Slog
News & ArtsSaturday, January 30, 2010
History There Is No Such Thing As Society
Posted by Charles Mudede on Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 8:01 PM
A note Margret Thatcher wrote in 1979:
“Morality is personal. There is no such thing as a collective conscience, collective kindness, collective gentleness, collective freedom."
There is only personal conscience, personal kindness, personal gentleness, and personal freedom.
3
We are a social species. We act differently in groups than we do alone. The idea that the collective is nothing more than a set of completely independent agents is absurd.
Aaaaawwwwwwhhh mmmmm yeah. Mental masterbation session complete.
Aaaaawwwwwwhhh mmmmm yeah. Mental masterbation session complete.
4
P.S. Someone notify Dan that the SLOG comment spell checker (which is otherwise totally awesome) doesn't seem to be familiar with the term "masterbation".
5
@4, that's because you're spelling it wrong. Hint: u, not e.
Maggie, whatever her other virtues were or weren't, was utterly unfamiliar with consciousness, kindness, gentleness or freedom of whatever sort.
Maggie, whatever her other virtues were or weren't, was utterly unfamiliar with consciousness, kindness, gentleness or freedom of whatever sort.
6
she saved britain from wilson and those clowns and made scargill a footnote on history.
god bless 'er.
god bless 'er.
8
The word "collective" was common in socialist/communist jargon. I imagine that, besides the Randian self-centered nature of Thatcherism, she purposely chose that word to discredit the left in Britain.
9
@ 4, you're a doctor, right? How can you get through medical school without learning the proper spelling of masturbation? (My dad's a doctor and I know he'd be appalled that a colleague was making such an elementary mistake.)
13
Personal gentleness?
New Secret with Personal Gentleness...made for a woman,strong enough for a man.
Personal gentleness?
New Secret with Personal Gentleness...made for a woman,strong enough for a man.
14
My take on this: those in power, like Ms. Thatcher, G.W. Bush, Hitler, Khangis Khan, tend to think in terms of 'Me' 'I' "Self' "I am the leader of the free world" "I am your King" etc. The masses think in terms of "us".
Is it so wrong that Ms. Thatcher takes it to the furthest end?
Is it so wrong that Ms. Thatcher takes it to the furthest end?
15
I was so disterbed when I first read Jung's idea of the collective unconscious that I had to jurk off and take a nap.
19
@16: sirkowski, when I saw the pic, I thought that WAS Rand at first! (Hell, for all I know it is.)
20
Society is a hole
It makes me lie to my friends
It's running down my street
With white powers sneakers
On the beautiful beat of black feet
Society is a hole
It beats my friends big heads
My friends have big heads,
I can understand it
But I don't recommend it
You got big big hair
And everybody is scared
Society is a hole
It makes me lie to my friends
The assault of holy music
There's a slap in my face
My friends are girls wrapped in boys
We're living in pieces
I want to live in peace
Society is a hole
It makes me lie to my friends
It's running down my street
With white powers sneakers
On the beautiful beat of black feet
Society is a hole
It beats my friends big heads
My friends have big heads,
I can understand it
But I don't recommend it
You got big big hair
And everybody is scared
Society is a hole
It makes me lie to my friends
The assault of holy music
There's a slap in my face
My friends are girls wrapped in boys
We're living in pieces
I want to live in peace
Society is a hole
21
Blacks committed over half the murders in Seattle in 2008 and at least 75% of the murders in Seattle in 2009.
22
Blacks committed over half the murders in Seattle in 2008 and at least 75% of the murders in Seattle in 2009. Blacks make up only about 8% of Seattle's population.
23
Does that also mean there is no such thing as collective guilt? There's a couple of generation of Germans that would have been happy tp hear that.
25
@24, no, but browsers do, and someone who doesn't comment at a lot of other blogs as well might think it was Slog doing it.
27
That explains why Thatcher was so comfortable in disassembling the British safety net and ending their full employment society. Because she hates other people.
28
@ 21, et al.
Ah, yes, the cry of the Intellectual Bigot. Much different from the Emotional Bigot, who is easily spotted by their self-pity, poor grooming & obvious lack of clues, the IB is more camouflaged, blending in, and found in many places: offices, pubs, dances. They know a few things, but only enough to support their bigotry, after which their intellect shuts off.
And just to be clear, those statistics are repeated world-wide, when one looks at economic disparity. The underclass of any society, no matter their cultural or racial background, will always evidence a disproportionate percentage of criminal activity. However, I do not feel that poverty is the biggest enemy of mankind. The true enemy is represented by folks like 21, and that is Ignorance.
Ah, yes, the cry of the Intellectual Bigot. Much different from the Emotional Bigot, who is easily spotted by their self-pity, poor grooming & obvious lack of clues, the IB is more camouflaged, blending in, and found in many places: offices, pubs, dances. They know a few things, but only enough to support their bigotry, after which their intellect shuts off.
And just to be clear, those statistics are repeated world-wide, when one looks at economic disparity. The underclass of any society, no matter their cultural or racial background, will always evidence a disproportionate percentage of criminal activity. However, I do not feel that poverty is the biggest enemy of mankind. The true enemy is represented by folks like 21, and that is Ignorance.
29
"The Right Honourable The Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS" reaps what she sows:
So, no "personal conscience, personal kindness, personal gentleness" either. Only "personal freedom."
What a gaping, flapping twat. But that's just my PERSONAL opinion.
Now in her declining years, she began complaining about her "lost" family [son in South Africa, daughter in Switzerland], but her daughter was less than sympathetic: "A mother cannot reasonably expect her grown-up children to boomerang back, gushing cosiness and make up for lost time. Absentee Mum, then Gran in overdrive is not an equation that balances."
So, no "personal conscience, personal kindness, personal gentleness" either. Only "personal freedom."
What a gaping, flapping twat. But that's just my PERSONAL opinion.
30
@5 and @9 - Doh!
I'm a PhD, not a doctor, although I reckon I have as much "hands on" experience with this subject as anyone.
And in my defense, before I commented I Googled "masterbation" to check the spelling and didn't get "did you mean masturbation?" thingy it sometimes does, so...um...yeah.
I'm a PhD, not a doctor, although I reckon I have as much "hands on" experience with this subject as anyone.
And in my defense, before I commented I Googled "masterbation" to check the spelling and didn't get "did you mean masturbation?" thingy it sometimes does, so...um...yeah.
32
@30, I lean toward the argument that PhDs are the "real" doctors. While I admire medical doctors who are good diagnosticians as well as mensches, and the path to the MD degree is long and arduous, it is mainly one of rote memorization and maintaining keen attention while sleep-deprived. The route to the PhD requires much more in the way of independent intellectual pathbreaking and synthesis combined with mind-numbing conscripted labor: teaching undergrads, along with writing and reviewing manuscripts and grant proposals for which others often get the major credit. And while MDs can begin climbing out of their financial hole during internships and residencies, the period of starvation wages for PhDs (unless slotting directly into industry, an option not always available) continues well into junior professorship--and they still don't get a 40-hour work week. I could never stomach either option.
34
I can grant that Maggie's right on this and Rand is wrong in her overreach regarding individuality. I can grant that Maggie's right on this and that communities are still vital, important things. What communities are not are living, breathing, free-willed individuals who can think, feel and act.
35
That is ridiculous. Morality is socially constructed and socially defined. By default, we believe to be wrong the things everyone else thinks are wrong.
38
Wasn't Thatcher's point that collective rights (the welfare state, civil liberties) and responsibilities (paying taxes) needed to be reigned in? The bloodsucking, baby-eating old bat and I disagree on these points.
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