11-07-2012, 09:45 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-08-2012, 08:06 AM by FireIceTalon.)
Perhaps all is a strong word. I will reduce it to most. Happy? I know it sounds fucked up, but it is true man. I truly believe in that saying that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely", although I believe distribution of power is more important than the power itself. Many of the police and military may not be aware of what their actual role is, and I am sure they think they are just doing their jobs, which to some degree is true. I doubt many of them think of it as "Yep, I gotta protect private capital and ruling class interests no matter what", but that is their purpose all the same. And they both certainly have committed many atrocities in doing their "jobs", even if some of these instances are done in the name of personal egoism rather than in the direct interests of the State (though egoism itself has a very strong correlation with capitalist culture and psychology, that can result in deviant and undesirable behaviors) - this is because many police and soldiers are very reactionary, ideologically speaking, as a result of being raised in a capitalist society. Yet, a small part of me has some sorrow for them also, because they serve a greater power that generally cares little about them. At the end of the day, I guess I just have to remind myself they are a product of the system they live under, and even I am to some degree (however small). I was pretty pissed about that cop tasering that boy though, probably the most enraging article or news I have seen in a while.
Me saying Marxists are the only smart people would be wrong of course, not to mention extremely elitist. Hitler is quite possibly the most hated individual of all time, and certainly by Marxists, he undoubtedly is - not just because of his actions, but as a fascist he was ideologically our opposite on essentially every level. That being said, he was quite intelligent - that much I will merit him. He was however, a horrible horrible human being (yes, I know I am being subjective here, but from a humanitarian perspective there is no question about it). Obama is extremely intelligent and articulate, though he is also extremely bourgeois and reactionary. In short, there are plenty of people who aren't of my views that are intelligent. But just because they are intelligent doesn't mean I agree with them.
To be sure, there are a number of non-Marxist thinkers and activists that have helped shaped my political and ideological thought to some extent as well - Rawls, Chomsky, Mill, Emma Goldman, Howard Zinn, Thomas Paine, Malcolm X, and even the post-modernist Foucault all have at least one or two things I find of value. Kandrathe is wrong when he says Marx (or Marxists) hates philosophers - Marx himself was a philosopher, in addition to being a social scientist and economist. Indeed philosophy is extremely important for developing critical thinking skills and for understanding values, belief systems, ethics, culture, morality, and foundations of political ideologies. Not to mention, it is generally an interesting subject. The two major branches of philosophy are Idealism and Materialism, the latter of which is central to Marxism, though not exclusive to it. When he stated "philosophers interpret the world, but the point is to change it", this isn't bashing philosophy, it is just saying that we need to go beyond it if we are to change society.
Me saying Marxists are the only smart people would be wrong of course, not to mention extremely elitist. Hitler is quite possibly the most hated individual of all time, and certainly by Marxists, he undoubtedly is - not just because of his actions, but as a fascist he was ideologically our opposite on essentially every level. That being said, he was quite intelligent - that much I will merit him. He was however, a horrible horrible human being (yes, I know I am being subjective here, but from a humanitarian perspective there is no question about it). Obama is extremely intelligent and articulate, though he is also extremely bourgeois and reactionary. In short, there are plenty of people who aren't of my views that are intelligent. But just because they are intelligent doesn't mean I agree with them.
To be sure, there are a number of non-Marxist thinkers and activists that have helped shaped my political and ideological thought to some extent as well - Rawls, Chomsky, Mill, Emma Goldman, Howard Zinn, Thomas Paine, Malcolm X, and even the post-modernist Foucault all have at least one or two things I find of value. Kandrathe is wrong when he says Marx (or Marxists) hates philosophers - Marx himself was a philosopher, in addition to being a social scientist and economist. Indeed philosophy is extremely important for developing critical thinking skills and for understanding values, belief systems, ethics, culture, morality, and foundations of political ideologies. Not to mention, it is generally an interesting subject. The two major branches of philosophy are Idealism and Materialism, the latter of which is central to Marxism, though not exclusive to it. When he stated "philosophers interpret the world, but the point is to change it", this isn't bashing philosophy, it is just saying that we need to go beyond it if we are to change society.
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"Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class." - Marx (addressing the bourgeois)
"Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property, just as your jurisprudence is but the will of your class, made into law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of the existence of your class." - Marx (addressing the bourgeois)