lilo, I realized just now that
you reposted on October, 29th. The column on the right of
advogato's main page doesn't reflect that.
I didn't say that human beings per so overconsume,
but rather that we, citisens of the 'first world', do so,
now. A two thousand years ago it wouldn't have
mattered much (or may be in fact it didn't matter),
but now, well, we have to ask ourselfs how long our current
lifestyle can be sustained. And, there are two aspects to
this: one is the limitation of resources (some might argue
that from an ethical point of view we shouldn't even
consider everything around us as resources), a
totally different point is the obvious mental disorder, this
form of lifestyle creates (well, may be not so obvious to
some).
If the market is truly free, I don't consider it a threat to
my destiny. You may disagree.
This seems a key phrase. We obviously don't agree on the
notion of freedom we use. For me, freedom is a matter
of choice (much like the term sense). Even though
there are other uses of the term, such as 'free fall', or
'free electron', this is clearly a different context.
From all I can gather about what people may mean when they
speak about free market, it appears more to be
thought of as some sort of 'natural way of life'. So there
isn't any choice coming into play, is there ?
Now, consider my point of view. In a truely humane society,
man would chose his destiny. No, not a
state, or enterprise, or whatever
politico-economic institution. I'm speaking of people,
people being empowered (through knowledge),
emancipated, to actively participate
in shaping their society. I don't buy a second that society
is not an entity. What is culture ?
And as to my remark about political correctness, I'm
sorry, I didn't phrase very carefully. I didn't mean to
attack you because of your culture. I was frustrated because
I often hear the accusation of wanting to take control over
others, if all I suggest is that people get actively
involved in social affairs. This accusation comes mostly
from people here in North America. I never heared this when
I discussed such issues in Germany, for example. That's why
I assumed it was a cultural issue.
Finally, you suggest we change the subject, as it becomes
clear that
we disagree. Well, I can certainly accept your wish, yet I
would find it much more interesting to discuss
because we don't agree !
How much worth is a discussion in which all participants
know they agree ?