Lots of fundamental truth here Paul. I too studied Canadian political scientist C. B. Macpherson's works in Canada at the University of Western Ontario. I leaned towards Erich Fromm and Bertrand Russell's getting at the fundamental truth that man naturally wants to work-that following his intrinsic interests rather than escaping this freedom and being schooled. Ivan Illich and the de-schooling movement was all about the fact that we are natural born learners and society does everything to deny that fact. We manufacture unnecessary-crippling needs. We do not need to be incentivized we need to be freed and we need access to resources services. Bertrand Russel commented on the fact it is a shame that a man is only free of institutional ties to write freely when he is too old to do his best work and too ingrained in institutional thinking. E.F. Shumacher in Small is Beautiful also gets at how man lives in the local-that's where community is most possible-distant centralized leadership is just that distant.
There's sometbing of a Canadian left academic tradition I gather...CB Mac, Ellen Meiksens-Wood, David McNally, and others I'm sure. Henry Giroux has been teaching in Canada for years.
In The Unconscious Civilization John Ralston Saul argues that “our civilization is tightly held by corporate ideology. The acceptance of corporatism causes us to deny and undermine the legitimacy of the individual as a citizen in democracy. The result of such a denial is a growing imbalance which leads to our adoration of self- interest and our denial of public good. Corporatism is an ideology which claims rationality as its central quality. The overall effects on the individual are passivity and conformity in those areas that matter and non-conformism in those that don’t. I would suggest that Marxism, fascism and the marketplace all resemble each other. They are all corporatist, managerial (big and bureaucratic and centralized- brackets are mine) and hooked on technology as their particular golden calf.”
What attracts us to corporatism is its ease-the ease and comfort of escaping from freedom.
We love the efficiency of corporatism in producing materialism...in doing so we have lost-reduced our humanity to consumerism.
This gem is one to read over and over, because as Glen Brown says it contains "Lots of fundamental truth." The rest of the world needs to get these truths before it's too late, so keep on knocking out these great antidotes to solipsism and capitalist greed.
I don't see how humanity can survive ten more years of capitalism. Mother Nature has been saying ENOUGH for decades. We gave it half a Millennium and now it has brought the four apocalyptic horsemen I mentioned above to the fore.
Excellent commentary, Paul. Reminded me of this important piece from Bob Avakian, "Hope For Humanity On A Scientific Basis: Breaking with Individualism, Parasitism and American Chauvinism." As he put it there, "It’s not that people are inherently selfish, in accordance with some concept of unchanging 'human nature.' The particular word Lenin uses is very important—under this system people are forced to calculate with the stinginess of a miser. They are forced to be indifferent toward other people and how things affect them." Our task is to struggle like hell with people to break from that.
Yes the political science departments...but our economics departments were / are just as sick as the Chicago school of Economics...which as you know is the sickest thing our civilization has produced.
Lots of fundamental truth here Paul. I too studied Canadian political scientist C. B. Macpherson's works in Canada at the University of Western Ontario. I leaned towards Erich Fromm and Bertrand Russell's getting at the fundamental truth that man naturally wants to work-that following his intrinsic interests rather than escaping this freedom and being schooled. Ivan Illich and the de-schooling movement was all about the fact that we are natural born learners and society does everything to deny that fact. We manufacture unnecessary-crippling needs. We do not need to be incentivized we need to be freed and we need access to resources services. Bertrand Russel commented on the fact it is a shame that a man is only free of institutional ties to write freely when he is too old to do his best work and too ingrained in institutional thinking. E.F. Shumacher in Small is Beautiful also gets at how man lives in the local-that's where community is most possible-distant centralized leadership is just that distant.
There's sometbing of a Canadian left academic tradition I gather...CB Mac, Ellen Meiksens-Wood, David McNally, and others I'm sure. Henry Giroux has been teaching in Canada for years.
In The Unconscious Civilization John Ralston Saul argues that “our civilization is tightly held by corporate ideology. The acceptance of corporatism causes us to deny and undermine the legitimacy of the individual as a citizen in democracy. The result of such a denial is a growing imbalance which leads to our adoration of self- interest and our denial of public good. Corporatism is an ideology which claims rationality as its central quality. The overall effects on the individual are passivity and conformity in those areas that matter and non-conformism in those that don’t. I would suggest that Marxism, fascism and the marketplace all resemble each other. They are all corporatist, managerial (big and bureaucratic and centralized- brackets are mine) and hooked on technology as their particular golden calf.”
What attracts us to corporatism is its ease-the ease and comfort of escaping from freedom.
We love the efficiency of corporatism in producing materialism...in doing so we have lost-reduced our humanity to consumerism.
Once again I say, Amen, brother.
This gem is one to read over and over, because as Glen Brown says it contains "Lots of fundamental truth." The rest of the world needs to get these truths before it's too late, so keep on knocking out these great antidotes to solipsism and capitalist greed.
I don't see how humanity can survive ten more years of capitalism. Mother Nature has been saying ENOUGH for decades. We gave it half a Millennium and now it has brought the four apocalyptic horsemen I mentioned above to the fore.
Like Montepulciano you only get better with age.
Great commentary.
Lol
Peace
Street smarts personified.!
Excellent commentary, Paul. Reminded me of this important piece from Bob Avakian, "Hope For Humanity On A Scientific Basis: Breaking with Individualism, Parasitism and American Chauvinism." As he put it there, "It’s not that people are inherently selfish, in accordance with some concept of unchanging 'human nature.' The particular word Lenin uses is very important—under this system people are forced to calculate with the stinginess of a miser. They are forced to be indifferent toward other people and how things affect them." Our task is to struggle like hell with people to break from that.
Yes the political science departments...but our economics departments were / are just as sick as the Chicago school of Economics...which as you know is the sickest thing our civilization has produced.