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Sunday, July 25, 2010

Universitas Communitas?

I spent the last few days meandering through 'The Basic Bakunin' and a collection of works by William Morris. Morris especially speaks of a new world in his book 'News from Nowhere', and for some reason, I'm finding myself feeling great sympathy, even pity for these fellows and their dreams of a world lit by socialism. They both had such passion for their ideal, and it really made me sad to think that these days, there are not many people willing to speak so ardently about socialism. I guess people have been severely turned off by the horrible mess created by certain leaders and their armies, and nobody wants to be the first to raise those shrouds high by speaking of socialism or communism. Bakunin and his compatriots died before the 20th century, so they were spared all that mess, and were left to dream passionately about the worlds they would've created had they been heard before the dream curdled into the black shards we now call the Iron Curtain.
Bakunin especially got me thinking about the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and where do most folks fit in these days. Slavery has been abolished for most countries these days, but I suspect Bakunin would still be able to look at certain folks and easily fit them into column A or B. I'm willing to fit myself in the category of the bourgeoisie, at least the petite bourgeoisie. I'm not just sure where the moyenne or grande bourgeoisies are today. Is Hollywood awash with the moyenne and even more proles? The latter keeps the former going, and I suspect that there are going to be many more of the latter than there will ever be the former. That's what Bakunin wanted very much for things to change, but after decades of capitalism seemingly working, how would socialism be able to change anything these days?
And what would Ayn Rand think of all this? She's gone to her rest as well, so whatever she thinks about it, she'll have to keep mum. Anyway, I just finished reading that trio of works from William Morris, and 'News from Nowhere' made me sad in a way. His novus universitas is so beautiful and even a little innocent. Not Eden innocent, but pretty close. Will this life of shared products and places ever come to pass? Capitalism and the like would have to fall by the wayside for sure, but people would still have to think and live for themselves in this world. Get what you give, for lack of a better word, and I think Rand would agree with that. So, these are my thoughts on what I've read. Approx. 1 month before I go back to work. BYE.

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