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Have you read Solzhenitsyn's "From Under the Rubble?" It has a section called "The Smatters" where he derides Soviet Russia's intelligentsia for being cowards
by throwaway2331 5y ago
Have you read Solzhenitsyn's "From Under the Rubble?"
It has a section called "The Smatters" where he derides Soviet Russia's intelligentsia for being cowards that would trade physical comfort in return for sacrificing their soul and morality.
This is in contrast to "Old Russia's" intelligentsia, that would canktankerously fight and even sacrifice themselves and their personal needs, just to uphold their own (many times removed-from-reality) ideals.
The former's "pragmatic nihilism" of only taking cares of one's self and one's interests is mirrored today among our society.
That's not to say I'm any better.
I, too, am a coward.
- tombert 5y agoI mean, I said in a sister thread that I do think there could be an argument that me working for an awful corporation does enable them and I am at some level responsible for their actions, but I don't know that it's realistic to expect someone in the corporate world right now to drop everything and only work for ethical people right now...our entire society is somewhat based around us working for evil corporations.
- throwaway2331 5y agoI agree that it's unrealistic to expect. But there is something intoxicating and sublime in being unrealistic.
- hobs 5y agoNobody is asking for that burden or level of effort, just not people literally out to actively exploit... everyone.
- yladiz 5y agoBut that's just an easy argument that keeps the status quo. In a western society today may be impossible to escape some big "evil" corporation, but there's a major difference between having no choice to participate in the system and willingly choosing to work for said corporation. In the case of Facebook someone who works there may not be directly responsible for its actions if they're not at a very high level but they are directly condoning them by working for Facebook and helping further its mission.