[MD] Capitalism

[Ian Glendinning]

Hi DMB,

It's the doctrinal ...
"Social Darwinism says ..."
that I find unhelpful, but given the personal, human content of your
mail, I won't insult your intelligence by turning this into a
definitional argument about the "ism".

No I don't see any contradiction.
My evolutionary view of society does not say "that's just how the
world works and so it sees attempts to regulate the marketplace as a
kind of error, as a matter of defying nature."

My kind of "social evolution" says - understand that this is how the
world works, so that we can better manage and regulate it. Our brains
(biological, social and intellectual) are part of that evolution - our
nature is part of nature. To leave markets (and democracies)
unregulated would be a criminal abnegation of our natural moral
responsibilities, like leaving our human brains at the door before
entering society. Like I said, a no-brainer ;-)

What's wrong with "Social Darwinism" is that it is a doctrine (dogma)
which says that capitalist laws of the jungle are best. A no brainer.
I was agreeing with you. So what is better, DMB ?

(That was of course just an aside in the original response, but no matter.)
Regards
Ian

On Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 1:32 AM, david buchanan <dmbuchanan at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> dmb said:
> Personally, I think that if this doesn't bother you, if you don't think social justice is more important than a buck, you're not a moral person. Sorry, but that's how I see it."
>
>
> Ian replied:
>
>
> I would say, that's a no-brainer, no apology required, who could possibly disagree. [and] Not sure why social Darwinism needs to be a "doctrine". Like MoQism surely it is just a means of understanding the mechanisms at work. We still have moral choices to make.
>
>
>
> dmb says:
>
> Social Darwinism is just a matter of understanding the mechanisms at work AND the desire for social justice is no brainer? You don't see the contradiction in that? Social Darwinism says that the economy operates according to certain laws, as if to say "that's just how the world works" and so it sees attempts to regulate the marketplace as a kind of error, as a matter of defying nature.