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Forum : Article Discussions : Society as an End and Society as a Means


Friday
July 3, 2009
Sense of Life
Society as an End and Society as a Means
by Manfred F. Schieder
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Which of both is the type of society corresponding to the rational, free, peaceful and productive individual? This article presents the analysis in favor of the correct foundation of coexistence.  (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (5 messages)


Ed Thompson
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Sunday, July 5, 2009 - 11:42amSanction this postReply
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Manfred,

Thanks for this essay. It really refreshes in my mind the importance of a 1933 quote by Albert Einstein (1879-1955):

Any power must be the enemy of mankind which enslaves the individual by terror or force, whether it arises under a fascist or Communist flag. All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development according to the individual.

Ed


Rocky Frisco
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Monday, July 6, 2009 - 1:20pmSanction this postReply
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The article is quite good as it goes, but it fails to recognize the influence of "natural leaders" in human history and prehistory. We now call these natural leaders psychopaths.

As necessary as they were in the survival of hunting-gathering packs, they are now the main influence toward tyranny and totalitarianism, since most humans still have the tendency to blindly obey and follow them. Around 5% of every human male population and 1% of the females exhibit this behavior, even though the necessities that caused them to arise no longer exist.

Teresa Summerlee Isanhart
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Monday, July 6, 2009 - 3:05pmSanction this postReply
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I'm having a hard time accepting Rob Roy, William Wallace, Ben Franklin, or Thomas Jefferson as psychopaths, Rocky.  

Jay Abbott

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Monday, July 6, 2009 - 3:25pmSanction this postReply
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Rocky,

Did you mean 'natural' leaders, such as men of ideas? Or did you mean 'charismatic' leaders, such as Hitler, Jim Jones?

jt

Steve Wolfer

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Monday, July 6, 2009 - 4:12pmSanction this postReply
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Rocky,

If I'm following you correctly, you're saying that 5% of the human males are these "natural leaders" (or have 'this behavior' but I'm not clear about what this behavior looks like) AND this one out of every 20 guys also meets the criteria of psychopathic. What is the psychopathic aspect? This sounds like it is from an organized theory - maybe out of a social anthropology course?

And I'm not clear about where you said, "...the necessities that caused them [the natural leaders] to arise no longer exist."

Everywhere that I turn I see a need for good leadership. And I'd say that there has never been a need for bad leadership (i.e., tyranny). But I think we are using the word 'leadership' differently.



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