Q: Why should we not feel like we are smarter or more superior than out grandfathers when we have messed up our ideal world?
A: "If they had not yet fully learned what was necessary to create the world they wanted, the esperience we have since gained out to have equipped us better for the task"(262) in other words, we should have drawn off of their knowlegde and moved farther than they did.
"we shall not grow wiser before we learn that much that we have done was very foolish". Amen.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Jesselman Chapter 15
Q:What are some of the problems of peace arising from aritificially fostered economic solidarity of all the inhabitants of any one country?
A: "If the resources of different nations are treated as exclusive properties of these nations as wholes, if international economic relations, instead of being relations between individuals, become increasingly relations between whole nations organized as trading bodies, they inevitably become the source of friction and envy between whole nations. (241)"
A: "If the resources of different nations are treated as exclusive properties of these nations as wholes, if international economic relations, instead of being relations between individuals, become increasingly relations between whole nations organized as trading bodies, they inevitably become the source of friction and envy between whole nations. (241)"
Jesselman CHapter 14
Q:What is it that distinguishes our generation?
A: "It is not any contempt for material welfare, or even any diminished desire for it, but, on the contrary, a refusal to recognize any obstacles, any conflict with other aims which might impede the fulfilment of their own desires which distinguishes our generation.(222)"
A: "It is not any contempt for material welfare, or even any diminished desire for it, but, on the contrary, a refusal to recognize any obstacles, any conflict with other aims which might impede the fulfilment of their own desires which distinguishes our generation.(222)"
Jesselman CHapter 13
Q: WHat prepared totalitarianism?
A: "and, undoubtedly, not merely the ideas which in Germany and elsewhere prepared totalitarianism but also many of the principles of totalitarianism itself are what exercises an increasing fscination on many other countries.(202)"
A: "and, undoubtedly, not merely the ideas which in Germany and elsewhere prepared totalitarianism but also many of the principles of totalitarianism itself are what exercises an increasing fscination on many other countries.(202)"
Jesselman CHapter 12
Q: where are the ideals that Plenge expresses popular, or where do they derive from?
A: "certain circles of german scientists and engineers who, precisely as is now so loudly demanded by their english and american counterparts, clamoured for the centrally planned organization of all aspects of life (190)."
A: "certain circles of german scientists and engineers who, precisely as is now so loudly demanded by their english and american counterparts, clamoured for the centrally planned organization of all aspects of life (190)."
Michelle Ch 16
Q: What is the guiding principal which Hayek mentions?
A: "The guiding principle that a policy of freedom for the individual is the only true progressive policy as true today as it was in the nineteenth century" (Hayek 262).
By Michelle
A: "The guiding principle that a policy of freedom for the individual is the only true progressive policy as true today as it was in the nineteenth century" (Hayek 262).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 15
Q: What will be one of the best safe guards of peace?
A: "An international authority which effectively limits the powers of the state over the individual" (Hayek 259).
By Michelle
A: "An international authority which effectively limits the powers of the state over the individual" (Hayek 259).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 14
Q: If we are to succeed in the war of ideologies, what must we do?
A: "We must, regain the belief in the traditional values for which we have stood in the past and must have the moral courage stoutly to defend the ideals which our enemies attack. Not by shamefaced apologies and by assurance that we are rapidly reforming, not by explaining that we are seeking some compromise between the traditional liberal values and the new totalitarian ideas, shall we win confidence and support" (Hayek 239).
By Michelle
A: "We must, regain the belief in the traditional values for which we have stood in the past and must have the moral courage stoutly to defend the ideals which our enemies attack. Not by shamefaced apologies and by assurance that we are rapidly reforming, not by explaining that we are seeking some compromise between the traditional liberal values and the new totalitarian ideas, shall we win confidence and support" (Hayek 239).
By Michelle
Ellen Wagner Ch 16
Q: What is the “New Order”?
A: It “is no more than a projection of the tendencies of the last forty years, and who can think of nothing better than to imitate Hitler” (Hayek, 262).
By Ellen
A: It “is no more than a projection of the tendencies of the last forty years, and who can think of nothing better than to imitate Hitler” (Hayek, 262).
By Ellen
Ellen Wagner Ch 15
Q: What is the lesson of the recent past which is slowly beginning to be recognized?
A: “Many kinds of economic planning, conducted independently on a national scale, are bound in their aggregate effect to be harmful even from a purely economic point of view and, in addition, to produce serious international friction” (Hayek, 240).
By Ellen
A: “Many kinds of economic planning, conducted independently on a national scale, are bound in their aggregate effect to be harmful even from a purely economic point of view and, in addition, to produce serious international friction” (Hayek, 240).
By Ellen
Ellen Wagner Ch 14
Q: Which virtues are less esteemed and practiced in the modern world?
A: “Independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back one’s conviction against a majority, and the willingness to voluntary cooperation with one’s neighbors” (Hayek, 233).
By Ellen
A: “Independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back one’s conviction against a majority, and the willingness to voluntary cooperation with one’s neighbors” (Hayek, 233).
By Ellen
Ellen Wagner Ch 13
Q: On what thesis is Dr. Waddington’s claim that science is qualified to run a totalitarian society based?
A: “’Science can pass ethical judgment on human behavior’…Freedom, he explains, ‘is a very troublesome concept for the scientists to discuss, partly because he is not convinced that, ion the last analysis, there is such a thing’” (Hayek, 211) .
By Ellen
A: “’Science can pass ethical judgment on human behavior’…Freedom, he explains, ‘is a very troublesome concept for the scientists to discuss, partly because he is not convinced that, ion the last analysis, there is such a thing’” (Hayek, 211) .
By Ellen
Ellen Wagner Ch 12
Q: What was the common idea which united socialists and conservatives in one common front?”
A: “The fight against liberalism in all its forms” (197).
By Ellen
A: “The fight against liberalism in all its forms” (197).
By Ellen
Michelle Ch 13
Q: How have monopolists gained support?
A: "Either by letting other groups participate in their gains or, and perhaps even more frequently, by persuading them that the formation of monopolies was in the public interest" (Hayek 215).
By Michelle
A: "Either by letting other groups participate in their gains or, and perhaps even more frequently, by persuading them that the formation of monopolies was in the public interest" (Hayek 215).
By Michelle
Kelsey Marsh-Ch.12
Q:What caused the Nazi Socialism to be widely embraced by Germans?
A: They were the only people willing to stand up and lead. In a society of mostly working class here came a group of people saying they would lead you to a better life. And because you are ignorant and know no better it sounds like a million bucks to you and the life you always wanted. This caused the nazi socialist to be strongly accepted by germans and with the support of many they caused the destruction of many civilizations.
A: They were the only people willing to stand up and lead. In a society of mostly working class here came a group of people saying they would lead you to a better life. And because you are ignorant and know no better it sounds like a million bucks to you and the life you always wanted. This caused the nazi socialist to be strongly accepted by germans and with the support of many they caused the destruction of many civilizations.
Kelsey Marsh-Ch. 16
"The young are right if they have little confidence in the ideas which rule most of their elders. But they are mistaken or misled when they believe that these are still the liberal ideas of the nineteenth century, which, in fact, the younger generation hardly knows."
Q: If we dont get our ideas from the past then and we dont have the slightest clue of ideas today then how do we form them?
A: Its right to not strongly belive in the rule of our elders because if we base our ideas off of the past then we will just end up repeating history. However there are many strong ideas that come from our elders. If the younger generation is not being taught the liberal ideas of the nineteenth century then who knows them or are there simply just not any. Im having a very hard time understanding this statement.
Q: If we dont get our ideas from the past then and we dont have the slightest clue of ideas today then how do we form them?
A: Its right to not strongly belive in the rule of our elders because if we base our ideas off of the past then we will just end up repeating history. However there are many strong ideas that come from our elders. If the younger generation is not being taught the liberal ideas of the nineteenth century then who knows them or are there simply just not any. Im having a very hard time understanding this statement.
Kelsey Marsh-Ch.15
"That there is little hope of international order or lasting peace so long as every country is free to employ whatever measures it thinks desirable in its own immediate interest, however damaging they may be to others, needs little emphasis now."
Q: Is it not important to save yourself before you can save others, if your country is not functioning as one then how can all countrys function together as one?
