Posted on 07/30/2002 4:37:41 PM PDT by aconservaguy
You might want to read Nietzsche concerning the herd mentality.
"And why is this necessarly bad? What's so important about "individuality"
It's what defines each of us as opposed to being a member of an ant colony. There are no individuals in an ant colony.
Would you care to elaborate on this? Tell me what purpose they serve.
It's a matter of tradition; they've been around for a long time and people adore them. To get rid of them in one swift kick i think would be a bad move.
ok. what do you recommend? Also, you've not answered the question.
It's what defines each of us as opposed to being a member of an ant colony. There are no individuals in an ant colony.
you're right. there are just ants, lol. But still, within the class a place exists; you'll have an identity and a home within that class -- assuming that those classes promote an ant colony mentality, which i don't think classes do. In fact, I think classes help promote individuality, more so than no classes would. On the other hand, the equality and classless society which seems the alternative to the current system, would do more harm and bring about the herd mentality far worse than the current society does (wasn't it Nietzsche who wrote against equality, saying it promoted, well, the herd mentality?)
Again, what would you propose as alternative to the class system? If classes destroy individuality, then what upholds and promotes it?
Being yourself I should think. If you want to assign yourself to a certain class and rank please do so. Don't expect me to.
But we are not discussing equality here. At least I'm not. No two people are equal. But to be assigned to a certain class thought up on the whim of somebody I've never met and who has his own agenda is illogical in my opinion.
ok. Are other people's "assigning" of class to a person illegitimate? It almost seems that to deny classes denies reality: they exist. Whether or not we like them is irrelevant. What's the alternative to the class society? A classless society? I would think that individuality would be squashed even more in that system than in the current one.
That is an illogical statement. If people group themselves according to class they just lost a part of their individuality. They are now a member of the herd.
People are assigned to classes "thought up on the whim of" people who have their "own agenda"? Who assigns people to these classes? Who devises these classes? Such a thing may be illogical, but who are the people who do it? Even if it were so, how is it illogical to belong to a "class"? If difference exist, then what is illogical about acknowledging those differences? And, couldn't classes merely be a natural explanataion of, well, the differences (financial, social, whatever) of people in a given society?
not necessarily: a person is a member of a "class"; it helps identify who that person is. In that sense, it promote individuality; and, even if it were true, how does one's "grouping" oneself in a class make one a part of the "herd"? Don't a person still have himself? And, what about the bonds built? Are there not advantages to acknowledging class, such as a sense of comraderie? Also, taken in the context of comparing "class" to "no class" society, i think it is an ok statement, in that a classeless society promotes the herd mentality more than a class society would, so a class society promotes individuality more than a classless society would.
If you want to be an individual then grouping yourself is a step in the wrong direction. If you want to be a member of the herd, grouping yourself is the way to go.
I admit, with no apology, that I'm of the generation that finds bad language as sign of the decline of manners and of civilized behavior, including the use of language, but it is apparent that modern generations do not agree.
ok, suppose this is true. What's the alternative to a class society?
That's like saying I lost part of my right hand not all of it. It's better to retain your entire right hand wouldn't you say?
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