If that's what you mean by "going beyond liberalism", then I
    > can
    > > agree. But I think its pretty clear that Pirsig's MOQ only improves
    > > Liberalism. I think this clarification is exactly what "the pragmatists"
    > > need in order to avoid begging the question over social level ideologues
    > > such as fascists and fundamentalists. I think this is the larger
    framework
    > > we need to avoid the contradiction of Liberalism that Sam mentioned and
    > Matt
    > > explained. The MOQ allows us to assert that allowing each one the
    freedom
    > to
    > > subscribe to any conception of the good life is much more than just
    > another
    > > conception of the good life. The confusing paralysis that Pirsig refers
    to
    > > effects "the pragmatist" because he "can't separate these two levels of
    > > moral codes" and has no reasonable basis to priveledge liberal
    conceptions
    > > of the good life over any other. In "the pragmatists" view the conflict
    > > between fundamentalists and secular liberalism is only a matter of rival
    > > vocabularies, but Pirsig sees it as a manifestation of a much larger
    > > evolutionary conflict. As such, the freedom to pursue one's own
    conception
    > > of the good life is not only better than the opposite, it is a necessary
    > > part of the ongoing evolutionary process.
    > >
    > > "But what the larger intellectual structure of the MOQ makes clear is
    that
    > > this political battle of science to free itself from donimation by
    social
    > > moral codes was in fact a MORAL battle! It was the battle of a higher,
    > > intellectual level of evolution to keep itself from being devoured by a
    > > lower, social level of evolution." LILA CH 24
    > >
    > > DM wrote:
    > > ...how much more do we need a public re-evaluation of values? I think
    the
    > > first slogan of my new 'love and freedom party' is 'less work more
    quality
    > > for life'. Our values: freedom, life, love, giving, joy. Perhaps also
    > > 'CoOperation not competition'. Feels like 1968 again doesn't it? Anyone
    > want
    > > to join?
    > >
    > > dmb says:
    > > Yea, man. Groovy. How about if we call it "the PARTY party". We'll hold
    > our
    > > nominating convention in Las Vegas and Paris Hilton will be the first
    lady
    > > no matter who wins the nomination. Robert Downey Jr will be our drug
    czar
    > > and Tommy Chong will head the agriculture department. Our party's slogan
    > > will be "Imagine whirled peas". And we'll move the nation's capitol from
    > > Washington to Santa Cruz, man.
    > >
    > >
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    >
    >
    >
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