A: Yes you run into a problem that when you are employing whatever measures desirable to you, because they might be so undesirable to another country that you are indeed hurting that country, but you make it up in the end. Its kind of like a friendship, at times you have to do things for you no matter who it may hurt but you go back and fix it, a country after war would make a peace treaty and friends would discuss it and promise to never do it again. You cant make others happy until you are happy, if your country is fighting and always in war you cant expect them to unify to create peace with the world.
Q: Is it not important to save yourself before you can save others, if your country is not functioning as one then how can all countrys function together as one?
A: Yes you run into a problem that when you are employing whatever measures desirable to you, because they might be so undesirable to another country that you are indeed hurting that country, but you make it up in the end. Its kind of like a friendship, at times you have to do things for you no matter who it may hurt but you go back and fix it, a country after war would make a peace treaty and friends would discuss it and promise to never do it again. You cant make others happy until you are happy, if your country is fighting and always in war you cant expect them to unify to create peace with the world.
Kelsey Marsh-Ch.14
"A complex civilization like ours is necessarily based on the individuals adjusting himself to changes whose cause and nature he can not understand: why he should have more or less, why he should have to move to another occupation, why some things he wants should become more difficult to get than others,will always be connected with such a multitude of circumstances that no single mind will be able to grasp them; or, even worse, thsoe affected will put all the blame on an obvious immediate and avoidable cause, white the more complex interrelationships which determine the change remain inevitably hidden to them."
Q:What if this is why our civilization will fail, what if this is why all of the ones in the past have failed because this statement is true of many?
A: It is mentally impossible to know why things happen in life. I have always been a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, why the reason you may never know. It is impossible for humans to adapt to things they do not know the cause or reason of. Its almost like setting yourself up for failure because you dont know whats to come of it and whats there. Just like you wouldn't go someplace you have never heard of and dont know whats there.
Q:What if this is why our civilization will fail, what if this is why all of the ones in the past have failed because this statement is true of many?
A: It is mentally impossible to know why things happen in life. I have always been a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, why the reason you may never know. It is impossible for humans to adapt to things they do not know the cause or reason of. Its almost like setting yourself up for failure because you dont know whats to come of it and whats there. Just like you wouldn't go someplace you have never heard of and dont know whats there.
Kelsey Marsh Ch.13
"Even if railways, road and air transport, or the supply of gas and electricity were all inevitably monopolies, the consumer is unquestionably in a much stronger position so long as they remain separate monopolies than when they are co-ordinated by a central control. Private monopoly is scarcely ever complete and even more rarely of long duration or able to disregard potential competition. But a state monopoly is always a state-protected monopoly-protected against both potential competition and effective criticism."
Q:So, which is better if they remain as private monopolies they are not protected from competition so each individual monopoly could fail due to its competition but if they are state monopolies then it is easier for everything to fail all at once?
A:Im not quite sure of the answer but I think it would be better to be private monopolies because then if one fails at least everything doesn't, it is easier to fix one then many. Although you cant live without all of them (at least in this example).
Q:So, which is better if they remain as private monopolies they are not protected from competition so each individual monopoly could fail due to its competition but if they are state monopolies then it is easier for everything to fail all at once?
A:Im not quite sure of the answer but I think it would be better to be private monopolies because then if one fails at least everything doesn't, it is easier to fix one then many. Although you cant live without all of them (at least in this example).
Austendo Chapter 16
Q: How does Hayek see that we can create a better world?
A: WE must be able to see the problem, and recognize it as the problem. This is easily enough done as we have the entirety of the past to lend examples of 'the wrong way.' But also, "we must have the courage to make a new start -- even if that means some reculer pour mieux sauter." (262) I think that means sacrifice for the better cause.
[edit] Actually, the literal definition, according to my wondrous online resource, is 'to move back for better jumping.' I can only assume that it means 'to take one step back in order to take two forward.' But who can know? Those crazy Frenchmen.
A: WE must be able to see the problem, and recognize it as the problem. This is easily enough done as we have the entirety of the past to lend examples of 'the wrong way.' But also, "we must have the courage to make a new start -- even if that means some reculer pour mieux sauter." (262) I think that means sacrifice for the better cause.
[edit] Actually, the literal definition, according to my wondrous online resource, is 'to move back for better jumping.' I can only assume that it means 'to take one step back in order to take two forward.' But who can know? Those crazy Frenchmen.
Dinh Chapter 16
Q: When Hayek speaks of guiding and directing, he refers to certain needs. What is the first need?
A: "The first need is to free ourselves of that worst form of contemporary obscurantism which tries to persuade us that what we have done in the recent past was all either wise or inevitable" (261, 262).
A: "The first need is to free ourselves of that worst form of contemporary obscurantism which tries to persuade us that what we have done in the recent past was all either wise or inevitable" (261, 262).
Dinh Chapter 15
Q: Why do most people tend to not see "the difficulty" (243)?
A: "This is mainly because, consciously or unconsciously, they assume that it will be they who will settle these questions for the others, and because they are convinced of their own capacity to do this justly and equitably" (243).
A: "This is mainly because, consciously or unconsciously, they assume that it will be they who will settle these questions for the others, and because they are convinced of their own capacity to do this justly and equitably" (243).
Austendo Chapter 15
Q: What must be in order for continued peace between countries?
A: "there must be a power which can restrain the different nations from action harmful to their neighbors, a set of rules which defines what a state may do, and an authority capable of enforcing these rules." (254) Today we have the United Nations, which succeeds in most of these points, yet has had much trouble enforcing the regulations and restraining certain countries.
A: "there must be a power which can restrain the different nations from action harmful to their neighbors, a set of rules which defines what a state may do, and an authority capable of enforcing these rules." (254) Today we have the United Nations, which succeeds in most of these points, yet has had much trouble enforcing the regulations and restraining certain countries.
Dinh Chapter 14
Q: What can individual freedom not be reconciled by?
A: "Individual freedom cannot be reconciled with the supremacy of one single purpose to which the whole society must be entirely and permanently subordinated" (225).
A: "Individual freedom cannot be reconciled with the supremacy of one single purpose to which the whole society must be entirely and permanently subordinated" (225).
Austendo Chapter 14
Q: What is the only was that individual freedom can be successfully given up and result in a positive outcome for the group?
A: "The only exception to the role that a free society must not be subjected to a single purpose is war and other temporary disasters when pressing need is the price at which we preserve our freedom in the long run." (225) For example, military rule in a national emergency.
A: "The only exception to the role that a free society must not be subjected to a single purpose is war and other temporary disasters when pressing need is the price at which we preserve our freedom in the long run." (225) For example, military rule in a national emergency.
Dinh Chapter 13
Q: What thesis did Dr. Waddington base on to claim that the scientist is qualified to run a totalitarian society?
A: He based it on the thesis that "science can pass ethical judgement on human behavior" (211).
A: He based it on the thesis that "science can pass ethical judgement on human behavior" (211).
Dinh Chapter 12
Q: What were the doctrines that guided the ruling elements in Germany opposed to exactly?
A: It was opposed to "the liberal elements contained in [the socialism in Marxism], its internationalism and its democracy" (184).
A: It was opposed to "the liberal elements contained in [the socialism in Marxism], its internationalism and its democracy" (184).
Austendo Chapter 13
Q: What happened - society-wise - in England and other English-speaking countries that was similar to events that happened in Germany prior.
A: Scientists in English-speaking countries, "agitated for a 'scientific' organization of society," similar to that of Germany's. (208)
A: Scientists in English-speaking countries, "agitated for a 'scientific' organization of society," similar to that of Germany's. (208)
Austendo Chapter 12
Q: Why did Germans in Sombart's time view war some thing sacred, and greater than economic commerce?
A: The Germans believed that, "There is as life higher than the individual life, the life of the people and the life of the state, and it is the purpose of the individual to sacrifice himself for that higher life." (187). The Germans saw the 'completely corrupted' English people as 'trade-unionists sunk in the morass of comfort.' Germans saw War as "the consummation of the heroic view of life, and the war against England is the war against an opposite ideal, the commercial ideal of individual freedom and of English comfort" (187). The Germans prized personal sacrifice, while the English idealized personal comfort. This difference in ideals is a microcosm of Socialism versus Democracy, conformity versus individuality.
