I don't follow. can you elaborate?
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Replying to @danlistensto
Held loosely, but ~ if we're going to 'be real' about the causes & alleviation of suffering in the modern world, we have to deal w/ economic systems. In terms of the organized, democratized reduction of suffering, I can't think of a better leverage point than economic policy
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Replying to @OshanJarow @danlistensto
And things like basic income & universal healthcare can make swift differences, but the Marxist element goes deeper: any system w/ a small class of owners to which everyone else sells their time, suffering (via alienation or otherwise) will arise.
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Replying to @OshanJarow @danlistensto
So Buddhist realism (realistic engagement with the causes and responses to suffering) would have to seriously engage with alternative models of ownership in an interconnected, global economy .. ?
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Replying to @OshanJarow
hmm. I think I get where you're coming from but I think I would not have personally pointed to Marxism as a good example of a political-economy aligned with Buddhist realism. I think Marxism is, due to its revolutionary commitments, a particularly severe cause of suffering.
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Replying to @danlistensto @OshanJarow
If I was going to point to something as an example of a Buddhist realism aligned political-economy I'd start with some of the more succesful anarcho-syndicalists experiments, like the Mondragon Corporation, for example.
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Replying to @danlistensto
Yeah, sounds like a better fit. Feel like we need some better, broadly legible ideological labels that signify an immanent critique of capitalism, unburdened by the Marxist connotations. Or, I guess that's just "socialism" (itself burdened by USSR)?
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Replying to @OshanJarow
there's a lot of labels that are indelibly connected with 20th century totalitarianism. China is still nominally Marxist-Leninist too, so it hasn't quite ended yet. I think it's hard to label because it doesn't exist yet.
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Replying to @danlistensto @OshanJarow
Marx's idea of "alienation" remains a relevant critique though, but it's unclear to me how an alternative system could be implemented without violent revolution, and there's the rub. Maybe welfare capitalism is the best we can do right now? UBI would make a big difference.
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Replying to @danlistensto @OshanJarow
if pragmatic amelioration of suffering is the main driver here then I'd start with the cream of the crop of utilitarian policies. if a rapidly restructured society is the goal, well, I dunno where to start.
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Utilitarianism and Buddhism both talk about suffering a lot, but if you scratch the surface it becomes clear pretty quickly that they're talking about very, very different things.
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