A clear, concise and comprehensive case for socialism, written by Albert Einstein in 1949. He discusses our nature as both solitary and social beings, simultaneously conditioned by biological and cultural constitutions, and what this means for the individual's role in society. He then asks "how the structure of society and the cultural attitude of man should be changed in order to make human life as satisfying as possible." The final passages prove particularly poignant in presaging the greatest atrocities committed by Soviet tyranny. The challenge: How is it possible, in view of the far-reaching centralization of political and economic power, to prevent bureaucracy from becoming all-powerful and overweening? How can the rights of the individual be protected and therewith a democratic counterweight to the power of bureaucracy be assured?
Part of the answer may reside in bypassing the power of large bureaucracies through a decentralized system of democratic planning directed by workers' and consumers' councils. Moreover, with today's information communication technology, the capacity for mass collaboration and self-government/self-management has never been more viable and effective. Your thoughts?
An Excerpt:
"The individual has become more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society. But he does not experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even to his economic existence. Moreover, his position in society is such that the egotistical drives of his make-up are constantly being accentuated, while his social drives, which are by nature weaker, progressively deteriorate. All human beings, whatever their position in society, are suffering from this process of deterioration. Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life. Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.
The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules. In this respect, it is important to realize that the means of production—that is to say, the entire productive capacity that is needed for producing consumer goods as well as additional capital goods—may legally be, and for the most part are, the private property of individuals...
(The) crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career.
I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society."A clear, concise and comprehensive case for socialism, written by Albert Einstein in... more
My dad sent this out to me. I really appreciated the article, thought you might, too.
Updated, the one I originally posted was modified. I think this is the full version.
Quote: "It has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted medics aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept. Their response to these particular citizens has made me think that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation."http://www.hopetohealing.com/veterans/vsubmit/soon2bgone/0soon2bgone.htm
Where is... more
This is a very intelligent speech about the herd mentality, "the sheeple" and how people are being manipulated by a few in this world.
I know it's old but I have never seen this at Current, and his concepts refer to today society.
He talks about the pyramid structure adopted in every big and small company/organization and how this brings only tiny knowledge, if anything none to the ones at the bottom and the few on top control everything. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6334005121196324215#
Excerpt from the link:
"Exposing the real story behind global events, which shape the future of human existence and the world we leave our children. The veil lifts on an astonishing web of interconnected manipulation to reveal that the same few people, secret societies and organizations control the daily direction of our lives, & how the same people on apparently different sides of politics are actually connected to the same elite organizations. These organizations have the same proven agenda of a world government, a world central bank, a world army, a world currency, and some say a micro-chipped population. "OPPO-SAMES" These apparent opposites in politics are there to persuade us that we are not living in a prison, that we have a choice. Yet these persons are not opposites at all but are part of a one-party state."
"The discovery of an early human fossil in southern China may challenge the commonly held idea that modern humans originated out of Africa.
Jin Changzhu and colleagues of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, announced to Chinese media last week that they have uncovered a 110,000 year old putative Homo sapiens mandible from a cave in southern China's Guangxi province.
The mandible has a protruding chin like that of Homo sapiens, but the thickness of the jaw is indicative of more primitive hominins, suggesting that the fossil could derive from interbreeding.
If confirmed, the finding would lend support to the"multiregional hypothesis". This says that modern humans descend from Homo sapiens coming out of Africa who then interbred with more primitive humans on other continents. In contrast, the prevailing "Out of Africa" hypothesis holds that modern humans are the direct descendents of people who spread out of Africa to other continents around 100,000 years ago.
The study will appear in Chinese Science Bulletin later this month."http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18093-chinese-challenge-to-out-of-africa-theory.h... more
America's Next Top Model, aired on Wednesday, featured models with painted faces to resemble bi-racial women. Such as, "Russian-Moroccan," "Native American-East Indian," and "Botswanan-Polynesian. Tyra Banks was the photographer and seemed to have good intentions with the photos. However, some people disagree.
Making these girls portray and look like different races, was it in bad taste or celebrating diversity?http://www.stylelist.com/blog/2009/10/29/blackface-on-americas-next-top-model/... more
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/28/monogamy.realistic.today/index.html
If you were to judge the success rate of monogamy by the sex lives of public figures, perhaps couples should change their marriage vows to say, "Till a tempting new partner do us part."