A: The Germans believed that, "There is as life higher than the individual life, the life of the people and the life of the state, and it is the purpose of the individual to sacrifice himself for that higher life." (187). The Germans saw the 'completely corrupted' English people as 'trade-unionists sunk in the morass of comfort.' Germans saw War as "the consummation of the heroic view of life, and the war against England is the war against an opposite ideal, the commercial ideal of individual freedom and of English comfort" (187). The Germans prized personal sacrifice, while the English idealized personal comfort. This difference in ideals is a microcosm of Socialism versus Democracy, conformity versus individuality.
Melanie- Ch 16
Q: What do we need to do in order to build a better world?
A: If we are to build a better world, we must have the courage to maqke a new start-even if that means some reculer pour mieux sauter" (Hayek, 262).
A: If we are to build a better world, we must have the courage to maqke a new start-even if that means some reculer pour mieux sauter" (Hayek, 262).
Melanie- Ch 15
Q: What is "perhaps the most powerful agent in creating the belief in the possibility of a single central direction by democratic means"?
A: "Perhaps the most powerful agent in creating the belief in the possibility of a single central direction by democratic means of the economic life of many different peoples is the fatal delusion that if the decisions were left to the 'people,' the community of interest of the working classes would readily overcome the differences which exist between the ruling classes" (Hayek, 246).
A: "Perhaps the most powerful agent in creating the belief in the possibility of a single central direction by democratic means of the economic life of many different peoples is the fatal delusion that if the decisions were left to the 'people,' the community of interest of the working classes would readily overcome the differences which exist between the ruling classes" (Hayek, 246).
Melanie- Ch 14
Q: What is "the one thing modern democracy will not bear"?
A: "The one thing modern democracy will not bear without cracking is the necessity of a substantial lowering of the standards of living in peacetime or even prolonged stationaries of its economic conditions" (Hayek, 230).
A: "The one thing modern democracy will not bear without cracking is the necessity of a substantial lowering of the standards of living in peacetime or even prolonged stationaries of its economic conditions" (Hayek, 230).
Melanie- Ch 13
Q: What is Dr. Waddington's thesis that says that a "scientist is qualified to run a totalitarian society"?
A: "Dr. Waddington's claim that the scientist is qualified to run a totalitarian society is based mainly on his thesis that 'science can pass ethical judgment on human behavior'-a claim to the elaboration of which by Dr. Waddington Nature has given considerable publicity" (Hayek, 211).
A: "Dr. Waddington's claim that the scientist is qualified to run a totalitarian society is based mainly on his thesis that 'science can pass ethical judgment on human behavior'-a claim to the elaboration of which by Dr. Waddington Nature has given considerable publicity" (Hayek, 211).
Melanie- Ch 12
Q: What is the "Prussian idea"?
A: "The 'Prussian idea' requires that everybody should become a state official-that all wages and salaries be fixed by the state. The administration of all property, in particular, becomes a salaried function" (Hayek, 196).
A: "The 'Prussian idea' requires that everybody should become a state official-that all wages and salaries be fixed by the state. The administration of all property, in particular, becomes a salaried function" (Hayek, 196).
Monday, July 30, 2007
Michelle Ch 12
Q: According to professor Johann Plenge, what is the essence of socialism?
A: "Organization is to him [professor Johann Plenge], as to all socialists who derive their socialism from a crude application of scientific ideals to the problems of society, the essence of socialism" (Hayek 188).
By Michelle
A: "Organization is to him [professor Johann Plenge], as to all socialists who derive their socialism from a crude application of scientific ideals to the problems of society, the essence of socialism" (Hayek 188).
By Michelle
Friday, July 27, 2007
Questions
1. What time or where can we find the new book list?
2. When and from whom can we know which class that I am going to take next year?
3. If that Hayek book is going to be a book which is required for next year, do we need to keep next deadline?
2. When and from whom can we know which class that I am going to take next year?
3. If that Hayek book is going to be a book which is required for next year, do we need to keep next deadline?
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Life and Consequences
By my calculations, we are down to 12 who made the deadline on 14 July. According to the new academic dean and the head of the English Dept., 12 is not enough. So, Mr. Hughes (me) will now be teaching two "regular" EnglishIV classes (book list to be determined, though heavy on philosophy). I have requested to keep (if possible) a aldridge, e wagner, a power, m snider, c penca, a kocher, j castleman, f wang, m lynch, m dinh, k marsh, and v tran, as these are the ones who have made the deadlines. If I have made an error in which of you have made the deadlines, please let me know ASAP, since schedules are nearly done. Also, you may post any appropriate comments on the blog.
IT IS POSSIBLE, ACCORDING TO THE ACADEMIC DEAN, THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ADD AN "HONOR'S COMPONENT" TO MY CLASS. IF THIS IS SO, I WILL FIND A CONCRETE WAY TO REWARD THOSE WHO HAVE COME THIS FAR (I.E. I will make Hayek a large part of it!). IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE IMPOSSIBLE, I AM OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS (ASSUMING I GET THE 12 IN MY CLASSES).
THE SHAKESPEARE CLASS ALSO DID NOT MAKE. TRULY A SAD OCCURRENCE, AS WELL.
IT IS POSSIBLE, ACCORDING TO THE ACADEMIC DEAN, THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ADD AN "HONOR'S COMPONENT" TO MY CLASS. IF THIS IS SO, I WILL FIND A CONCRETE WAY TO REWARD THOSE WHO HAVE COME THIS FAR (I.E. I will make Hayek a large part of it!). IF IT TURNS OUT TO BE IMPOSSIBLE, I AM OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS (ASSUMING I GET THE 12 IN MY CLASSES).
THE SHAKESPEARE CLASS ALSO DID NOT MAKE. TRULY A SAD OCCURRENCE, AS WELL.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Jules ch. 4
What makes competition the only method by which co-ordination can be brought about?
A-"...It is the very complexity of the division of labor under modern conditions which makes competition the only method by which co-ordination can be brought about" (hayek 55)
A-"...It is the very complexity of the division of labor under modern conditions which makes competition the only method by which co-ordination can be brought about" (hayek 55)
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Adrian Ch.8
Q: Which form of social rule is more reasonable and easier to gather followers?
A: " The new socialist movement had grown in a democratic and liberal world, adapting its tactics to it and taking over many of the ideals of liberalism. Its protagonists still believed that the creation of socialism as such would solve all problems. Fascism and National Socialism, on the other hand, grew out of the experience of an increasingly regulated society's awakening to the fact that democratic and international socialism was aiming at incompatible ideals. Their tactics were developed in a world already dominated by socialism policy and the problems it creates. They had no illusions about the possibility of a democratic solution of problems which require more agreement among people than can reasonably be expected. They had no illusions about the capacity of reason to decide all the questions of the relative importance of the wants of different men or groups which planning inevitably raises, or about the formula of equality providing an answer. They knew that the strongest group which rallied enough supporters in favor of a new hierarchical order of society, and which frankly promised privileges to the classes to which it appealed, was likely to obtain the support of all those who were disappointed because they had been promised equality but found that they had merely furthered the interest of a particular class. Above all, they were successful because they offered a theory, or Weltanschauung, which seemed to justify the privileges they promised to their supporters."(Hayek, p.130-131). A societal government that appealed to the oppressed, and overwhelming masses would be easier and more reasonable as a successive government. As is evident in South Korea, South Vietnam, various eastern European countries, the Middle East, and various Central and South American counties.
A: " The new socialist movement had grown in a democratic and liberal world, adapting its tactics to it and taking over many of the ideals of liberalism. Its protagonists still believed that the creation of socialism as such would solve all problems. Fascism and National Socialism, on the other hand, grew out of the experience of an increasingly regulated society's awakening to the fact that democratic and international socialism was aiming at incompatible ideals. Their tactics were developed in a world already dominated by socialism policy and the problems it creates. They had no illusions about the possibility of a democratic solution of problems which require more agreement among people than can reasonably be expected. They had no illusions about the capacity of reason to decide all the questions of the relative importance of the wants of different men or groups which planning inevitably raises, or about the formula of equality providing an answer. They knew that the strongest group which rallied enough supporters in favor of a new hierarchical order of society, and which frankly promised privileges to the classes to which it appealed, was likely to obtain the support of all those who were disappointed because they had been promised equality but found that they had merely furthered the interest of a particular class. Above all, they were successful because they offered a theory, or Weltanschauung, which seemed to justify the privileges they promised to their supporters."(Hayek, p.130-131). A societal government that appealed to the oppressed, and overwhelming masses would be easier and more reasonable as a successive government. As is evident in South Korea, South Vietnam, various eastern European countries, the Middle East, and various Central and South American counties.
