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Marx is a good example of why philosophy can be very dangerous. Marx's ideas have literally caused the deaths of millions in Soviet Russia, Communist China, Vie
by javert 12y ago
Marx is a good example of why philosophy can be very dangerous. Marx's ideas have literally caused the deaths of millions in Soviet Russia, Communist China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cambodia, Cuba, and probably others. Besides keeping people desperately impoverished in places like Venezuela.
I'm not saying we sholdn't do philosophy because it can be dangerous. Philosophy can also be very good. In fact, we need the good ideas to prove the bad ideas wrong. I am a big fan of philosophy.
But not at the point of a gun (i.e., not on the taxpayer's dime). Philosophers used to be self-funded or funded by patrons. As an aside, since philosophers have become primarily funded by governments and guns, we have a 10,000 fold increase in the number of philosophers, and no increase in the quality of output.
- barrkel 12y agoHave you read Marx?
- javert 12y agoYes.
- hueving 12y agoWhat does that have to do with the impact of Marx's philosophy?
- javert 12y agoHe wants to defend Marx but there is no defense, so he does something to attack me instead. It's a classic disinformation tactic. I don't know that for certain, maybe he's just actually curious, that's why I just answered his question instead of saying this to him.
- barrkel 12y agoI think Marx's criticism of capitalism is valid in many ways; but more importantly, I don't think you can blame Stalin on Marx. Many people think of communism when they hear the word "Marx". Few have read his arguments. Of course, someone who quotes Objectivism in their profile is not in a strong position to talk about philosophy ;)
- JoeAltmaier 12y agoBlame Stalin on the myth of 'centralized planning' or whatever Marx dreamed up about more advanced forms of government. It was a pipe dream, because government is made up of people. And selfish, brutal sociopaths keep bubbling up into government. So the more control govt has, the more Stalin's we'll see.
- barrkel 12y agoI'm fairly certain capitalism in its current form isn't sustainable (cf Piketty), and I don't think government is intrinsically sociopathic. The open question is if government with checks and balances is stable in the long term, or if it will fall apart and have one branch take over. Time will tell.
- javert 12y agoPiketty's arguments are cherry-picked. No, I haven't read the book, and no, I'm not going to take the time to look up sources for you.
- javert 12y agoFirst, I am in a strong position to talk about philosophy. Second, Marx made Stalin possible by setting up the necessary intellectual framework of class struggle, capitalism as oppressive, dialectical materialism (denial of reason and free will), etc.
- hyperpape 12y agoIf Marx's theories are philosophical and dangerous, then any refutation of Marx's theories is also philosophical and valuable. The only question then is whether we should try and find people who study those questions and how we should study them. I'm uncomfortable attributing Marx to philosophy entirely...like many historical figures it seems like he's only a partial fit. Just pointing out where your reasons leads.
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