I am very distressed by some of the comments that have appeared in reaction to my comments on the election, but I cannot bring myself to respond. It is all I can do to endure the next three months and what will follow. As soon as Bernie announces the formation of his political action organization, I shall sign up as a monthly contributor [I can afford more than $27], and in the meantime I shall work for the election of Clinton, which is to say the defeat of Trump. I have already had my say regarding why I consider this the proper course for me to take.
Now, I shall return to the Critique [and, yes, I am well aware that he was a racist.] As Hannah Arendt remarked to me almost fifty years ago, "It is so much more pleasant to spend time with Kant."
"This too shall pass" - I find myself reminding myself of this more and more frequently, almost by the day it seems! I'm sure both Epictetus and Epicurus would approve.
ReplyDeleteI, of course, recognize Kant's philosphical importance, but I much prefer spending time with Nietzsche. Not only are his ideas as challenging as Kant's, but he's also an immensely talented prose stylist!
But whichever great philosopher - be they Kant, Nietzsche, Hume, Spinoza, Lucretius, Hobbes, etc- spending time with them beats spending time with almost every human currently living. In all seriousness, I consider "spending time" with you Professor (such as I do) as worthwhile as "spending time" with any of the philosophers I mentioned.
That is the most wonderful thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWill we get still get the post as to why people who are by no means stupid, vote against their interests ? :)
ReplyDeletelet me work on that
ReplyDeleteAs a party to the conversation with Chris about working class support for Trump, a conversation which led to the question of why normally intelligent people vote against their interests, I too would like to read your reflections on the subject.
ReplyDeleteTo avoid obnoxious trolls, all parties to the conversation might agree to discuss the issue in theoretical or abstract terms, without referring for the moment to this year's election.
Is the working class even a significant part of Trump's base? Can that be shown?
ReplyDeleteDepends what you mean by 'working class'! But, if I remember the various statistical analyses, the brief answer is no. Trump supports are above average in income. And, of course, they're white. So to get a majority of "working class" souls counted as in Trump's camp you'd have to exclude people of color and women. You'd also have to include higher income medium-sized business people.
ReplyDeleteThank you, David. That's what I thought. His support doesn't come from the working class. It comes from small business owners and managerial types. That's petite bourgeoisie par excellence.
ReplyDelete