Adrian Ch.9
Q: Why is the saying, "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" true, what part of our Democratic society allows for this to continue?
A: "In England and America such restrictions, especially those affecting the intermediate strata of society, have assumed important dimensions only in comparatively recent times, and we have scarcely yet realized their full consequences. The utter hopelessness of the position of those who, in a society which has thus grown rigid, are left outside the range of sheltered occupation, and the magnitude of the gulf which separates them from the fortunate possessors of jobs for whom protection against competition has made it unnecessary to budge ever so little to make room for those without, can be appreciated only by those who have experienced it. It is not a question of the fortunate ones' giving up their places, but merely that they should share in the common misfortune by some reduction of their incomes, or frequently even merely by some sacrifice of their prospects of improvement. The protection for their 'standard of life,' of the 'fair price,' or the 'professional income' to which they regard themselves as entitled, and in the protection of which they receive the support of the state, precludes this. In consequence, instead of prices, wages, and individual incomes,it is now employment and production which have become subject to violent fluctuations. There has never been a worse and more cruel exploitation of one class by another than of the weaker or less fortunate members of a group of producers by the well-established which has been made possible by the 'regulation' of competition. Few catch-words have done so much harm as the ideal of a 'stabilization' of particular prices (or wages), which, while securing the income of some, makes the position of the rest more and more precarious."(Hayek, p.143). The unfair status between those with and those without a protected income is only held fast by regulations set by the riches ancestors.
A: "In England and America such restrictions, especially those affecting the intermediate strata of society, have assumed important dimensions only in comparatively recent times, and we have scarcely yet realized their full consequences. The utter hopelessness of the position of those who, in a society which has thus grown rigid, are left outside the range of sheltered occupation, and the magnitude of the gulf which separates them from the fortunate possessors of jobs for whom protection against competition has made it unnecessary to budge ever so little to make room for those without, can be appreciated only by those who have experienced it. It is not a question of the fortunate ones' giving up their places, but merely that they should share in the common misfortune by some reduction of their incomes, or frequently even merely by some sacrifice of their prospects of improvement. The protection for their 'standard of life,' of the 'fair price,' or the 'professional income' to which they regard themselves as entitled, and in the protection of which they receive the support of the state, precludes this. In consequence, instead of prices, wages, and individual incomes,it is now employment and production which have become subject to violent fluctuations. There has never been a worse and more cruel exploitation of one class by another than of the weaker or less fortunate members of a group of producers by the well-established which has been made possible by the 'regulation' of competition. Few catch-words have done so much harm as the ideal of a 'stabilization' of particular prices (or wages), which, while securing the income of some, makes the position of the rest more and more precarious."(Hayek, p.143). The unfair status between those with and those without a protected income is only held fast by regulations set by the riches ancestors.
Jesselman CHapter 11
Q: Why is it that if you deprive the majority of independent thought you must also silence the minority who will criticize?
A:"If the people are to support the common effort without hesitation, they must be convinced that not only the end aimed at but also the means chosen are the right ones" (175)
A:"If the people are to support the common effort without hesitation, they must be convinced that not only the end aimed at but also the means chosen are the right ones" (175)
Adrian Ch.10
Q: Are emotions the downfall of a totalitarianism society, or even mankind, merely because some feel inclined to help those who are not capable of surviving on their own?
A: "Where there is one common all-overriding end, there is no room for any general morals or rules. To a limited extent we ourselves experience this in wartime. But even war and the greatest peril had led in the democratic countries only to a very moderate approach to totalitarianism, very little setting-aside of all other values in the service of a single purpose. But where a few specific ends dominate the whole of a society, it is inevitable that occasionally cruelty may become a duty; that acts which revolt all our feeling, such as the shooting of hostages or the killing of the old or sick, should be treated as mere matters of expediency; that the compulsory uprooting and transportation of hundreds of thousands should become an instrument of policy approved by almost everybody except the victims; or that suggestions like that of a 'conscription of women for breeding purposes' can be seriously contemplated. There is always in the eyes of the collectivist a greater goal which these acts serve and which to him justifies them because the pursuit of the common end of society can know no limits in any rights or values of any individual."(Hayek, p.165). Everyday common life is just like war, nature is against us, we are against each other, man is naturally territorial out of fear of injury and death. Man feels threatened by others and all, this is totally natural, in order to survive, an animal must show up the threat or run, since running leads to being outcast, animals usually fight. This primal tendency is what kept man (homo sapien), plus his intellect of the usage of tools, alive for longer than his predecessors (cromagnon man, homo erectus,homo habilis, homo floresiens, etc.). Triage is necessary for the greater good, the survival or the pack, society, nation, race, or species.
A: "Where there is one common all-overriding end, there is no room for any general morals or rules. To a limited extent we ourselves experience this in wartime. But even war and the greatest peril had led in the democratic countries only to a very moderate approach to totalitarianism, very little setting-aside of all other values in the service of a single purpose. But where a few specific ends dominate the whole of a society, it is inevitable that occasionally cruelty may become a duty; that acts which revolt all our feeling, such as the shooting of hostages or the killing of the old or sick, should be treated as mere matters of expediency; that the compulsory uprooting and transportation of hundreds of thousands should become an instrument of policy approved by almost everybody except the victims; or that suggestions like that of a 'conscription of women for breeding purposes' can be seriously contemplated. There is always in the eyes of the collectivist a greater goal which these acts serve and which to him justifies them because the pursuit of the common end of society can know no limits in any rights or values of any individual."(Hayek, p.165). Everyday common life is just like war, nature is against us, we are against each other, man is naturally territorial out of fear of injury and death. Man feels threatened by others and all, this is totally natural, in order to survive, an animal must show up the threat or run, since running leads to being outcast, animals usually fight. This primal tendency is what kept man (homo sapien), plus his intellect of the usage of tools, alive for longer than his predecessors (cromagnon man, homo erectus,homo habilis, homo floresiens, etc.). Triage is necessary for the greater good, the survival or the pack, society, nation, race, or species.
Jesselman chapter 10
Q:Why would a collectivist program not work outside of a limited group?
A: "The belief in the community of aims and interests with fellow- men seems to presuppose a greater degree of similarity of outlook and thought than exists between men merely as human beings. If the other members of one's group cannot all be personally known, they must at least be of the same kind as those around us, think and talk in the same way and about the same kind of things, in order that we may identify ourselves with them. Collectivism on a world scale seems to be unthinkable - except in the service of a small ruling elite. It would certainly raise not only technical but, above all, moral problems which none of our socialists is willing to face. " (154-155)
A: "The belief in the community of aims and interests with fellow- men seems to presuppose a greater degree of similarity of outlook and thought than exists between men merely as human beings. If the other members of one's group cannot all be personally known, they must at least be of the same kind as those around us, think and talk in the same way and about the same kind of things, in order that we may identify ourselves with them. Collectivism on a world scale seems to be unthinkable - except in the service of a small ruling elite. It would certainly raise not only technical but, above all, moral problems which none of our socialists is willing to face. " (154-155)
Adrian Ch. 11
Q: How is it that totalitarianism, in its pure form is viewed as an unwilling governing system of of the people, however by those that are governed by it, it is accepted, both openly and freely?
A: "While in the totalitarian states this status [Gleichschaltung] of propaganda gives it a unique power over the minds of the people, the peculiar moral effects arise not from the technique but from the object and scope of totalitarian propaganda. If it could be confined to indoctrinating the people with the whole system of values toward which the social effort is directed, propaganda would present merely a particular manifestation of the characteristic features of collectivist morals which we have already considered."(Hayek, p.169). When someone's perceptive reality is exposed to only one ideal, that is the standard to all other comparisons.
