[MD] Shouldn?t we be, like, revolting ?

[Andre Broersen]

Bovar, Chris and Platt I hope you don't mind me jumping in your discussion.
According to Pirsig capitalism, socialism as well as communism are "programs
for intellectual control over society" (Lila p278)

Then Platt writes:

The MOQ sanctions the morality of social level capitalism, as explained by
the following:
"The Metaphysics of Quality says the free market makes everybody richer-by
preventing static economic patterns from setting in and stagnating economic
growth. That is the reason the major capitalist economies of the world have
done so much better since World War II than the major socialist economies.
It is not that Victorian social economic patterns are more moral than
socialist intellectual economic patterns. Quite the opposite. They are less
moral as static patterns go. What makes the free-enterprise system superior
is that the socialists, reasoning intelligently and objectively, have
inadvertently closed the door to Dynamic Quality in the buying and selling
of things. They closed it because the metaphysical structure of their
objectivity never told them Dynamic Quality exists." (Lila, 17)

Having said this, Pirsig goes on to argue ( pp 281-2) that "...the
intellectual pattern that has been appointed to take over society, *has a
defect in it"  *(my emphasis) because it has no provision for morals.

Any"pattern" that allows for/is open to Dynamic Quality is absolutely
superior to a pattern that doesn't but DQ left unchecked (unlatched?)
degenerates these self same patterns. It involutes...twists in upon itself.
This (very roughly) is what is happening to capitalism as a pattern of value
(just follow the periodic "boom and bust" cycles.
In socialism, as a program for intellectual control over society although
Pirsig considers it of a higher moral standing, this same pattern still has
the same defect in it on top of the omission of DQ.
And as I mentioned in an earlier contribution this can be seen and felt
everywhere. "The Party" decides what has value and where the priorities are
and it makes sure that this is enforced at all levels of patterns...(even in
the bedroom!).
I do not want to sound too naive but since being here I have learnt to value
"freedom" as a fantastic social/intellectual achievement.
It is a shame that so many people (in the West) do not realise the magnitude
of this achievement.

Regards Andre