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you might be interested to dig into who "opium of the people" comes from. he's somewhat political!
by cagenut 7y ago
you might be interested to dig into who "opium of the people" comes from. he's somewhat political!
- KineticLensman 7y agoIndeed he is ... Karl Marx [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_of_the_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_of_the_people [Edit] Note to self - check other threads before posting links?
- mayankkaizen 7y agoOn internet, reading is hard and typing is fun.
- buboard 7y agoYep, but even Marx must have surely noticed the addictive nature of his theories
- SomeOldThrow 7y agoAs someone currently plowing their way through Capital, I do not share this sentiment in the least. I’d argue “hot takes” are a better form of what you describe. Or “complaining”, which is frankly easy with politics and always has been in a society with free speech.
- cagenut 7y agoI confess I have no idea what you're talking about. What "addictive nature" is there in Marx's theories?
- buboard 7y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto
- cyphar 7y agoHave you read The Communist Manifesto, or Das Kapital? Is there a particular aspect you are referring to as being "addictive"? I would argue "workplaces should be democratic" (which is a very rudimentary one-sentence synopsis of Marxism) is only an addictive idea if you consider democracy to be addictive in the same manner. And maybe it is, but then you have to ask yourself -- is an idea being so good that it becomes addictive a bad thing?
- buboard 7y agoput the phrase "opium of the masses" in its original context. Religion was the "illusory happiness of the people" for marx. 50 years later, one could say the same about Communism however. People believed in it , it made them feel good, but their belief ended up becoming a facade that masked their misery. I think this extends to politics in general, in particular Statist politics , which promise make the individual as powerful as a State, but usually end up making the State itself powerful by stepping on the individual.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- dondawest 7y agoIt’s an inherently addictive thought that “the current system is wrong and there’s another system that would be better if only people would listen.” It becomes even more addictive when there’s other people willing to give you dopamine/affirmation for your beliefs. You see its addictive nature today in the sparse numbers of people who achieve “sobriety” from communism after becoming addicted to its theories.
- goto11 7y agoWhat thing would not be addictive given that reasoning? "Dopamine" make it sound sinister, but if everything which gives you enjoyment or feels meaningful is addictive, then basically everything anybody does by their own volition would be addictive.
- buboard 7y agoDopamine is a necessary neurotransmitter, there is nothing sinister about it. Even addiction is necessary , but we ascribe negative value to it when the repetitive behavior (not just any enjoyable behavior) becomes destructive to society. Addiction as pathology is not a strictly defined term - homosexuals in the past or sexually liberated women were believed to be addicted. So, it is largely left society to decide which addictions are "good" and bad, which generally politicizes the issue.
- dondawest 7y agoNothing. All things are addictive including holier-than-thou ideologies such as communism.
- dang 7y agoCould you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News? and especially please not post in the flamewar style, such as https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20434596 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20434596? We're trying for a bit better than internet default here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html