If you could nominate any person from your "personal" history file -- One whose writings have influenced your world view on politics -- Who would you nominate and why?
My early engagement with Albert Einstein as philosopher and mentor (albeit non-personal) led me to a flirtation with socialism and communism. One thing led to another and following a trail of "bitter communists" backwards I stumbled upon George Kennan. I became fascinated with his complicated approach to the USSR and it was he more than any other who influenced me to reject communism. This is indeed an irony, for the more I got to know him, the more evident it became that he was an "ideal communist"; he was also a closet communist of the first order. An "ideal" commy is one who hates the corruption of communism by dictators such as Stalin.
I think that Mr. Kennan (pronounced ken as in ken and barbie) deserves to be studied as much as any person of the past 100 years. I have read most of his works, (seems like about a thousand books... lol) though it became a burden as I became a bit more .... "self reliant" as I grew up.
My wife just ordered a gift for me. It is a new biography... George Kennan: A Study of Character by Hungarian catholic apologizer John Lukacs whom I also like, but for a different reason. It will be here next week. Yum. I can hardly wait.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Kennan
Originally posted by StarValleyWyHey Mike, great question.
If you could nominate any person from your "personal" history file -- One whose writings have influenced your world view on politics -- Who would you nominate and why?
My early engagement with Albert Einstein as philosopher and mentor (albeit non-personal) led me to a flirtation with socialism and communism. One thing led to another and following a t re next week. Yum. I can hardly wait.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Kennan
10 years ago I would have said Noam Chomsky (for reasons that I certainly don't want to debate here). Now, however, I think John Rawls has had the most profound impact on my understanding of politics. His defense of classical liberalism, as presented in Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, opened my eyes to the necessary conditions for getting along in a country where people have radically different conceptions of the good. Moreover, he presented some absolutely devastating criticisms of our pretheoretic notions of desert, and also specified what I think are approximately correct procedures for determining when a government is legitimate and how we ought to distribute primary goods.
Also, his student's student is my dissertation chair.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rawls
AYN RAND----Philosophy of Objectivism, a philosophy for living on earth.
Metaphysics Reality exists independent of man’s consciousness and man’s consciousness is to perceive, not invent, reality.
Epistemology Reason, the conceptual faculty, identifies and integrates material provided by man’s senses and is man’s only means of acquiring knowledge
Ethics Every man is an end unto himself, not a means to the end of others and neither sacrifices himself to others or others to himself
Politics Objectivism upholds laissez-faire capitalism as the only political-economic system consonant with man’s nature as a rational being and is based on recognition of individual rights, including property rights. The only function of government is to protect individual rights, i.e., to protect men from those who initiate the use of physical force
Originally posted by sonhouseDitto, I'm currently reading stranger in a strange land, but read starship troopers about ten years ago and have done so several dozen times since. Was a very influential book to me. A close second is the selfish gene by richard dawkins. Just the selfish gene though, the others either are repetitive or not really original, but the selfish gene really gave me the tools to view the beauty of the mundane.
I was really changed by Robert Heinlein, with books like Srtanger in a strange land and others, his list of what a person should be able to do on his own was priceless, if you remember that, able to sew on buttons, bake a cake, fix a leaky faucet, load your own bullets, etc.
Originally posted by agrysonHeinlein is very good. I really liked Tunnel in the Sky. What do you think of Vonnegut? Have you read Sirens of Titan?
Ditto, I'm currently reading stranger in a strange land, but read starship troopers about ten years ago and have done so several dozen times since. Was a very influential book to me. A close second is the selfish gene by richard dawkins. Just the selfish gene though, the others either are repetitive or not really original, but the selfish gene really gave me the tools to view the beauty of the mundane.
Originally posted by StarValleyWyI just don't know enough about politics to say any one person has moved me.
If you could nominate any person from your "personal" history file -- One whose writings have influenced your world view on politics -- Who would you nominate and why?
My early engagement with Albert Einstein as philosopher and mentor (albeit non-personal) led me to a flirtation with socialism and communism. One thing led to another and following a t ...[text shortened]... re next week. Yum. I can hardly wait.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Kennan
The ragged trousered philanthropists by Robert Tressel.
I've always been left-wing, but this book spelled out clearer than all others, why things are the way they are, why lots of people don't understand it and how to explain the situation in a clear and concise manner.
And it's a really good sketch of 1905 working class life into the bargain.
Originally posted by StarValleyWyBill Hicks, Byron&Shelley, Karl Marx, Julian Cope, Alexei Sayle, Paul Foot, Howard Waldrop, Chuck D, Dylan Thomas and Freddy Ayer.
If you could nominate any person from your "personal" history file -- One whose writings have influenced your world view on politics -- Who would you nominate and why?
My early engagement with Albert Einstein as philosopher and mentor (albeit non-personal) led me to a flirtation with socialism and communism. One thing led to another and following a t ...[text shortened]... re next week. Yum. I can hardly wait.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Kennan
In descending order.