That was a good, if somewhat depressing article--depressing because it seems to imply that nothing that you do on a grassroots level is any good.
I don't know--they say that Fair Trade isn't good because it works against capitalism and proper perception of supply and demand, but really, I think capitalism is WAY overrated. It's good for some things, but really falls down elsewhere... like on matters of the common good.
And why do people generalize from capitalism, and economics, to so many other fields of thought? It's kind of analogous to social darwinism, where people took natural selection and applied it randomly to so many other situations...
Hi hon, Tangents are very welcome and indeed encouraged! It is going to have to be a little negative given that the article is published in the Economist which is neo-liberal.
And why do people generalize from capitalism, and economics, to so many other fields of thought? It's kind of analogous to social darwinism, where people took natural selection and applied it randomly to so many other situations...
A social theorist called Jurgen Habermas, who was part of the Frankfurt School, and before him Max Weber made the same criticism. I agree that capitalism (or 'instrumental rationality') has invaded more and more spheres of existence and this is NOT a good thing.
Oh I love Habermas! Well--to be honest, I haven't read him, though I have one book--but I did some editing for a German prof (also name Jurgen) who was, what shall we say? A disciple? Adherent?
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I don't know--they say that Fair Trade isn't good because it works against capitalism and proper perception of supply and demand, but really, I think capitalism is WAY overrated. It's good for some things, but really falls down elsewhere... like on matters of the common good.
And why do people generalize from capitalism, and economics, to so many other fields of thought? It's kind of analogous to social darwinism, where people took natural selection and applied it randomly to so many other situations...
sorry--I went off on a tangent there...
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Tangents are very welcome and indeed encouraged!
It is going to have to be a little negative given that the article is published in the Economist which is neo-liberal.
And why do people generalize from capitalism, and economics, to so many other fields of thought? It's kind of analogous to social darwinism, where people took natural selection and applied it randomly to so many other situations...
A social theorist called Jurgen Habermas, who was part of the Frankfurt School, and before him Max Weber made the same criticism. I agree that capitalism (or 'instrumental rationality') has invaded more and more spheres of existence and this is NOT a good thing.
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