A: "While in the totalitarian states this status [Gleichschaltung] of propaganda gives it a unique power over the minds of the people, the peculiar moral effects arise not from the technique but from the object and scope of totalitarian propaganda. If it could be confined to indoctrinating the people with the whole system of values toward which the social effort is directed, propaganda would present merely a particular manifestation of the characteristic features of collectivist morals which we have already considered."(Hayek, p.169). When someone's perceptive reality is exposed to only one ideal, that is the standard to all other comparisons.
Victor Tran Ch. 11
Q:What are the moral consequences of totalitarian propaganda?
A:"They are destructive of all morals because they undermine one of the foundations of all morals: the sense of and respect for truth. From the nature of its task, totalitarian propaganda cannot confine itself to values, to questions of opinion and moral convictions in which the individual will always conform more or less to the views ruling his community, but must extend to the questions of fact where human intelligence is involved in a different way" (p.170).
A:"They are destructive of all morals because they undermine one of the foundations of all morals: the sense of and respect for truth. From the nature of its task, totalitarian propaganda cannot confine itself to values, to questions of opinion and moral convictions in which the individual will always conform more or less to the views ruling his community, but must extend to the questions of fact where human intelligence is involved in a different way" (p.170).
Jesselman chapter 9
Q: What is the transformation of society that ahs taken place?
A: "THe younger generation of today has grown up in a worrld in which in school and press the spirit of comercial enterprise has been represented as disreputable and the making of profit immoral, where to employ a hundred people is represented as exploitation but to commandthe same number as honorable" (144)
A: "THe younger generation of today has grown up in a worrld in which in school and press the spirit of comercial enterprise has been represented as disreputable and the making of profit immoral, where to employ a hundred people is represented as exploitation but to commandthe same number as honorable" (144)
Jesselman chapter 8
Q: What is one of the problems with socialism?
A: "so long as the socialist movement in a country is closely bound up with the interests of a particular group, usually the more highly skilled industrial workers, the problem of creating a common view on the desirable status of the different members of society is comparitively simple. The movement is immedietly concerned with the status of one particular group, and its aim is to raise that status relatively to other groups. The character of the problem changes, however, as in the course of the progressive advance toward socialism it becomes more and more evident to everyone that his income and general position are determined by the coercive apparatus of the state, that he can maintain or improve his position only as a member of an organized group capable of influencing or controlling the state machine in his interest." (126-127)
A: "so long as the socialist movement in a country is closely bound up with the interests of a particular group, usually the more highly skilled industrial workers, the problem of creating a common view on the desirable status of the different members of society is comparitively simple. The movement is immedietly concerned with the status of one particular group, and its aim is to raise that status relatively to other groups. The character of the problem changes, however, as in the course of the progressive advance toward socialism it becomes more and more evident to everyone that his income and general position are determined by the coercive apparatus of the state, that he can maintain or improve his position only as a member of an organized group capable of influencing or controlling the state machine in his interest." (126-127)
Austendo Chapter 11
"The most effective way of making people accept the validity of the values they are to serve is to persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before. The people are made to transfer their allegiance from the old gods to the new under the pretense that the new gods really are what their sound instinct had always told them but what before they had only dimly seen. And the most efficient technique to this end is to use the old words but change their meaning." (172)
Regarding using old ideas and changing the meaning, what popular religion began by doing the same? That's right.
A: Christianity.
Most people probably already know this, but the early Christian church moved in on pagan holidays and changed the meanings of their idols to fit in with church doctrine. Christmas was originally a Festival to the Sun. Son of God. Sun. Get it?
Regarding using old ideas and changing the meaning, what popular religion began by doing the same? That's right.
A: Christianity.
Most people probably already know this, but the early Christian church moved in on pagan holidays and changed the meanings of their idols to fit in with church doctrine. Christmas was originally a Festival to the Sun. Son of God. Sun. Get it?
Austendo Chapter 10
Q: What did acts of hate such as the Holocaust have in common? Why do the leaders of such acts most commonly choose that path?
A: "...it is easier for people to agree on a negative program -- on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off -- than on any positive task. The contrast between the "we" and the "they," the common fight against those outside the group, seems to be an essential ingredient in any creed which will solidly knit together a group for common action." (153)
A: "...it is easier for people to agree on a negative program -- on the hatred of an enemy, on the envy of those better off -- than on any positive task. The contrast between the "we" and the "they," the common fight against those outside the group, seems to be an essential ingredient in any creed which will solidly knit together a group for common action." (153)
Ch.11- Kelsey Marsh
"The most effective way of making everybody serve the single system of ends toward which the social plan is directed is to make everybody believe in those ends. To make a totalitaian system function efficiently, it is not enough that everybody should be forced to work for the same ends. It is essential that the people should come to regard them as their own ends......" p. 168
Q: Why does it matter if the individual shares his goal with the society? ... Especially if the goals are chosen for the individual?
A: Look at christianity the end goal is to go to heaven. Deciding to be a christian means you have let them decide your end goal is heaven. However in order to make the religion and beliefs successful you much teach each and every person who pracitces it to think the same way. Though there are different branches in christianity each branches end goal is heaven, yet for example in catholicism if you dont agree with certain things of the church then you are not considered a catholic you are simply considered a christian. Totalitarian systems control what you think therefore when they put out propaganda you can only believe that their stuff is the best and as for everybody else propaganda you either dont know it exsists or you believe it sucks. If in christianity each branch had a different goal then nobodys goal would be achieved or successful not the individuals or the communitys. So to make a totalitarian society work the individual has to share the goal of the society in order to achieve or obtain any goal.
Q: Why does it matter if the individual shares his goal with the society? ... Especially if the goals are chosen for the individual?
A: Look at christianity the end goal is to go to heaven. Deciding to be a christian means you have let them decide your end goal is heaven. However in order to make the religion and beliefs successful you much teach each and every person who pracitces it to think the same way. Though there are different branches in christianity each branches end goal is heaven, yet for example in catholicism if you dont agree with certain things of the church then you are not considered a catholic you are simply considered a christian. Totalitarian systems control what you think therefore when they put out propaganda you can only believe that their stuff is the best and as for everybody else propaganda you either dont know it exsists or you believe it sucks. If in christianity each branch had a different goal then nobodys goal would be achieved or successful not the individuals or the communitys. So to make a totalitarian society work the individual has to share the goal of the society in order to achieve or obtain any goal.
Victor Tran Ch. 10
Q: What is one misconception of totalitarianism?
A:"It is believed that the most repellent features of the totalitarian regimes are due to the historical accident that they were established by groups if blackgaurds and thugs.[...]We must not deceive ourselves into believing that all good people must be democrats or will necessarily wish to have a share in government"(p. 148).
A:"It is believed that the most repellent features of the totalitarian regimes are due to the historical accident that they were established by groups if blackgaurds and thugs.[...]We must not deceive ourselves into believing that all good people must be democrats or will necessarily wish to have a share in government"(p. 148).
Austendo Chapter 8
Q: What single rule will provide a solid, definite answer to the questions regarding Power and Justice in society?
A. "Equality, complete and absolute equality of all individuals in all those points which are subject to human control." (121)
A. "Equality, complete and absolute equality of all individuals in all those points which are subject to human control." (121)
Ch. 10- Kelsey Marsh
"...Yet it is through positions like these that the road to the highest positions in the totalitarian state leads. It is only too true when a distinguished American economist concludes froma similar belief enumeration of the duties of the authorities of a collectivist state that they would have to do these things whether they wanted to or not:and the probablity of the people in power being individuals who would dislike the possesion and exercise of power is on a level with the probability tha an extremely tender-hearted person would get the job of whipping-master in a slave plantation...." p.167
Q/A: So in reality no leader whether in totalitarian society or democratic society necessarily agrees with views of their position, they just conform to their status, well this is true in any governement or competitive or planned economy, so even if you obtain the higher or highest position its still not humanitarian and your personal values are still changed and to a higher degree. So why do you go for the highest position if it disagrees with your values well everybody does no matter what type of society why because the whole point of a society is rank is to be the best most powerful and highest. So its not surprsing that totaltarian governmens conform your thinking because well every government does and once you have the highest status you then start conforming people.
Q/A: So in reality no leader whether in totalitarian society or democratic society necessarily agrees with views of their position, they just conform to their status, well this is true in any governement or competitive or planned economy, so even if you obtain the higher or highest position its still not humanitarian and your personal values are still changed and to a higher degree. So why do you go for the highest position if it disagrees with your values well everybody does no matter what type of society why because the whole point of a society is rank is to be the best most powerful and highest. So its not surprsing that totaltarian governmens conform your thinking because well every government does and once you have the highest status you then start conforming people.
