[MD] Unreality of Equality

[LARAMIE LOEWEN]

"It's awesome baby, with a capital A!!"

UNC vs. Duke, tonight on ESPN.  The most dynamic rivalry in college hoops.  Be there or be square.

Larz
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David M<mailto:davidint at blueyonder.co.uk> 
  To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org<mailto:moq_discuss at moqtalk.org> 
  Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2006 8:22 AM
  Subject: Re: [MD] Unreality of Equality


  Hi Arlo

  A great deal of consumption certainly goes way beyond any use
  value. Why is this? A book in the UK called 'Status Anxiety'
  is quite useful on this. It talks about the loss/weakinging of former
  social structures and how many try to make up for their current
  lacks by  demonstrating their social worth/success by purchasing
  symbols such as expensive cars, homes, holidays, etc that they do
  not enjoy in themselves only as symbols of their social status.

  DM


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "Arlo J. Bensinger" <ajb102 at psu.edu<mailto:ajb102 at psu.edu>>
  To: <moq_discuss at moqtalk.org<mailto:moq_discuss at moqtalk.org>>
  Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 4:53 AM
  Subject: Re: [MD] Unreality of Equality


  > Greetings DM,
  >
  > [you wrote]
  > Can't help thinking that holding inequality in such high esteem is the 
  > problem,
  > so we allow the wealthy to increase their wealth by a mountain of lies.
  >
  > [Arlo]
  > Agree. And I think the key thing to watch is how "inequality" morphs into 
  > "of
  > greater value". Inequality of skill drives social evolution. Inequality of
  > value destroys social evolution.
  >
  > I think, as I've said many times, that the origins of the modern dilema 
  > trace
  > back to the rise of mercantilian discourse, which put us on a slow ride 
  > from
  > "man is the measure of all things" to "money (wealth) is the measure of 
  > the
  > man". Money, in western culture, has become the dominant force in defining
  > "who" has value, and how one should focus their lives to achieve value.
  >
  > We come to think of the wealthy as somehow inherently "superior", and 
  > certainly
  > more deserving than the lazy, worthless "moochers". Those who are poor are 
  > so
  > because they are stupid and lazy. This has become the underlying reality 
  > in
  > modern discourse. And if someone is poor, and they can't afford medicine 
  > or
  > food, then they should just do everyone a favor and die. Sounds harsh, but 
  > its
  > really at the bottom of the rhetoric.
  >
  > This is the progression from inequality in skill, an undeniable good, to
  > inequality in value, an undeniable evil.
  >
  > And its not bounded by static nationalist borders. Poor countries are 
  > lesser
  > value, their people seen as inherently inferior. Cultures where there is 
  > no
  > wealth are deemed ipso facto totally and absolutely inferior. Money 
  > defines
  > good, and hence the value of the man.
  >
  > I think this was part of Pirsig's warning about the success of the west in
  > creating power and toys lost in the process any understanding of what it 
  > means
  > to be a part of the world. We are so fixated on accumulating wealth, and
  > thereby asserting our supremeity over others, that we lose sight of the 
  > simply
  > fact that Arete is not bounded by wealth, or culture, or power. Arete is 
  > the
  > striving for excellence in one's life. And whether that person is an 
  > aboriginal
  > tribesman or an American retiree matters not.
  >
  > Pirsig, in ZMM, translated the Tao te Ching with the word "Quality" for 
  > the Tao.
  > I do the same with the Eightfold Buddhist Path.
  >
  > Quality View, Quality Intention, Quality Speech, Quality Action, Quality
  > Livelihood, Quality Effort, Quality Mindfulness, Quality Concentration.
  >
  > These are the things Arete teaches. There is nothing wrong with earning a
  > living, from doing what one has to do to live within a culture. But the 
  > value
  > of the person should be judged by their adherence to (for example) the 
  > Quality
  > paths above. Or the Greek Arete model. Or Quality as Dharma, as the Tao. 
  > And
  > nowhere in any of that do I see anything remotely indicating that "wealth"
  > bestows "value". Indeed, as SA reminded us recently, in some Indian 
  > tribes,
  > "poverty" bestows "value". But that poverty only reflects value (in that
  > culture) when it comes as the result of helping others. And that is what 
  > the
  > chief was doing, placing the Good of others above the accumulation of
  > possessions.
  >
  > But now we are right back to "over consumption" and the dogmatic adherence 
  > to
  > consumerism and materialism (not in the philosophic sense). In this view, 
  > man
  > can do no greater thing than enrich the amount of his possessions, either 
  > raw
  > money or the objects it affords. And that brings us right back to the
  > mercantilistic worldview that this accumulation bestows value and 
  > superiority
  > on the individual, the nation, and the culture. In Lila, Pirsig jokes 
  > about the
  > utter aghastness that would be met with a "poor" person actually having 
  > the
  > audacity to knock on the door of the "rich". We are moving back in that
  > direction, as Pirsig says in Lila, back to Victorianism, where man is 
  > measured
  > by social success and the poor are despicable little creatures to be 
  > avoided.
  > It'll soon be 1890  all over again.
  >
  > Only good, I suppose, is that we'll get a new Mark Twain. God knows we 
  > need
  > one...
  >
  > Arlo
  >
  >
  > moq_discuss mailing list
  > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
  > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org<http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org>
  > Archives:
  > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/<http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/>
  > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/<http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/>
  > 

  moq_discuss mailing list
  Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
  http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org<http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org>
  Archives:
  http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/<http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/>
  http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/<http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/>