MrRodgers
Posts: 10542
Joined: 7/30/2005
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ORIGINAL: stellauk
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ORIGINAL: MrRodgers
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ORIGINAL: stellauk
Mankind is so afflicted by materialism and greed, resulting in emotional and psychological malaise that it's going to take a significant spiritual force to restore our sense of balance.
I feel the reason that we are living in a 21st century with 19th century social problems is that while our intelligence and innovation has resulted in iPhones, facebook and numerous gadgets, spiritually we haven't evolved much further than the Middle Ages.
That's part of Aldren's and thus my point.
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ORIGINAL: MrRodgers
Even capitalist sympathizers (propagandists) say we are ALL richer simply because of fancy new devices...toys, the function of which in almost all cases...entertainment, i.e. media, games all around fun distractions.
Ah, here is where I personally beg to differ. We are most certainly not ALL richer thanks to the technological advances in the last three or so decades.
Rather I would suggest that a beneficial minority are richer and better off as a result of these changes. This comes at tremendous cost when you stop to consider how many livelihoods have been lost as a result of the changes, how many people are trapped in either poverty, or wage enslavement, or both, and how many people, among them children, have died preventable deaths as aresult.
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ORIGINAL: MrRodgers
Life is better (more entertaining/pleasurable) but not longer (anymore) or that much healthier without a certain defiance of the culture of consumption..
Again life is better for who? The beneficial minority? Sure life is much easier, more comfortable when you have a home, a stable source of income and access to technology such as a phone and/or an Internet connection. Life is better when you have access to a decent education and you are able to aspire to living the sort of life that comes from the freedom of your own personal choices.
There are many people throughout the world who don't have all these things, many have some, and just as many if not more have none of these things.
I'm of the opinion that everybody is somebody, doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, what your background is, you are somebody. We are all born to create and interact with others and to think up ideas and do things not just for ourselves but for other people.
The problem is that this is a world where opportunity determines who has and who goes without. Opportunity is the focus on the stock markets just as it is at the bottom of society and for everybody in between.
Never before in the history of Mankind has hope been so important as it is today.
I've heard it said that just ten per cent of the world's material resources are enough to permanently eradicate poverty and destitution from the entire planet. The problem is of course arriving at some sort of consensus as to how this can be achieved.
I'm of the view that one day it will get better for many people in this world, and I have enough faith in human nature to steer civilization towards these objectives.
However I am also realistic and am certain that it will not happen in my lifetime.
You completely misunderstand me. What I write is what we are supposed to believe. I do not believe it for a minute. There is a truth to be told but for me...not just yet.
For America advancement we are told is what...a higher profit. The profit motive is a motive of very questionable moral value. But then we have discussed America's great capitalist moral values. [sic]
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Sociology...'serving society.' - 
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