Caroline P. Ch-11
Q: What is the problem with the assumption that only a minority truly thinks for themselves and that this situation then can be harnessed to steer people towards certain thoughts or actions?
A: "It shows a complete confusion of thought to suggest that, because under any sory of system the majority of people follow the lead of somebody, it makes no difference if everybody has to follow the same lead." (180) This is a direct attack on socialism as a whole. Although not everyone came up with socialism independently, they still chose to follow its ideals. However, because they made this choice to follow by themselves, they should not then take the ability to make the choice of whom or what to follow from others, seeing as it is in contradition of something they did themselves.
A: "It shows a complete confusion of thought to suggest that, because under any sory of system the majority of people follow the lead of somebody, it makes no difference if everybody has to follow the same lead." (180) This is a direct attack on socialism as a whole. Although not everyone came up with socialism independently, they still chose to follow its ideals. However, because they made this choice to follow by themselves, they should not then take the ability to make the choice of whom or what to follow from others, seeing as it is in contradition of something they did themselves.
Caroline P. Ch-10
Q: What "illusion" do many socialists fail to see through?
A: "the tragic illusion that by depriving private individuals of the power they possess in an individualist system, and by transfering this power to society, they can thereby extinguish power." (159)
People fail to realize that by taking away distributed power and changed it into "concentrated power", they really endanger themselves because thenit is in the hands of a smaller group of people, namely the government, who may or may not use said power for the aims that the people wish for (159).
A: "the tragic illusion that by depriving private individuals of the power they possess in an individualist system, and by transfering this power to society, they can thereby extinguish power." (159)
People fail to realize that by taking away distributed power and changed it into "concentrated power", they really endanger themselves because thenit is in the hands of a smaller group of people, namely the government, who may or may not use said power for the aims that the people wish for (159).
ch. 9 - Kelsey Marsh
"In the sphere of executive work the problem of sanctions for negligence arises in a different but no less serious form. It has been well said that, while the last resort of a competitve econmy is the baliff, the ultimate sanction of a planned economy is the hangman."
Q: So a planned economy would be better because the best sanction is to be the head in charge and in a competitve society the last sanction is to be given orders or in this case is being in charge worse?
A: As the manager your success depends on the workers yet as a worker your success depends on just you. But in the planned economy the best is the worst and in a competitive the last, which is usually referred to as the worst, is the best. It really depends wether you are baseing which is better upon ranks or actual duties. If its upon ranks than a planned economy would be better but if its upon duties than a competitve economy would be the best. So either one could be right, but in my opinion ranks are of no importance although its what everybody looks at, duties should be more important to the individual so i would go with the competitve in this case.
Q: So a planned economy would be better because the best sanction is to be the head in charge and in a competitve society the last sanction is to be given orders or in this case is being in charge worse?
A: As the manager your success depends on the workers yet as a worker your success depends on just you. But in the planned economy the best is the worst and in a competitive the last, which is usually referred to as the worst, is the best. It really depends wether you are baseing which is better upon ranks or actual duties. If its upon ranks than a planned economy would be better but if its upon duties than a competitve economy would be the best. So either one could be right, but in my opinion ranks are of no importance although its what everybody looks at, duties should be more important to the individual so i would go with the competitve in this case.
Austendo Chapter 9
Q: The demand for security against 'diminutions of income' (Hayek uses this term a lot. It's fancy words for pay cut.) Hayek says, "This demand for security is thus another form of the demand for a just remuneration -- a remuneration commensurate with the subjective merits and not with the objective merits of a man's efforts. Why must the remuneration be commensurate with the subjective rather than the objective?
A: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I see subjective as being a relative type of judgment while objective doesn't take other factors into account. Subjective sees a worker and understands, he's got a wife and seven kids, give him some time off and he'll be more relaxed for work. Objective doesn't see any factors, and instead sees a slacking worker who shouldn't receive a certain remuneration. With these definitions, remuneration, or pay, must be commensurate with, or based off of, the subjective because, "remuneration in these trades should correspond to [the worker's] usefulness to the other members of society. (135)
A: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I see subjective as being a relative type of judgment while objective doesn't take other factors into account. Subjective sees a worker and understands, he's got a wife and seven kids, give him some time off and he'll be more relaxed for work. Objective doesn't see any factors, and instead sees a slacking worker who shouldn't receive a certain remuneration. With these definitions, remuneration, or pay, must be commensurate with, or based off of, the subjective because, "remuneration in these trades should correspond to [the worker's] usefulness to the other members of society. (135)
Victor Tran Ch. 9
Q: What are the two kinds of security?
A: "[T]he limited one, which can be achieved for all, and which is therefore no privilege but a legitimate object of desire; and absolute security, which in a free society cannot be achieved for all and which ought not to be given as a privilege- except in a few special instances such as that of the judges, where complete independence is of paramount importance"(p.132).
A: "[T]he limited one, which can be achieved for all, and which is therefore no privilege but a legitimate object of desire; and absolute security, which in a free society cannot be achieved for all and which ought not to be given as a privilege- except in a few special instances such as that of the judges, where complete independence is of paramount importance"(p.132).
Victor Tran Ch. 8
Q: What will happen one " the state takes upon itself the task of planning the whole economic life"?
A: "[T]he problem of the different individuals and groups must indeed inevitably become the central political problem"(p. 119).
A: "[T]he problem of the different individuals and groups must indeed inevitably become the central political problem"(p. 119).
Ch.8 -Kelsey Marsh
"Although under competition the probability that a man who starts poor will reach great wealth is much smaller than is true of the man who has inherited property, it is not only possible for the former, but the competitive system is the only one where it depends solely on him and not on the favors of the mighty, and where nobody can prevent a man from attempting to achieve this result." p.113
Q: So under competition the lucky are more successful yet have a higher risk of failure, therefore does this make luck or competition better?
A: Both have a possiblity of failure, competition because it depends on the man and his readiness for game and luck because he depends on someone else and well if they dont come through he is screwed. Although you are assuming that the competition man is a strong hard working man, alot of people who begin as tough competitors get tired easy and give up. i believe it to be false that no man can keep a competitve man from achieving his goal though it is more the competitive mans fault for giving up everybody else around him is trying to get him to fail and sometimes those are the stronger people. I guess in a sense you have to have both luck and competition, you have to be lucky to get the competition and you have to compete to get the luck.
Q: So under competition the lucky are more successful yet have a higher risk of failure, therefore does this make luck or competition better?
A: Both have a possiblity of failure, competition because it depends on the man and his readiness for game and luck because he depends on someone else and well if they dont come through he is screwed. Although you are assuming that the competition man is a strong hard working man, alot of people who begin as tough competitors get tired easy and give up. i believe it to be false that no man can keep a competitve man from achieving his goal though it is more the competitive mans fault for giving up everybody else around him is trying to get him to fail and sometimes those are the stronger people. I guess in a sense you have to have both luck and competition, you have to be lucky to get the competition and you have to compete to get the luck.
Caroline P. Ch-9
Q:What point does Hayek seek to make with the opposing quotes at the beginning of the chapter?
"The whole of society will have become a single office and a single factory with equality of work and equality of pay." -Lenin (1917)
"In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat." -Leon Trotsky (1937)
A: The first puts an obvious positive spin on socialism, making it sound as if this "equality" will ensure freedom when it really endangers it (132). The second quote shows that this "freedom" is really no freedom at all; if one does not cooperate with the government, or "sole employer", then their livlihood is then in jeopardy. In seeking "economic security", many people actually put themselves at risk due to the fact that since their "sole employer" is the State, if they defect or disobey, then their controlled income, which is supposedly being protected from diminutations (135), is then at risk.
"The whole of society will have become a single office and a single factory with equality of work and equality of pay." -Lenin (1917)
"In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat." -Leon Trotsky (1937)
A: The first puts an obvious positive spin on socialism, making it sound as if this "equality" will ensure freedom when it really endangers it (132). The second quote shows that this "freedom" is really no freedom at all; if one does not cooperate with the government, or "sole employer", then their livlihood is then in jeopardy. In seeking "economic security", many people actually put themselves at risk due to the fact that since their "sole employer" is the State, if they defect or disobey, then their controlled income, which is supposedly being protected from diminutations (135), is then at risk.
