Whatever Works
I am so tired, so very, very tired, of ideologies being the reason for action. "Whatever Works" is the only ideology for me. Political debate should be about what works, not about how you think things ought to be. We are in the real world. Philosophy is about what is ideal.
I took a look at the new Moore forums, and it's pretty stupid stuff. There's one "liberal" who doesn't want to be called a liberal, and a bunch of raving right wing twelve year olds, let by an apparently fat man who makes fun of Moore for being fat. Do these people even remember Rush Limbaugh? My head hurts.
posted by kusturica @ 6:45 PM
3 Comments:
No, philosophy is not about what is ideal ;). Philosophy is about what is wise. Pragmatism is a philosophy like any other :
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/james.htm
Is there any relation between your two paragraphs ? I couldn't see any.
So the new Moore forums are full of shit. I'm not really surprised. Hey, why do you think I'm doing a site. If the historical heirs of the old MMBB turn out to be saddos and wankers, what can you expect from the others. The problem is, what to do with this reality. What works, heh heh ?
So there was a relation after all.
Are you going to quit posting on our good old forum now you have a blog and a varied reader ? I don't have much fun soliloquizing. :( Why is it nobody answers me ? Is it the lecturer in me producing his unconscious effect ?
I'd post on "Being Michael Moore", I like them. But it's a classic left-wing site, with this "the-message-not-the-messenger" outlook that I dislike. Ever visited ?
Thanks for posting your poetry. I love it.
Right... I meant that if you want to talk about ideals, that is a philosophical discussion, not really a practical political one. I am phrasing it poorly, but my point is that people are a bit too caught up in calling themselves conservatives or liberals, or calling each other conservatives and liberals, without really even knowing the definition of one or the other, and take sides on issues that have nothing to do with either conservativism or liberalism, and worse yet, those with an ideal of how thigns should be are trying iin vain to reach that, rather than really solving any problems, and talking about what works. It's a convoluted mess, and it should be simpler. We are afraid of the wrong things, and not afraid of things we should be mortified about. And we are heading for (and in many cases in) a disaster, and people are talking about their ideals. Some of those ideals are interesting philosophical notions, but they are not practical political options. Clear as mud?
The connection between the first and the second paragraph is that the subject of the second one inspired the first one.
Thanks for the compliment on the poetry.
Oh, also, I find that posting on a board where everyone basically is from the same wing politically is not always as stimulating as talking to people I fully disagree with. The problem is finding people on the other side who are compatible arguers. One of those who posted on our good old forum was close, but he was ultimately too dishonest, and a bit hypocritical, sometimes in ways frustratingly difficult to call him on (partly because his posts would get so freaking long). His predecessor, the one who was fond of posting one sentence replies for several pages, was just a weasel. Then there are the people on this other forum who are just another set of jerks who aren't even as articulate as those at Moorewatch. I don'tw ant to talk to them. I think the only person who really disagreed with me who I found to be civil and articulate, and almost convincing, was that Cyceldesign character who disappeared early on from our good old forum. So I'm not sure what to say about our good old forum. Like I posted there, it has some very cool discussions archived. But it's life as of now is certainly in question. I've tried some random jabs to get things moving again, but I don't think anyone's reading it besides you, so, I might as well say it here, as I'm more sure that this will stay up.
Anyway, job interview in the morning. Gotta go do a little research.....
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