On Sun, 31 Jul 2005, Autoplectic wrote:
> Alas, as
> it stands now lots of the theists in the US are turning the country
> into a place every bit as boring as the Moon. Control freaks suck
> whatever the flavor of theistic backing they use to justify their
> desire for social control. I don't see how a globalized atheistic
> culture could be worse than that. Yes, atheist control freaks suck
> too.
>
> Ian
>
Religion is certainly an ideological prop for capitalism (and before that, feudalism!). However, capitalism and its concomitant techniques of social control do not require religion. (--Thought experiment: if we eliminate all religious beliefs and practices, 400 people will still own more wealth than half the world's population, and the economic mechanisms for intensifying that inequality will continue unfettered.) As with many preexisting social patterns (e.g., sexism), religion becomes an ideological apparatus in a capitalist society; it's just not the crucial lynchpin that holds the system together.
In short, if we want to understand social inequality and social control, religion is not as important as some fear (or hope).
Miles