Rather than recognize it's simply a matter of principled disagreement, it's better to try to attribute disagreement to some character flaw, delusional thinking, complete lack of experience in the world? That's all you've got?
For the record, I wouldn't say excitement would characterize my views.
I guess I can't really think of any other way to describe it other than, Yes, isn't it nice.
I like being part of an opportunity where people are, for a rare time in their lives, flourishing and realizing their full human potential under conditions where they've come to believe that it's possible to build a world based on the twin pillars of reason and freedom. I've seen it happen before and it's nice to watch people experience it again.
I've related here, before, my understanding of revolutionary (if slow) social change - why I think it's inevitable and why I don't despair when people are supposedly doing nothing. I'm not going to bother to rehearse it. All I can say is, on my view this was to be expected; it's also going to fizzle out.
Big fucking deal.
need to get over this subject of history problem people!
shag
> On Oct 20, 2011, at 6:11 PM, SA wrote:
>> I get the sense that a lot of people here are so excited by OWS
that
>> they're unwilling to believe that an appreciable fraction of the
people in it hold views so much at variance with their own, so they
just assume that behind the rhetoric there must be a left politics
that they could conceivably get behind. But in these cases, there
isn't.
> ravi replied:
> I get behind them for the same reason I get behind you or others on
the list. I have a strong suspicion do not share your philosophical
framework and I do know that I do not share your political approach
or
> prescriptions. I get behind them because they are trying (and
> succeeding, but that’s not my reason) to rally for the same sorts of
things as well as against the same sorts of things that worry me. If
by “views” you mean such things as taxation,
> workers=women/native/immigrant rights, death penalty, etc, then I I
am
> fairly certain it's not true that their views are in variance from
my
> own. If by “views” you mean underlying beliefs, then I am reminded
of
> Russell who noted that he was not willing to die for his beliefs
since
> he could very well be wrong.
> There is a meta issue here I guess
to a garden variety hobbyist
like
> me, what they are doing *is* left politics (because (a) I do not see
a
> political science that can substitute, (b) I am not trained in the
theories and theorems of what exists as political science). You have
a
> good idea that things are shitty and you have an idea why. You
decide
> to make your dissatisfaction, anger, public - get together with
> others, work your way through this, keep your ears and minds open;
and
> from this you build structures, theories, so on.
> I am excited about OWS because it’s working.
> —ravi
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
-- http://cleandraws.com Wear Clean Draws ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)