Very interesting and so well said. I adored the line “From the utopian point of view, the heroic world looks inhumane. From the heroic point of view, the utopian world looks inhuman.” The big difference a little -e can make….
I personally believe that we all have all three of these drivers or desires inside of us—for material and physical security; for social status and respect; and for community, fairness, and care. So any model of life that recognizes only one of these is bound to be incomplete, thwarting us somehow. This holds for what you call Utopians as well as others.
I certainly agree, and so much of life seems to depend upon how we negotiate among these differing “drivers,” as you say. My tendency to emphasize the status element comes from my sense that it influences how we fulfill the others—even, it seems, the desire for community. I suppose I also enjoy contradicting the economists’ monotheism.
The line about inhumane/inhuman came from my Neikirk lecture (which you so kindly expedited so my parents could see it). An old student of mine who was in the audience told me afterwards how much she was affected by it so I’ve hung onto it when writing about this subject ever since.
Very interesting and so well said. I adored the line “From the utopian point of view, the heroic world looks inhumane. From the heroic point of view, the utopian world looks inhuman.” The big difference a little -e can make….
I personally believe that we all have all three of these drivers or desires inside of us—for material and physical security; for social status and respect; and for community, fairness, and care. So any model of life that recognizes only one of these is bound to be incomplete, thwarting us somehow. This holds for what you call Utopians as well as others.
I certainly agree, and so much of life seems to depend upon how we negotiate among these differing “drivers,” as you say. My tendency to emphasize the status element comes from my sense that it influences how we fulfill the others—even, it seems, the desire for community. I suppose I also enjoy contradicting the economists’ monotheism.
The line about inhumane/inhuman came from my Neikirk lecture (which you so kindly expedited so my parents could see it). An old student of mine who was in the audience told me afterwards how much she was affected by it so I’ve hung onto it when writing about this subject ever since.