[lbo-talk] More on Robert Paul Wolff

123hop at comcast.net 123hop at comcast.net
Tue Oct 5 08:02:53 PDT 2010


"I think that some people have naturally low tolerance for ambiguity or uncertainty - which has probably something to do with the functioning of amygdala and the chemistry of their brains - while others naturally thrive in ambiguous and uncertain situations. ....

So the bottom line is that for most people the choice which side to take is already made when they are born: they will go to either the authoritarian or anti-authoritarian side. Of course, each side may take different ideational contents, depending on the social settings - and that will give each sides many flavors, right wing, left wing, religious, nationalist, etc. - but the core characteristic will remain relatively constant, either based on authoritarian or liberal human relations and values."

I know exactly what you mean in terms of "communists" switching sides, etc., but that's a lot of conjecture in there about this being a genetic predisposition and therefore, a fate.

Switching countries/cultures three times by the age of nine, made me painfully aware of the degree to which cultural values are relative. According to you, if I were genetically predisposed toward authority, I should have just adjusted to the blowing wind; or, if not, I should have become mushy towards values. But neither happened. While it is true that I have a visceral hatred of authority qua authority, I am also not willing to say that everything is relative and that in some cultures female infanticide is ok, raping women is ok, etc.

I'm with Keats. This life is a vale of soulmaking. We are born/acculturated one way or another, but that's not the end of it. Arduous work awaits and we are responsible.

Joanna



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