[MD] Social Ants?

[Platt Holden]

[Platt]
> > We have seen Nazi and Communist societies in the 20th century commit
> > the most horrendous biological savagery ever recorded. So to say
> > social institutions have repressed such savagery is wrong on its face.
> > In fact certain social institutions still promote biological savagery
> > today such as Hamas and Al Qaeda.
 
[Gene]
> I couldn't let this comment go unchecked. You seem to ascribe any and
> all evil to biological patterns of value. It's crap.
> 
> Fascism is as much an intellectual pattern as a social pattern. Nazi
> germany was engineered by great minds to be the way it was. Hitler's
> cells didn't build concentration camps. The society did, and it did this
> under the intellectual guiding force of your oh-so prized individual.
> From Hitler's POV he was following intellectual Quality and forcing
> Society to go with him.
> 
> Hitler was a madman and as concrete an example of Evil as has every
> existed. He was also one of the individuals most skilled in Social
> patterns of value of our time as well.
> 
> I just can't believe you would even imagine such a horrendously bad line
> of reasoning.

[Pirsig]
"Phaedrus thought that no other historical or political analysis 
explains the enormity of these forces as clearly as does the 
Metaphysics of Quality. The gigantic power of socialism and fascism, 
which have overwhelmed this century, is explained by a conflict of 
levels of evolution. This conflict explains the driving force behind 
Hitler not as an insane search for power but as an all-consuming 
glorification of SOCIAL authority and hatred of intellectualism. His 
anti-Semitism was fueled by ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM. His hatred of 
communists was fueled by ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM. His exaltation of the 
German volk was fueled by it. His fanatic PERSECUTION  of any kind of 
intellectual freedom was driven by it." (Emphasis added)

Looks to me that you and Pirsig are at odds about Nazism, suggesting to 
me that your understanding of the levels is, to borrow a phrase, 
"crap." 

Platt