[MD] French ingredient in the soup of sentiments

[Arlo J. Bensinger]

Craig,

Those are good quotes, but important to keep in context. The whole premise of
ZMM was that people were NOT seeing Quality (because of an SOM mindset), and
hence NOT making Quality decisions. The writing of ZMM was an attempt to alter
the dialogue, to effect change in the metaphysical underpinnings on which
"individual decisions" are made. Remember that the problems in
consumption/production described in ZMM are a result NOT of government
interference, but of an SOMist-based free-market.

The "free market", as it were, is not only manipulated by "social patterns" of
governance and regulations. It as also constricted by the culturally-imposed
dialogic frame (mostly via language, but not exclusively so). For example, the
"green flash" described in Lila was "invisible" to Pirsig (and as such
incapable of being part of his "free choices") until his cultural lens shifted.

In a mercantilistic dialogue, people's culturally-imposed value system places
higher value of "wealth" than "people", and so in a "free market" underscored
by mercantilistic dialogue, people are treated as nothing more than
commodities. The place to effect change, I agree, is in the dialogue.
Overcoming this mercantilisticly driven dialogue, and replacing it with
Quality, is still the major challenge we face today.

In the meantime, as Pirsig said, tearing down a factory will only produce
another factory. We have to change the dialogue, and then true change will
occur. 

Arlo