Altruism is an alternative to competition as the all-definitive, if not vulgar, expression of the evolutionary principle. The question is, how can we put it to work?
Social Darwinism, the mainstay of political philosophy known as libertarianism, would have us believe that competition provides us with the gist of the evolutionary principle at work, a naturally acquired trait which explains the survival of the individual, the species, even the society at large. This philosophy is buttressed at times by appeals to biblical if not moral themes, to “industriousness” and the “just desserts” kind of thing, and capitalism emerges as the predominant mode of production, the heart of the economic system at work: those who control the capital and, by extension, the labor of others, are either morally or intellectually superior and, in representing thus the higher rung of moral or evolutionary development, are justified on those very grounds; and the cosmic order (again, either moral or evolutionary) is being preserved. In The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber offers a penetrating analysis of the religious impulse and how it forges both the objective fact and the subjective belief. Frédéric Bastiat’s life and works are devoted to providing the justification.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments126 - Cindy
If I am indoctrinated into a system so that the system is my reality (which is what I have been arguing) to the degree that I have very little ability to to be critical, how on earth can I teach other people to be critical?
*Are you grasping the meaning of INDOCTRINATED? Can a true indoctrinated soldier raised in a military environment to act in certain ways and accept certain things as reality be critical of his own reality?
127 - Cindy
Or let's say he can be, but is this the ordinary position?
I am saying people are acting based on indoctrinated positions they do not have clarity about. How can they be critical of things they don't even know they don't know?
128 - roger nowosielski
Cindy,
You do draw a bleak picture. If it were exactly as you're saying, then it would be well nigh impossible to ever get out from Plats's cave. No one's saying it's easy, but you've got to admit, there have been some escapees.
In every generation, there are those who strive for freedom and struggle against domination.
The human spirit is not to be denied.
129 - Cindy
It is all to rare, Roger. To me, it is very bleak. That is why I intend to withdraw.
130 - Cindy
Why do you think that the world is so very hard to make a dent in. Look at all the conversations here. How much real understanding has even been exchanged?
131 - Irene Athena
You live in California, Dr. Dreadful. The person who delivered door hangers to YOUR house had five inch guages in each ear. AND dreadlocks, and is confident enough to be impervious to insults, who'll deliver Ron Paul literature come rain, hail, sleet, snow or dark of night. I love those guys.
Some of the most brilliant and productive geniuses have been bat-shit-crazy.
BOY HOWDY THOUGH! How 'bout that straw poll!
132 - Irene Athena
Another surprising group of political activists: the Hip Hop Republicans. I wouldn't call them bat-shit crazy by any stretch though; the first video had me tearing up a couple of minutes into it.
Glenn, don't make a pest of yourself on their Twitter page. And when on another forum where you MIGHT find support for your "anyone who criticizes Obama is a racist" views, please do NOT, EVER again, use "real" as an adverb. I'm getting REALLY, REALLY tired of it.
133 - Irene Athena
Will he win? Maybe you don't want him to, Cindy. But he's the ONLY candidate getting any attention who's speaking out against the War(s) on Terror (aka the neocon military contractor's vision for the next eon) and the forty-year old failed War on Drugs. And HOPEFULLY that will change. Ron Paul never claimed to be the only one who could carry this message.
His voice is attracting listeners, YOUNG, enthusiastic, dedicated activists, who are getting involved and running for offices at the local level. That's where a turn around the corner to a more peaceful future might be coming from. And that isn't hay.
They won't be abolishing capitalism, not any time soon, anyway. Some of them might think anarcho-capitalism is the ideal, but if they get there, they're going to get there in a way that wins an educated following. No bloodshed, please God. No dehumanizing "the enemy."
Cindy, their ideal economic system might be different from yours, but their ideal of peace and justice isn't. They look at the current failed capitalist system, and see the same rotten apple on the ground that you do. Maybe they'll plant a new apple tree. Maybe they'll plant something different, new and improved.
Don't give up hope.
134 - Irene Athena
(Not all Hip-Hop Republicans are Ron Paul Republicans. The ones on that page were, though.)
135 - roger nowosielski
Well, Anarcissie, now that the storm has subsided, perhaps we can discuss aspects of Hillary's thesis whenever you're ready.
I'm concerned with the applicability of Alinsky's model in the present. Initially, the main thrust was local. In time, Alinsky himself came to a realization that there is a need to expand the model to cover broader scope of action -- beyond the local community. But that was in the seventies.
One wonders whether the present-day conditions call for a reconsideration and a shift back to the local community as the most effective theater for activism.
