I wrote:

> Djilas himself wrote something to the
> effect that effective political action always begins with "moral
> indignation" and distrust of the good intentions of people.  (I'm
> relying on my flawed memory here.)

This (or something like it) is what Djilas wrote.  Now, I obviously
disagree with him.  It's much more complicated.

My favorite depiction of this dilemma can be found in Jose Saramago's
Ensaio sobre a cegueira, the episode where the thief helps a man who
gets blind at the wheel of his car while stopping at a traffic light.
The thief drives the blind man home, but at the door (and Saramago is
a genius at describing the mental processes in the players of his
stories), he hesitates to allow the thief to help him find his way
inside his apartment.  The thief then feels the distrustful vibes and
finds the way to rationalize his taking the car!  After all, the blind
man proved to be so ungrateful!

We promote trust by trusting, etc.  Very complicated.  A dynamic
system with multiple equilibria.  Or a dynamic game with... you got
the idea.
_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l

Reply via email to