>From Grok: >> Meanwhile, I've spent most of my adult life living and working within a >> capitalist system. I neither love capitalism, nor do I hate it, nor do >> I perceive it as an inherently evil system.
> Clearly you have not lived on the short end of this stick. However, it > is indeed most unusual for people to understand that which they haven't > directly, personally experienced. This is a main reason why revolutionary > change usually only occurs in a crisis, for instance. > > Some of us try to do better. I am lucky that I have not had to live on the "short end of the stick" as you put it. That does not mean that I have not seen the ramifications of those who were living on the short end of the stick. I lived overseas while growing up, way back in the 1960s. I grew up in places like Japan, Taiwan, Guam, and El Salvador. It was obvious to me that some of the countries I lived in were in better shape than others. Taiwan comes to mind. Back in the early 60s we lived in neighborhoods where the military lived. Every home was surrounded by walls topped with broken glass to keep robbers from climbing over. That didn't stop someone from stealing a pet dog we had who had the misfortune to squeezing through the garbage door set into exterior wall. All we heard was a yelp, and he was gone. He was eaten. It was that time of the year for eating dog. El Salvador also comes to mind. My family lived three years in this country where the extremes of poverty and wealth were clearly delineated. Back in the mid to late 60s it was estimated that approximately 60 – 80 percent of the country was illiterate. It was estimated that approximately 90% of the land was owned by 14 families. I walked past peasants farming the inside of extinct volcano calderas because that was the only fertile land not already owned. Like in Taiwan we lived in housing where the perimeter walls were often toped with broken glass to keep robbers from jumping over. (That didn't stop one attempt, however.) We also lived through a bad earthquake that within a matter of seconds killed approximately 45 people in the poor districts of the city of San Salvador. I was considered a "Gringo" by many Salvadorians, and they were not shy telling me so in my face. They hated American "imperialism", hated "Gringos" and they were not shy about expressing their opinions to a "Gringo" like me Many of my class mates considered me to be a second class citizen. ...and these were the rich kids. Despite this, I have more fond memories of my stay down in El Salvador than I do of the not so fond ones. You could blow you head off buying just about any size firecracker you wanted. No regulation. It was a kid's paradise. I nearly burned my hand off during one particularly foolish accident. No regrets. We were lucky that we lived down in El Salvador between major elections. We were told it was not safe to be out on the streets during certain political demonstrations. Fortunately, there has been some land reform since our stay. ... >> So then... what does make one happy? And what is wealth? Can one find >> true happiness ONLY if we were all to rise up and overthrow the evil >> bourgeois system we all live under so that the correct one can be >> installed? > Pretty much. Let me see if I got this right. It is your belief that you will not be truly happy until –THE- revolution comes? > As for wealth: being rich is actually quite satisfying, I hear. And > we should all understand that "wealth" is in fact real, *material* > possessions -- not claims made on those goods by financial manipulations > involving fancy paper-shuffling sleight-of-hand. Or not even. Being wealthy is obviously preferable than being poor. But what is your definition of "wealth?" A fat bank account? Or something else? > Good questions. > So you say you're a scientist..? No, I never said I was a scientist. It would be more accurate to say that on occasion, when the mood strikes me, or when opportunity knocks, I have become a part-time researcher. More on the theoretical side of things. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