136 - Baronius
"Okay, Dr.D if you say so. But all you have said functions like some rational auto defense. It has prevented you from grasping the meaning of what I am saying."
Not bothering with the well anymore, I guess. Poisoning him directly.
137 - tro ll
Why do you think that the world is so very hard to make a dent in.
how about: blame the dialectic
we cling to an explanation and understanding of movement and change as based on the conflict and balance of opposites and reproduce the concepts in our behavior
138 - roger nowosielski
Interesting. That means we're in the business of re-enacting.
So what's the remedy? Consensus rather than conflict? Flies in the fact of Alinksy's power/conflict model. Garnering of power is the necessary first step, he'd say, to get you to the negotiating table so you might reach new consensus.
139 - Clavos
The thing that jumps out at me in all discussions of "better" politico-philosophical "systems," including this discussion, is that all those who, like Cindy, support their ideas with the belief that, given enough education, indoctrination or otherwise convincing, all humans will see the light and some form of good and just system of governance will prevail.
My point is that there is never a consideration of just how many truly evil people are afoot in the world; never, that is, until a Hitler or a Pol Pot comes out from under his rock, and everyone gasps and agrees as to how horrible National Socialism or the Killing Fields were, but once the evil one is vanquished everyone seems to disregard the fact that there are millions of truly abhorrent, completely amoral animals roaming around in human bodies.
These scum will never disappear, and will always be around to throw a monkey wrench (and much worse) in "the best laid plans."
It is unrealistic and dangerous to ignore their existence.
140 - roger nowosielski
A view from the bridge, Clavos.
Isn't it the case, though, that the arrival of strongmen, along with the kind of devastation they can sow, are made possible by conditions which pretty much spell out an advanced breakdown of society so as to provide a fertile ground?
So it's not exactly from under some rock that these "monsters" crawl out.
Likewise in the other direction. The rise of Hugo Chavez may be seen as a response to years of the ruling class domination, just as it's the case with the Arab Spring. No different with the rise of cartels in Mexico and parts of Latin America.
It'a been a seesaw between action and reaction.
141 - roger nowosielski
Baronius,
Here's a better formulation. From a purist, perhaps classical standpoint, political philosophy oughtn't concern itself with the economic system in place -- only with how to attain a just society. In any case, the impetus behind political philosophy oughtn't be economic considerations as its source, nor should political philosophy become reduced to the role of a servant.
In actuality, however, for too many people, political philosophy serves as a/n (ideological -- to say this is redundant, in a way) justification of the economic system in place.
So when I spoke of libertarianism, I did have in mind this loaded sense. For which reason, I posed the question I had posed earlier: Does Mr. Nalle approve of the capitalist system or does he not? And in that sense, a discussion of political philosophy can no longer be divorced from economic thought which in more cases than not, underpins it. The rather recent turn of phrase, "political economy" -- abandoned by now for understandable reasons -- underscores this point.
Thanks for making me think, Baronius. It was a good exchange.
142 - Cindy
Clav,
I don't think humans will see the light. I think that the nature of societies insures indoctrination will be invisible and therefore the constructed social reality will be seen as just natural. And I don't like where it is going. Forget Pol Pot, I don't much like what I see in 'Joe next door'. ;-)
I do think that we are what we are because of what went into us. Thus, my suggestion that the world will not change until we change the diets of the children we raise.
That said, evil abounds. I am more interested in turning the ship for the long voyage. Someone must start working now if we are to achieve change a thousand years hence.
143 - Cindy
137 troll
Thanks for clarifying that. That sounds right.
Irene,
Thanks for all your posts. I have been reading and appreciating them.
144 - roger nowosielski
You've got to distinguish, Cindy, between your kind of brandwash and this one.
145 - Anarcissie
Alinsky and Rodham were working within liberalism. They were smart people and thus their writing is entertaining, but their ideas didn't change anything fundamental. I am more interested in fundamental stuff because I have learned through long experience that I will have little effect on superficial, even if practical, matters. This is not to say that the superficial matters are unimportant; it's just that I have to pick my battles and I might as well pick interesting, whole-hog ones.
In regard to Ron Paul, he makes more sense than any other prominent politician I'm aware of, but this is saying very little. Given my view of the relation between the ruling class and the government, I think there is zero chance that he can be elected, unless he's a better faker than I think he is. His function is to delude people with limited libertarian impulses into thinking they're involved in system of democratic governance. He might stir something up, but if so that will be by appealing to something off the liberal board.
In regard to Clavos's view of human nature: I think we know very little about human nature. I too am fairly pessimistic about its chances, but as continued mass sociopathy will lead to the early demise of the human race I am working toward more interesting alternatives. (Götterdämmerungen are exciting but brief; the silence which follows will drag on for a long old time.)
