Platt to andre: You mean I don't understand plain English? Andre: I am sure you do Platt, but do you comprehend it? This means going into some depth realising whatever you say has some sort of history (and a rich one).
Platt: Those doctrines as you call them are irrelevant to Pirsig's reason for endorsing free market capitalism over socialism. Do you think any of them ever imagined anything like Dynamic Quality? Andre: Those doctrines are what set Pirsig on the road to writing ZMM and Lila. He recognised the defect in them. Platt: Pirsig's indictment is aimed at the flaw in SOM intellect's attempts to manage society. Surely you don't believe that Marxist socialist doctrines somehow escaped SOM.. Andre: Now we are getting closer Platt, Pirsig is not only aiming his attack at socialist societies. Socialist societies have not escaped SOM.All modern, Western societies have evolved from the same 'philosophical' tree. As Anthony suggests: Read Northrop! Platt: Are you suggesting socialists and communists don't exist? As for free market capitalism being degenerating, I agree with Pirsig's opposite view that it is a "Dynamic institution." Andre: Yes, it is dynamic, but Pirsig himself, having recognised his own 'radical bias' ( causing him to think of Dynamic Quality alone and neglect static patterns of quality) came to the conclusion that 'Life cannot exist on Dynamic Quality alone...To cling to Dynamic Quality alone apart from any static patterns is to cling to chaos' (Lila p 124). It is precisely the social and intellectual static patterns that have evolved from from the likes of Locke, Descartes, Adam Smith, etc, etc Pirsig laments. This unbridled Dynamic Quality has, economically turned into the Giant (as Pirsig calls it). It has, and continues to convert 'accumulated biological energy into forms that serve itself'. The value of a human being is measured by the extent to which it is useful as an economic unit. And if you are ill, or incapacitated in some way, or fired or, heaven forbid, if you do not want to play in this game, you are considered useless, a bludger, a misfit, a burden on society. And, if intellectually, you place question marks as to the morality of this institution you are labelled a commie. Plat: > I'm disappointed. Me too. It seems your anti-protestant and philosophical/political/economic views have built up an immunity in your mind against what Pirsig actually says. Andre: Not sure what you mean here Platt. I do however think that most of the above mentioned ideas and convictions have proven to be of low quality.And I do not have many static patterns to which I desperately cling and attempt to fit Pirsig's observations as justification around them. In that sense I have very little to lose. And, as always I stand corrected. Regards Andre Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
