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Kevin Hockmuth's avatar

brilliant essay that trades in the scarcest commodities of our times, nuance and authentic humility

Ira Allen's avatar

You are a prince, Kevin!

Kevin Hockmuth's avatar

albeit a ‘prince’ without ‘a pality’

Ira Allen's avatar

The only lower-case prince I've any use for.

Sethu Iyer's avatar

From my Christian Romantic standpoint, the problem with Revolution is that Lenin's "second moment" will never come via politics, because the place past that horizon is the eschaton—eternity, not the future. So all that ever happens is the first moment. Always the orgy of violence and a bunch of shattered eggs, but never the promised omelet; just a bunch of puppets with egg on their face. (And in my understanding, Lenin was a sadistic sociopath who was probably just glad to have an excuse for the violence.)

It seems to me, though, that with your framing of the Revolution as awaiting after we have lost entirely in *this* world, you're coming incredibly close to the traditional view that New Jerusalem will descend at the end of all worlds. An intriguing framing that I haven't seen before.

Ira Allen's avatar

That's not my faith tradition, but it's a really interesting connection to make. I tend to think of every "founding" as being situated at a place of disaster and collapse. In this case, the "place" is planetary (though stochastically distributed in its intensities), so I can see the eschatological linkage.

Wasted Incarnation's avatar

"The point is to work toward a better end of the world." That's the problem with you commies though. You don't actually work. The warlords will ultimately swoop in and steal your free lunch long before you have a chance to liven in with your borrowed mustard.

Manuel García, Jr.'s avatar

Long Term Worries Are A Luxury

[this is my cleanest, most succinct “answer” about how “we” solve GWCC]

20 June 2020

https://manuelgarciajr.com/2020/06/20/long-term-worries-are-a-luxury/

Lou Werner's avatar

Yes, we just have to wait for better leadership in the next socialist revolution. It's certainly due!