[lbo-talk] Wenn Ich Sozialismus hoere ....

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

John Lacny:
> This is also why I take issue with Wojtek's snide dismissal of socialism.
> It's of a piece with his generalized misanthropy, first of all -- but
also,
> it's a straw man. Perhaps a few ridiculous utopians believe that it is
> possible to have "universal happiness" or what-have-you, but most of us
> realize that improved social arrangements do not mean "heaven on earth."
> That doesn't change the fact that better social and political arrangements
> are definitely possible, and that's what we're concerned with here in the
> first place.

You do not need a grand theory of capitalism/socialism to improve social
arrangement here and now.  In fact, such a grand theory is often an obstacle
to attempts of such an improvement, since the believers may regard these
attempts as a "sellout" and abstain from pursuing them.  

As to my purported generalized misanthropy - I take exception to the
qualifier "generalized."  I believe that only a part of humankind is beyond
any hope, but the size of that part varies by social and historical
circumstances.  

Wojtek