Talk-show host David Letterman recently joined former presidential candidate John Edwards, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer on a long list of politicians and entertainers (think Jude Law) who have admitted having sex outside their marriage or committed relationship.
But do they just illustrate the realities of modern life?
In the age of hookups, friends with benefits and online dating, and as human life expectancy grows, is it still reasonable to expect people to pair up and stay monogamous until death do them part?
"It's realistic that some people can mate for life in the same sense that some people can play the Beethoven violin concerto or other people can ice-skate beautifully or learn a new language," said psychiatrist Judith Eve Lipton.
Added evolutionary biologist David Barash, "It's within the realm of human potential, but it's not easy."
Lipton and Barash, who have been married 32 years and are the co-authors of "Strange Bedfellows" and "The Myth of Monogamy," said serial monogamy may be more realistic -- a model in which people move from one committed long-term relationship to another and choose partners for different reasons at different stages of their life.http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/28/monogamy.realistic.today/index.html
If you were... more
Crime scene investigator is one career which is not cut out of for everyone, but remains one which captures many peoples’ imaginations.Crime scene investigator is one career which is not cut out of for everyone, but... more
This fascinating piece, from This American Life (animated by Chris Ware), tells the story of an elementary school where a couple of kids made a TV camera out of cardboard and tempera paint. Soon, the cardboard camera craze went viral and it seemed like every kid was either a camera operator, an anchor, or some other faux TV production person. Then things went positively post-modern.This fascinating piece, from This American Life (animated by Chris Ware), tells the... more
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Facebook as a clever guise; truly, the genius marketing ploy of the 21st century if not of all time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
facebook is as it would lead you to believe, "a social networking site," as we have seen this has potential to be really very misleading (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/18/facebook.reversal/index.html). although, as well as allowing you to keep in touch with your friends, however, they collect information deemed valuable and sell it to third party companies which in turn proceed to advertise and solicit products to you, the individual–a target audience of one. whereas we would normally be organized into a few target audiences for corporations to pursue, instead facebook provides a platform for corporations to "pigeonhole" the individual into "niche markets" at the same time to maximize profit while reducing ad placement campaign failures losses and expenditures.
these arguments, including but not limited to the previous, are shallow and vacuous in light of what is really going on, i.e. the willingness in participation of individuals to voluntarily submit private information that can be recorded and stored for later use in favor of the interested parties. whether it be primarily third party small business groups and corporations or ultimately the government (as all of our average time spent and position of mouse clicks are also documented and can be viewed by D.A.R.P.A. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARPA) holding anything you say or do can be used against you in the court of law (see also: http://current.com/items/91135668_facebook-poke-leads-to-woman-s-arrest.htm) as well as digitally documenting a paper trail tied to your name local access point, address, mail, e-mail, phone number banking account and credit cards etc.
we've most definitely entered an age of accountability, where the individual is responsible for their transactions and/ or interactions as well as whatever else may transpire on the internet. where upon certain occasions it has caused certain individuals to lose their jobs or otherwise prevented them from getting one. pending the abolition of the net neutrality act(source available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality), the internet is more or less a democratic medium in that it can either be used for or against the private individual whom so ever over indulges themselves in it.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------... more
The opposite of what we usually expect from the financial elite: a conglomeration of wealthy German citizens are organizing to lobby Chancellor Angela Merkel to increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for public services.
Sounds like a good idea to me.The opposite of what we usually expect from the financial elite: a conglomeration of... more
1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Yet, for many, the stigma associated with the illness, can be as great a challenge as the disease itself. This is where the misconceptions stop. This is where bias comes to an end. This is where we change lives. Because this is where we Bring Change 2 Mind.
More than 48 million people in this country have some form of mental illness. Yet only around half of those people get treatment.
Why?
For many, the stigma associated with mental illness creates and/or compounds feelings of shame, isolation and fear of exposure.
You see, stigma is caused by either the wrong information (misperception), or no information at all (ignorance). Either one of which can cause a tremendous amount of fear, which is really what stigma is. Stigma = fear.
The good news is - stigma can be conquered. How? By those with a mental illness sharing their stories. And by those without an illness - listening and learning.1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness.... more
Do you believe in KARMA?