146 - Glenn Contrarian
Irene -
And when on another forum where you MIGHT find support for your "anyone who criticizes Obama is a racist" views, please do NOT, EVER again, use "real" as an adverb. I'm getting REALLY, REALLY tired of it.
That's a great example of exaggeration, Irene. I have never said, never even hinted that "anyone who criticizes Obama is a racist". But I DO call anyone a racist who makes racist comments and hasn't the courage to own up to them. One of them is Ron Paul - he allowed them in his magazine over a period of years, and I showed that his own campaign staff thought the comments were his! Of course, those who support Paul will gladly take his own word (a politician's word, mind you) about something he did wrong, even over the word of his own staff and his own magazine.
So next time, please be REAL careful about blowing things out of proportion...and about being so eager to believe a politician when the evidence is so strong to the contrary.
P.S. Thanks for the correction on 'real' as an adverb. You're right and I'm wrong, and I appreciate the correction.
147 - roger nowosielski
Continued live coverage of Death Row Vigil for Troy Davis out of Georgia.
148 - roger nowosielski
The stay of execution has been denied by SCOTUS.
149 - El Bicho
Wonder if anything will change in how GA handles these cases?
150 - Dr Dreadful
Nah, Georgia is a member of the Blooddeathrevenge Confederation. I don't think it particularly matters to them if the right person gets executed for murder, as long as somebody does.
151 - zingzing
i really can't believe they went through with that shit. i know the legal process is full of bullshit, but there should be some way to stop it when there's so much doubt. the prosecutors say it was all bullshit, but goddammit, you can't just execute a man when there's so much public doubt. that's just nonsense.
if the public is calling for a stay, fucking stay. a state can't be acting like this. in the face of the doubt about any doubt about his guilt, they should have ordered a new trial. no government should act like that.
both the gov't of georgia and the scotus should fucking recognize that shit like this isn't what we want them for.
they're good for something, but not for fucking executing people on possibly bogus charges.
too late for him, too late for them, and too late for us.
152 - Cindy
I think Obama should go lecture some other country for their human and civil 'rights' abuses:
President Obama, who routinely lectures sovereign governments abroad about civil rights and human rights issues within their countries, has until now said nothing to the state government of Georgia that allowed racist police forces to intimidate and coerce witnesses in the effort to execute an innocent Black man.
153 - Baronius
Didn't the Davis case have multiple appeals and reviews? If capital punishment is ever permissible, this case seems like the correct application of it.
154 - roger nowosielski
Highlights of yesterday's six-hour live broadcast of yesterday's vigil.
Democracy Now! was the only news outlet to cover the event.
155 - Anarcissie
The point of executions is to create offical state terror, so that when an ordinary citizen is confronted by a police officer, he will understand that he must submit to the officer as a superior being -- a servant of the sacrosanct state. In the present case, a police officer was actually killed, so someone certainly had to be killed in reprisal. It was not only a crime against a person, but lèse majesté. If the someone killed was the 'wrong person', so much the better, perhaps -- more terror.
156 - roger nowosielski
The following decision by Indiana Supreme Court is a related development which speak to the growing reign of terror by the modern State:
Indiana High Court Rules People Cannot Resist Illegal Entry by Police Into Homes.
157 - roger nowosielski
The aforementioned decision dated May 21, 2011 was just upheld on September 20 -- ironically on the eve of Troy Davis's execution.
158 - zingzing
anarcissie: "The point of executions is to create offical state terror..."
oh, balderdash. if that was the point of it, why would any state ever get rid of it?
159 - Christopher Rose
I am 100% opposed to the death penalty for the following reasons:-
1. The legal system makes mistakes but there is no way to put things right when someone has been executed for a crime they didn't commit.
2. If murder is wrong, how can state murder be right?
3. Execution seems more like vengeance not justice.
4. Barbaric practices demean us all.
I will never be persuaded to support this measure and could never bring myself to live in a country that practised it, so unfortunately yet another reason not to live in the former land of the free, a country by and large I love.
160 - Dr Dreadful
Didn't the Davis case have multiple appeals and reviews?
As do the vast majority of all death penalty cases, which is as it should be. However...
If capital punishment is ever permissible, this case seems like the correct application of it.
...the fact that multiple appeals and petitions were allowed (and denied in at least a couple of instances on a "technicality" and on a judge's prejudice), based on the demonstrable argument that Davis's guilt was no longer proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and yet he was still put to death, suggests to me that something is seriously screwed up with the application of justice in capital cases.
