Re: True faiths ( was Re: The true faith )

[Andreas Bogk <andreas@andreas.org>]

Nils Goesche <cartan@t-online.de> writes:

> There /is/ something wrong with your idea of `capitalism' being
> `optimizing' for anything like `short-term gains'.  /People/ are
> `optimizing'.  Maybe some managers and politicians are `optimizing

The problem is within the so-called "system effect", actions that do
not result from individual action of the people, but of structures as
a whole.

Very much like neurons in our brain...

> But yes, I know what you're up to.  You are, like everybody else
> on the `leftist' side,
> convinced that you can do better than the market; that you know what
> people /really/ want, or at least should want to do or to buy because
> you are, because of your superior intelligence, able to predict
> the future and are the only one who can tell what has to be done instead
> in order to save us all.  So, we need a strong government, ownership

I think it's too easy to paint this as the typical 'leftist' attitude.
Modern politics has more dimensions than just the one left-right
dimension many people use to save themselves from thinking for
themselves.

What you describe is more the individualism vs. society axis.  The far
extreme you describe is totalitarism: no power left at the individual,
all power at the society.  This has been happening for both the
leftists (Stalin-type socialist dictatorship), and the rightists
(Hitler-type nationalist dictatorship).

For the left-right debate, I think this quote gets it all: "There are
two kinds of fools: one say 'This is old and therefore good', the
other say 'this is new and therefore better'."  Neither the left nor
the right position is inherently right, it's about the balance that
benefits mankind the most.

The same goes for the balance between freedom and security: the very
nature of society is to give up some freedom (such as the freedom to
kill your neighbour) for security (such as being secure from being
killed by your neighbour).  Again, we're challenged to balance this
well, and it's independent of the left-right balance.

Andreas

-- 
"In my eyes it is never a crime to steal knowledge. It is a good
theft. The pirate of knowledge is a good pirate."
                                                       (Michel Serres)