Whatever may be your answer yet I m sure you will have few below questions in your mind.
Why is the service class men working everyday is not successful? Why is the farmer yielding the land everyday is not rich? Why a teacher teaching in school is not among the famous people? Well, everybody is doing their KARMA, why they aren’t the successful ones or the richer ones or among the famous people in this world? What is the thing which is stopping them?
Treehugger: 'There's nothing like a vision of a world gone to hell to get the point across.
Movies--especially fantastic movies--have the power to hit messages home with people around the world, regardless of class, race, or socio-economic background. In these nine post-apocalyptic movies (and one tv episode), ranging from the 1960's until next month (one's not released yet) the death destruction, and general bleak futuristic visions are all based on environmental disasters. A note on the selection process: Don't expect to see "Waterworld". Bombs, even with savvy green messages, didn't make the cut. Disagree or think I missed something? Fire away in the comments. Oh, and this list is filled with spoilers.'
Agree or disagree?Treehugger: 'There's nothing like a vision of a world gone to hell to get the point... more
Why the Heene family of Colorado thought pretending to lose their son in the basket of an airborne helium balloon was a good idea is unclear. But as they contemplate possible criminal records for conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, they can at least take comfort in the fact that they have distinguished company when it comes to balloon hoaxes.
On 13 April 1844, the New York Sun published a breathless account of a great step for mankind: "The air, as well as the earth and the ocean, has been subdued by science, and will become a common and convenient highway for mankind . . . The Atlantic has been actually crossed in a balloon . . . and in the inconceivably brief period of 75 hours from shore to shore!"
In a precursor of the reality shows to which the Heenes apparently aspired, the Sun ran excerpts from the faked diary of the Victoria's navigators, which ended just after their "sighting" off the coast of South Carolina. (In reality, the Atlantic would not be crossed by a balloon until 75 years later, when the rather less romantically named British dirigible R-34 landed in New York City after an 108-hour flight.)
The account was cooked up by Edgar Allan Poe, a hoax-lover in an age of hoax-lovers; he perpetrated five others. Poe seems to have rather enjoyed the fuss: "On the morning (Saturday) of its announcement," he later wrote in the Columbia Spy, "the whole square surrounding the Sun building was literally besieged, blocked up from a period soon after sunrise until about two o'clock PM . . . I never witnessed more intense excitement to get possession of a newspaper. . . I tried, in vain, during the whole day, to get possession of a copy."Why the Heene family of Colorado thought pretending to lose their son in the basket of... more
Did you ever wonder why rainman with all his amazing math and logic skills couldn't get a real job and be a productive member of society? Well it turns out he can.Did you ever wonder why rainman with all his amazing math and logic skills couldn't... more
What an example of world integrity. Today, a US president is wishing about an Indian festival to everyone around the world. Certainly, a pleasant sight to witness.What an example of world integrity. Today, a US president is wishing about an Indian... more
It is a Chicago public school full of energy and spirit. It has about 800 girls, and 115 of them have something in common.
Why Are 1 Of 8 Girls Pregnant At Robeson High?
Officials Say A Mix Of Factors Are To Blame, As They Try To Help The Young WomenIt is a Chicago public school full of energy and spirit. It has about 800 girls, and... more
LONDON (Reuters) - Many prehistoric Australian aboriginals could have outrun world 100 and 200 meters record holder Usain Bolt in modern conditions.
Some Tutsi men in Rwanda exceeded the current world high jump record of 2.45 meters during initiation ceremonies in which they had to jump at least their own height to progress to manhood.
Any Neanderthal woman could have beaten former bodybuilder and current California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in an arm wrestle.
These and other eye-catching claims are detailed in a book by Australian anthropologist Peter McAllister entitled "Manthropology" and provocatively sub-titled "The Science of the Inadequate Modern Male."
McAllister sets out his stall in the opening sentence of the prologue.
"If you're reading this then you -- or the male you have bought it for -- are the worst man in history.
"No ifs, no buts -- the worst man, period...As a class we are in fact the sorriest cohort of masculine Homo sapiens to ever walk the planet."LONDON (Reuters) - Many prehistoric Australian aboriginals could have outrun world 100... more