Caroline P. Ch-8
Q: Why do people favor the "blindness" of competition over planning?
A: "While people will submit to suffering which may hit anyone, they will not so easily submit to suffering which is the result of the decision of authority [...] Dissatisfaction of everybody with his lot will inevitably grow with the consciousness that it is the result of deliberate human decision." (118)
A: "While people will submit to suffering which may hit anyone, they will not so easily submit to suffering which is the result of the decision of authority [...] Dissatisfaction of everybody with his lot will inevitably grow with the consciousness that it is the result of deliberate human decision." (118)
Charlie C-11
Q:
"This applies even to fields apparently most remote from any political interests and particularly to all the sciences, even the most abstract. That in the disciplines dealing directly with human affairs and therefore most immediately affecting political views, such as history, law, or economics, the disinterested search for truth cannot be allowed in a totalitarian system, and the vindication of the official views becomes the sole object, is easily seen and has been amply confirmed by experience."
What is these all be done for?
A:
"These disciplines have, indeed, in all totalitarian countries become the most fertile factories of the official myths which the rulers use to guide the minds and wills of their subjects."
(Page 176)
"This applies even to fields apparently most remote from any political interests and particularly to all the sciences, even the most abstract. That in the disciplines dealing directly with human affairs and therefore most immediately affecting political views, such as history, law, or economics, the disinterested search for truth cannot be allowed in a totalitarian system, and the vindication of the official views becomes the sole object, is easily seen and has been amply confirmed by experience."
What is these all be done for?
A:
"These disciplines have, indeed, in all totalitarian countries become the most fertile factories of the official myths which the rulers use to guide the minds and wills of their subjects."
(Page 176)
Friday, July 13, 2007
Charlie C-10
Q:
"...it is inevitable that occasionally cruelty may become a duty; that acts which revolt all our feelings, such as the shooting of hostages or the killing of the old or sick, should be treated as mere matters of expediency; that the compulsory uprooting and transportation of hundreds of thousands should become an instrument of policy approved by almost everybody except the victims;or that suggestions like that of a 'conscription of women for breeding purposes' can be seriously contemplated."
How is that be agreed by the majority?
A:
"...for the mass of citizens of totalitarian state it is often unselfish devotion to an ideal,..."
(Page 165)
"...it is inevitable that occasionally cruelty may become a duty; that acts which revolt all our feelings, such as the shooting of hostages or the killing of the old or sick, should be treated as mere matters of expediency; that the compulsory uprooting and transportation of hundreds of thousands should become an instrument of policy approved by almost everybody except the victims;or that suggestions like that of a 'conscription of women for breeding purposes' can be seriously contemplated."
How is that be agreed by the majority?
A:
"...for the mass of citizens of totalitarian state it is often unselfish devotion to an ideal,..."
(Page 165)
Charlie C-9
Q:
"The conflict with which we need to deal is, indeed, a quite fundamental one between two irreconcilable types of social organization,..."
What are these two types of organization?
A:
"...Which, from the most characteristic forms in mercial and the military type of society."
(Page 140)
"The conflict with which we need to deal is, indeed, a quite fundamental one between two irreconcilable types of social organization,..."
What are these two types of organization?
A:
"...Which, from the most characteristic forms in mercial and the military type of society."
(Page 140)
Dinh Chapter 11
Q: What is the most effective way to make people accept the validity of the values they are to serve?
A: It "is to persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before" (172).
A: It "is to persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before" (172).
Dinh Chapter 10
Q: What would be another meaning for treating the "universal tendency of collectivist policy to become nationalistic as due entirely ot the necessity for securing unhesitating support" (154)?
A: It "would be to neglect another and no less important factor" (154).
A: It "would be to neglect another and no less important factor" (154).
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Michelle Ch 11
Q: What are the two central features of every collectivist system?
A: "The need for a commonly accepted system of ends of the group and the all-overriding desire to give to the group the maximum of power to achieve these ends" (Hayek 161).
By Michelle
A: "The need for a commonly accepted system of ends of the group and the all-overriding desire to give to the group the maximum of power to achieve these ends" (Hayek 161).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 10
Q: In the market system, how can security be granted to particular groups?
A: "By the kind of planning known as restrictionism (which includes, however, almost all the planning which is actually practiced!). "Control," i.e., limitation of output so that prices will secure an "adequate" return, is the only way in which in a market economy producers can be guaranteed a certain income. But this necessarily involces a reduction of opportunities open to others" (Hayek 141-142).
By Michelle
A: "By the kind of planning known as restrictionism (which includes, however, almost all the planning which is actually practiced!). "Control," i.e., limitation of output so that prices will secure an "adequate" return, is the only way in which in a market economy producers can be guaranteed a certain income. But this necessarily involces a reduction of opportunities open to others" (Hayek 141-142).
By Michelle
Michelle Ch 9
Q: How is the contrast between a liberal and a totally planned system illustrated?
A: "By the common complaints of Nazis and socialists of the 'artificial sparations of economics and politics' and by their equally common demand for the dominance of politics over economics" (Hayek 120).
By Michelle
A: "By the common complaints of Nazis and socialists of the 'artificial sparations of economics and politics' and by their equally common demand for the dominance of politics over economics" (Hayek 120).
By Michelle
Melanie- Ch 11
Q: How does one make a totalitarian system function efficiently?
A: "To make a totalitarian system function efficeiently, it is not enough that everybody should be forced to work for the same ends. It is essential that the people should come to regard them as their own ends. Although the beliefs must b e chosen for the people eand imposed upon them, they must beomce their beliefs, a generally accepted creed which makes the individuals as far as possible act spontaneoulsy in the way the planner wants. If the feeling of oppression in totalitarian countries is in general much less acute than most people in liberal countries imagine, this is because the totalitarian governments succeed to a high degree in making people think as they want them to" (Hayek, 168).
A: "To make a totalitarian system function efficeiently, it is not enough that everybody should be forced to work for the same ends. It is essential that the people should come to regard them as their own ends. Although the beliefs must b e chosen for the people eand imposed upon them, they must beomce their beliefs, a generally accepted creed which makes the individuals as far as possible act spontaneoulsy in the way the planner wants. If the feeling of oppression in totalitarian countries is in general much less acute than most people in liberal countries imagine, this is because the totalitarian governments succeed to a high degree in making people think as they want them to" (Hayek, 168).
Melanie- Ch 10
Q: How is "The definitely antagonistic attitude which most planners take toward internationalism" explained? (Hayek, 157).
A: "The definitely antagonistic attitude which most planners take toward internationalism is further explained by the fact that in the existing world all outside contacts of a group are obstacles to their effectively planning the sphere in which they can attempt it. It is therefore no accident that, as the editor of one of the most comprehensive collective studies on planning has discovered to his chagrin, "most 'planners' are militant nationalists"" (Hayek 157).
A: "The definitely antagonistic attitude which most planners take toward internationalism is further explained by the fact that in the existing world all outside contacts of a group are obstacles to their effectively planning the sphere in which they can attempt it. It is therefore no accident that, as the editor of one of the most comprehensive collective studies on planning has discovered to his chagrin, "most 'planners' are militant nationalists"" (Hayek 157).
Melanie- Ch 9
Q: What happens when we try harder to provide full security (by interfering with the market system)?
A: "Thus, the more we try to provde full security by interfering with the market system, the greater the insecurity becomes; and, what is worse, the greater becomes the contrast between the security of those to whom it is granted as a privilege and the ever increasing insecurity of the underprivileged. And the more security becomes a privilege, and the greater the danger to those excluded from it, the higher will security be prized" (Hayek, 143).
A: "Thus, the more we try to provde full security by interfering with the market system, the greater the insecurity becomes; and, what is worse, the greater becomes the contrast between the security of those to whom it is granted as a privilege and the ever increasing insecurity of the underprivileged. And the more security becomes a privilege, and the greater the danger to those excluded from it, the higher will security be prized" (Hayek, 143).
Melanie- Ch 8
Q: What is the choice that is open to us?