161 - Irene Athena
Baronius, since 1996, seven out of the nine prosecution witnesses have signed affadavits retracting their testimony. One of the two who HASN'T is the primary alternative suspect, Redd Coles, and there are three witnesses who have in affadavits stated that he bragged to them about MacPhail's murder. Four of the witnesses say they were coerced by police into saying they saw things they did not see. Another witness who recanted was a woman who had been on parole for shoplifting, who felt things would go better for her if she said what the police wanted her to say.
It took a long time to collect these statements. Federal cuts to the program which helped with Davis' defense created an environment which (as stated in an affidavit by the Executive Director) the "work conducted on Mr. Davis' case was akin to triage... There were numerous witnesses that we knew should have been interviewed, but lacked the resources to do so."
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 says death row inmates can't present evidence that could've been presented at an earlier trial. So, the affadavits were discounted on procedural grounds: they weren't presented on time, through no fault of his own.
162 - Baronius
Time corrodes every case. Witnesses change stories because it doesn't cost them anything. The new stories shouldn't be accepted without cross-examination. In fact, that's the underlying problem with all after-the-case claims of innocence. It's easy to say that the defense should have won the case if you haven't sat through the prosecution's presentation.
163 - zingzing
there's good reason to doubt davis' guilt. but you can't inject a corpse with doubt and reanimate it. the death penalty probably just executed an innocent man, and for that crime, should be executed by the state legislature. or the federal legislature. or by human progress.
if you do believe in the death penalty, you should be doubly adamant that it is correctly applied in all cases. if there is a shred of reasonable doubt, you should be the one calling for a stay in order to examine the evidence one more time.
when shit like this happens, it's just another nail in the death penalty's coffin.
164 - Baronius
I can sympathize with people who oppose the death penalty. That's a tough call.
165 - Anarcissie
166 - Dr Dreadful
Fundamentally, there is considerable inherent tension between any ruling class and those whom it rules. This tension must be played properly or a deterioration of ruling-class power may ensue.
Doesn't account for situations such as that in the UK, where the majority of public opinion has been in favour of reintroducing the death penalty for many years, but where it is consistently defeated every time it comes up for a vote in the Commons.
167 - Dr Dreadful
What is curious about those areas of the United States that most favor state power through official terror is that so many of their inhabitants profess themselves to be 'against government'.
'Against government' is actually an empty claim. What the Tea Partiers and allied groups really are, by and large, is against taxes.
168 - zingzing
anarcisse, at least in this case, you seem to simplify things down to a point that they become meaningless. if a state wanted to "create official state terror," they wouldn't hide it or suggest that it was anything but that. the average citizen of georgia is not afraid of the state of georgia. so they're doing a piss-poor job.
169 - roger nowosielski
@166
That's rather odd. Why aren't the MPs voted out in that case since they persist on ignoring the popular sentiment?
170 - Dr Dreadful
It is odd, isn't it?
Almost as if it makes no sense...
171 - zingzing
roger, maybe there are other issues people vote on. they may disagree with their mp's stance on that one issue, but...
i think most people want free chocolate. but i doubt they'd vote their senator out if he was against that idea.
172 - roger nowosielski
It's not a matter of life 'n death, in that case -- pun intended.
173 - Anarcissie
As to the UK, what people say to pollsters and the way they vote are two different things. More than that I cannot say because I don't have a lot of detail about the UK.
I have lived in Georgia and I can assure you that many people, especially the poor, are afraid of the police. At the same time many of them rather admire the police and support severity on the part of the government. People have written long books about why this is so, but it will be laborious to transcribe even their titles into this blog, and correct and pertinent as I may be, I am also lazy. I am surprised, though, that you all think the death penalty has some substantial purpose other than state terror. It has been shown often enough that it does not deter the crimes for which it is administered, does not raise the dead, and is very dubious as to justness. I suppose it may serve as an effective vehicle of personal vengeance for some, although here the question of accurately finding the proper target comes into question. The propriety of exacting and enjoying vengeance varies from culture to culture and is often related to ethnic configurations. I assume it is stronger in Georgia than in Vermont.
174 - roger nowosielski
It's no different in Kentucky (unless you're the meanest man in waycross georgia).
Shoot, it's not all that different even in small California towns, like Alameda, if you're a minority. Milpitas, on the fringe of the Silicon Valley, is another good one -- the capital of traffic citations in the US.
We are becoming an increasingly militaristic state.
175 - Clavos
I lived in Georgia in the 70s and 80s. The number of prisoners shot "while trying to escape" which were reported in the press was truly impressive; one can only guess at how many were never reported.