OK, to intentionally digress now that it seems everyone is finished with Napster, and to pick up the glove that Carl threw down (albeit I find his tone suspect). That communism is a great theory, but perhaps not practical or workable in todays world is admitted. But Actually, the closest thing that we have to true Marxism today are large multinational corporations--pay grades, group health insurance, even the big brother cubicle. (Isn't it ironic that we tried to escape it all these years and ended up nuturing it at our own bosom?) Socialism on the other hand, is not a downhill slide to authoritarianism, I don't know where you got that. That's not only borne out in history, but in modern geo-politics. Yes, America is full of men who will fight for their freedoms and will receive them. However, freedom is just the beginning of the line, not the end. It's what you do with that freedom and how it benefits you and your fellow man that counts. And I think you'll agree that holding too closely to the concept of my liberty can forge chains as strong as any. Now, a well defined awareness of individual liberty when paired with two things that all Americans, like it or not, are inculcated with, social darwinistic thought (as evidenced in Manifest Destiny) and free market capitalism, we have a situation where a)people are keenly aware of "personal liberty"; b)are convinced that a failure to acquire what they percieve as their freedoms will result in utter extinction and, on the other hand, feel justified when they do get what they "need" at the expense of others ; c)have the means to acquire these things if they are hard working, smart and clever enough. Basically, this combination has resulted in a nation of extreme wealth, little collective conciousness or conscience (america consumes far far more than its porportional share of resources), (in my opinion)a largely miserable society (as evidence in our incredibly high crime rates, suicide rates, incidence of psychological disturbance..etc. America is not alone, those societies that hold dearly to these same tenents (and they are mostly western)develop ramant drug use and crime, suicide rates climb, etc. etc. Now where I used to live, in West Africa, you had perhaps the poorest people on the face of this planet, that while they had problems to be sure, they did not have the types of problems that we have...societal psychological problems. What struck me after returning to America after living in Africa for almost half a decade, was how happy people were there and how unhappy and dissatisfied people are here. It all comes down to this: We are masters of creating "need" in America. We always need more-- better cables, more output, deeper bias.. perhaps we will even go to the extreme and PURCHASE A KRELL AMPLIFIER (sorry). At any rate, the thing is we need more and feel dissatisfied when we do not have it. IT IS OUR RIGHT, THE WAY OF NATURE. That my friend is poverty. Poverty is not the actual need. It is the PERCEIVED need. And thus, my friends, due to the over-emphasis on these tenents, we have ironically become one of the most impoverished countries in the world today. That being said, I do not believe two of the three tenents are wrong, social darwinism however I do not ascribe to. Capitalism and Democracy however, yes, are very dear, very powerful and, while they are not an end in themselves, very legitimate TOOLS. But we must use them wisely. Somewhere along the line, we will realize that the situations where we gave up (though did not deny) some of our freedom, some of our rights, went against our instinct and tempered our desires, resulted in the most abundant outcomes ever experienced. Aren't those in fact the most blissful moments in life? Budda had it right...The way is in the middle. So the answer? Not communism. Not capitalism. Somewhere in between. Socialism? Perhaps. So yes, my position has been revealed. I stand naked before you. Avert your eyes if you wish. --And if you bring this back to audio, the lesson here is we CAN BE (but will we be?) all be happy with an old pair of Vandersteens, A dyna-st 70 and some Esoteric cables. I'm preachin...are you believin?