A: "The choice open to us is not between a system in which everybody will get what he deserves according to some absolute and universal standard of right, and one where the individual shares are determined partly by accident or good or ill chance, but between a system where it is the will of a few persons that decides who is to get what, and one where it depends at least partly on the ability and enterprise of the people concerned and partly on unforeseeable circumstances" (Hayek, 112-113).
A: "The choice open to us is not between a system in which everybody will get what he deserves according to some absolute and universal standard of right, and one where the individual shares are determined partly by accident or good or ill chance, but between a system where it is the will of a few persons that decides who is to get what, and one where it depends at least partly on the ability and enterprise of the people concerned and partly on unforeseeable circumstances" (Hayek, 112-113).
Alyssum : Chp11
Q: What is the most effective way of making people accept the validity of values they are to serve?
A: "To persuade them that they are really the same as those which they or at least the best among them, have always held but which were not properly understood to reconize before." ( p.172)
A: "To persuade them that they are really the same as those which they or at least the best among them, have always held but which were not properly understood to reconize before." ( p.172)
Alyssum: Chp 10
Q: Socialism Can be put into practice by methods which most socialists disproved of. How was this lesson learned by most socialists in the past?
A: The old socialist parties were inhibited by their democratic ideals; they did not possess the ruthlessness required for the performance of their chosen task.
A: The old socialist parties were inhibited by their democratic ideals; they did not possess the ruthlessness required for the performance of their chosen task.
Alyssum: Chp 9
Q: Why is the problem of combating general flucutations of economic activity and the recurrent waves of unemployment such a supremely important problem?
A: "This is of course, one of the gravest and most pressing problems of our time. Its solution will require much planning in good sense it does not or at least need not require that special kind of planning which according to its advocates is to replace the market. Many econnomists hope indeed the ultimate remedy may be found in the field of monetary policy which would involve nothing incompatible even with 19 century liberalism." p. (134)
A: "This is of course, one of the gravest and most pressing problems of our time. Its solution will require much planning in good sense it does not or at least need not require that special kind of planning which according to its advocates is to replace the market. Many econnomists hope indeed the ultimate remedy may be found in the field of monetary policy which would involve nothing incompatible even with 19 century liberalism." p. (134)
Alyssum:Chp 8
Q: What is it that our generation has forgotten?
A: "What our generation has forgotten is that the system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do not." (p. 115)
A: "What our generation has forgotten is that the system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do not." (p. 115)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Michelle Ch 8
Q: How is the contrast between a liberal and a totally planned system illustrated?
A: By the common complaints of Nazis and socialists of the “artificial sparations of economics and politics” and by their equally common demand for the dominance of politics over economics” (Hayek 120) .
By Michelle
A: By the common complaints of Nazis and socialists of the “artificial sparations of economics and politics” and by their equally common demand for the dominance of politics over economics” (Hayek 120) .
By Michelle
Ellen Ch 11
Q: What is the most effective way of making people accept the validity of the values they are to serve?
A: “Persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before. The people are made to transfer their allegiance from the old gods to the new under the pretense that the new gods really are what their sound instinct had always told them but what before they had only dimly seen. And the most efficient technique to this end is to use the old words but change their meaning” (Hayek 172).
By Ellen
A: “Persuade them that they are really the same as those which they, or at least the best among them, have always held, but which were not properly understood or recognized before. The people are made to transfer their allegiance from the old gods to the new under the pretense that the new gods really are what their sound instinct had always told them but what before they had only dimly seen. And the most efficient technique to this end is to use the old words but change their meaning” (Hayek 172).
By Ellen
Ellen Ch 10
Q: What is one of the inherent contradictions of the collectivist philosophy?
A: “While basing itself on the humanistic morals which individualism has developed, it is practicable only within a relatively small group….Collectivism has no room for the wide humanitarianism of liberalism but only for the narrow particularism of the totalitarian” (Hayek, 155-156).
By Ellen
A: “While basing itself on the humanistic morals which individualism has developed, it is practicable only within a relatively small group….Collectivism has no room for the wide humanitarianism of liberalism but only for the narrow particularism of the totalitarian” (Hayek, 155-156).
By Ellen
Ellen Ch 9
Q: How does having a certainty of a given income prohibit any freedom in the choice of one’s occupation?
A: “If it is provided for some, it becomes a privilege at the expense of others whose security is thereby necessarily diminished. That security of an invariable income can be provided for all only by the abolition of all freedom in the choice of one’s employment is easily shown. Yet although such a general guaranty of legitimate expectation is often regarded as the ideal to be aimed at, it is not a thing which is seriously attempted. What is constantly being done is to grant this kind of security piecemeal, to this group and to that, with the result that for those whoa re left out in the cold the insecurity constantly increases. No wonder that in consequence the value attached to the privilege of security constantly increases, the demand for it becomes more and more urgent, until in the end no price, not even that of liberty, appears to high” (Hayek, 136-137).
By Ellen
A: “If it is provided for some, it becomes a privilege at the expense of others whose security is thereby necessarily diminished. That security of an invariable income can be provided for all only by the abolition of all freedom in the choice of one’s employment is easily shown. Yet although such a general guaranty of legitimate expectation is often regarded as the ideal to be aimed at, it is not a thing which is seriously attempted. What is constantly being done is to grant this kind of security piecemeal, to this group and to that, with the result that for those whoa re left out in the cold the insecurity constantly increases. No wonder that in consequence the value attached to the privilege of security constantly increases, the demand for it becomes more and more urgent, until in the end no price, not even that of liberty, appears to high” (Hayek, 136-137).
By Ellen
Ellen Ch 8
Q: What is the position of the individual determined by?
A: It “is not a result of the competitive effort of many, but by the deliberate decision of authority, the attitude of the people toward their position in the social order necessarily changes…..But when these things occur in a society which is consciously directed, the way in which people will react will be very different from what it is when they are nobody’s conscious choice” (Hayek, 117) .
By Ellen
A: It “is not a result of the competitive effort of many, but by the deliberate decision of authority, the attitude of the people toward their position in the social order necessarily changes…..But when these things occur in a society which is consciously directed, the way in which people will react will be very different from what it is when they are nobody’s conscious choice” (Hayek, 117) .
By Ellen
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Charlie C-8
Q:
"Then it soon becomes the one burning question which of the different sets of ideals shall be imposed upon all by marking the whole resources of the country serve it."
How did they solve this question?
A:
"Socialists, the cultivated parents of the barbarous offspring they have produced, traditionally hope to solve this problem by education." (Page 125)
"Then it soon becomes the one burning question which of the different sets of ideals shall be imposed upon all by marking the whole resources of the country serve it."
How did they solve this question?
A:
"Socialists, the cultivated parents of the barbarous offspring they have produced, traditionally hope to solve this problem by education." (Page 125)
Monday, July 9, 2007
Dinh Chapter 8
Q: What does Hayek use to disprove the idea of "power which is thus conferred on the state is merely transferred to it from others" (114)?
A: "It is a power which is newly created and which in a competitive society nobody possesses. So long as property is divided among many owners, none of them acting independently has exclusive power to determin the income and position of particular people-nobody is tied to any one property owner except by the fact that he may offer better terms than anybody else" (114, 115).
A: "It is a power which is newly created and which in a competitive society nobody possesses. So long as property is divided among many owners, none of them acting independently has exclusive power to determin the income and position of particular people-nobody is tied to any one property owner except by the fact that he may offer better terms than anybody else" (114, 115).
Dinh Chapter 9
Q: The planning for security which has an insidious effect on liberty Hayek refers to is aimed towards what kind of security?
A: "It is planning designed to protect individuals or groups against diminution of their income, which although in no way deserved yet in a competitive society occur daily, against losses imposing severe hardships having no moral justification yet inseparable from the competitive system" (135).
A: "It is planning designed to protect individuals or groups against diminution of their income, which although in no way deserved yet in a competitive society occur daily, against losses imposing severe hardships having no moral justification yet inseparable from the competitive system" (135).
Name & Email
I do not know about the Chinese version. Simply type your name & email address as a "post", and everything should be ok.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
A qusetion about posting name and E-mail
Practically, how to do it?
I didn't find anything to set to change my name or something like this.
Is there something wrong when I am using the Chinese vision?
I didn't find anything to set to change my name or something like this.
Is there something wrong when I am using the Chinese vision?
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