Are Socialism/Statism and Global Warming Religion Forms of Sado-Masochism?
Even in the indoctrination that was my university experience, I have always sensed that there was and is something wrong with the socialist/statist form of charity, which is illustrated very ironically in the picture below:
Although the picture is very comical, it is also deadly serious, for this is exactly what statist charity in essence represents. In the name of some Robin Hood sort of politics, the state robs the productive members of society, destroys wealth, and then has the audacity to call it "charity" or redistributive politics. If you disagree with such a system (I vehemently do), you are labeled as a cold-hearted Nazi and may even find yourself in prison. I have never understood what could possibly lead someone to believe that such a system of plunder and outright theft is warm-hearted or voluntary.
After having read Erich Fromm's Escape from Freedom, though, it is much clearer to me now where such a belief might originate. Fromm had an inkling of what could be going on psychologically in those who claim to be "spreading the wealth" for the good of the poor. There is a particular type of sadism that is separate from the one that wishes to inflict pain on others. This other kind can be characterized by a wish to help others. At first glance, such a concept seems contradictory. One type of sadism seeks to inflict pain; the other aims at helping others. However, if one thinks about what sadism represents (the desire or need to control others in a destructive or manipulative manner), then both sorts of sadism fit together. Someone under the influence of the positive type of sadism doesn't seek to help others out of any true feeling of charity, sympathy, or empathy (though such people surely exist), but out of a need to feel superior to the one being helped. Hence, helping others may be a form of affirming one's own superiority and worth. The positive sadist needs the weaklings in society. Without them, he is empty and powerless. Sparing one moment to think about the type of people who run for political office will give the reader numerous examples of such positive sadists. If one truly believes that the angels who are our politicians "help" people out of any true sense of charity, then that person must be a masochist, which leads me to my next point.
As far as global warming believers are concerned, they can be both a mix of positive sadists and masochists. Fromm believed that when man leaves the comfort and confines of the family, he finds himself free of his family but simultaneously powerless and hopeless in a confusing world of individuals. Man is then confronted with a choice: to become a productive member of society or to escape from the world and freedom. Having lost the comfort and order of the family, the masochist feels himself hopelessly powerless and seeks order in the world or to be dominated by something superior. If there is nothing immediately available, the masochist will run to the first philosophy or rationalization that will give his world meaning. He will submerse himself in a movement, any movement that helps him rationalize his existence. Many global warming believers exhibit these same tendencies. Having found themselves in a world that doesn't care about their existence, they seek to become part of a global movement to "fix" that same world. This movement gives their lives meaning. It dominates their existence. They need it. Without it, they are nobody. With it, they are part of the universe. Even when faced with evidence to the contrary, they rationalize their beliefs with lies. Arguing with them reminds one of the following seen from Dumb and Dumber:
Although the picture is very comical, it is also deadly serious, for this is exactly what statist charity in essence represents. In the name of some Robin Hood sort of politics, the state robs the productive members of society, destroys wealth, and then has the audacity to call it "charity" or redistributive politics. If you disagree with such a system (I vehemently do), you are labeled as a cold-hearted Nazi and may even find yourself in prison. I have never understood what could possibly lead someone to believe that such a system of plunder and outright theft is warm-hearted or voluntary.
After having read Erich Fromm's Escape from Freedom, though, it is much clearer to me now where such a belief might originate. Fromm had an inkling of what could be going on psychologically in those who claim to be "spreading the wealth" for the good of the poor. There is a particular type of sadism that is separate from the one that wishes to inflict pain on others. This other kind can be characterized by a wish to help others. At first glance, such a concept seems contradictory. One type of sadism seeks to inflict pain; the other aims at helping others. However, if one thinks about what sadism represents (the desire or need to control others in a destructive or manipulative manner), then both sorts of sadism fit together. Someone under the influence of the positive type of sadism doesn't seek to help others out of any true feeling of charity, sympathy, or empathy (though such people surely exist), but out of a need to feel superior to the one being helped. Hence, helping others may be a form of affirming one's own superiority and worth. The positive sadist needs the weaklings in society. Without them, he is empty and powerless. Sparing one moment to think about the type of people who run for political office will give the reader numerous examples of such positive sadists. If one truly believes that the angels who are our politicians "help" people out of any true sense of charity, then that person must be a masochist, which leads me to my next point.
As far as global warming believers are concerned, they can be both a mix of positive sadists and masochists. Fromm believed that when man leaves the comfort and confines of the family, he finds himself free of his family but simultaneously powerless and hopeless in a confusing world of individuals. Man is then confronted with a choice: to become a productive member of society or to escape from the world and freedom. Having lost the comfort and order of the family, the masochist feels himself hopelessly powerless and seeks order in the world or to be dominated by something superior. If there is nothing immediately available, the masochist will run to the first philosophy or rationalization that will give his world meaning. He will submerse himself in a movement, any movement that helps him rationalize his existence. Many global warming believers exhibit these same tendencies. Having found themselves in a world that doesn't care about their existence, they seek to become part of a global movement to "fix" that same world. This movement gives their lives meaning. It dominates their existence. They need it. Without it, they are nobody. With it, they are part of the universe. Even when faced with evidence to the contrary, they rationalize their beliefs with lies. Arguing with them reminds one of the following seen from Dumb and Dumber:
Posted by Michael at 11/29/2009 1:07 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Statism Religion Masochism Global Warming Sadism Erich Fromm Socialism
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Statism Religion Masochism Global Warming Sadism Erich Fromm Socialism
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