The next mention of Marx is in the same section, Sociometry, Sociology and Scientific Socialism. I’ll quote the paragraph where we see Marxian pop up at the end (pp. 20–21). I’ll then quote some lines from the paragraph and comment in detail. Continue reading “10. Sociometry and revolutionary socialism”
Marx in “Who Shall Survive?” 07 – Social Science
The section, Sociometry, Sociology and Scientific Socialism opens (page 12):
In the last hundred and fifty years three main currents of social thought developed, sociology, scientific socialism and sociometry, each related to a different geographic and cultural area: sociology to France, socialism to Germany-Russia, and sociometry to the USA.
Moreno is honouring Marxism by referring to “scientific socialism”. Moreno sees himself in this tradition of developing a third science, one that relates to humans. Continue reading “Marx in “Who Shall Survive?” 07 – Social Science”
Marx in “Who Shall Survive?” 04 – Unity of Humankind
The next mention of Marx is in the section called Social and Organic Unity of Mankind. I’m taking the thesis implied in this title as the first point for discussion. Then I address the section where Moreno references Marx about Christianity. The section opens with the famous lines:
A truly therapeutic procedure cannot have less an objective
than the whole of mankind. But no adequate therapy can be
prescribed as long as mankind is not a unity in some fashion and as long as its organization remains unknown.
Continue reading “Marx in “Who Shall Survive?” 04 – Unity of Humankind”
Marx in “Who Shall Survive?” 03 – Working with Prostitutes.
The subject of this post is a little further on in the Preface of “Who Shall Survive?”. It is in a section called 1913-1914, Genesis of Group Psychotherapy. (xxviii) I’ve broken the selected passage into three sections each with my comment. Continue reading “Marx in “Who Shall Survive?” 03 – Working with Prostitutes.”
Marx in Who Shall Survive? 02 – Human agency
… spontaneity-creativity [is the] propelling force in human progress, beyond and independent from … socio-economic motives…
(Moreno, 1978; xiv, xv)
This is from the same paragraph in Who Shall Survive? I used as the basis for my last post. The passage asks question: What is the propelling force in human progress?
Marx and Moreno differ. Moreno is adamant it is spontaneity-creativity. He implies that for Marx it is socio-economic motives. Continue reading “Marx in Who Shall Survive? 02 – Human agency”
The First Mention of Marxism in “Who Shall Survive?” – Religion
The first time Moreno mentions Marx in Who Shall Survive?, is in the Preludes of the Sociometric Movement (1978; xiv, xv)
The advent of sociometry cannot be understood without appraising my presociometric background and the historic-ideological setting in the Western world, during and after the First World War. Marxism and psychoanalysis, the two opposites, each had spent their theoretic bolt, the one with Nikolai Lenin’s “State and Revolution” (1917), the other with Sigmund Freud’s “Civilization and Its Discontents” (1929). The two opposites had one thing in common: they both rejected religion, they both disavowed he idea of a community which is based on spontaneous love, un-selfishness and sainthood, on positive goodness and naive cooperativeness. I took a position contradictory to both, the side of positive religion.
To summarise: Moreno makes it clear he is not creating his work in a vacuum. Freud and Marx are the ideological setting in the Western world, during and after the First World War. Moreno says “The two opposites had one thing in common: they both rejected religion”. Moreno took the side of positive religion. Continue reading “The First Mention of Marxism in “Who Shall Survive?” – Religion”
The relations of creativity. Moreno & Marx
Here is a follow on post to an earlier one Homo faber
What makes us human – what is the one thing?
Humans are creators: Homo faber. Continue reading “The relations of creativity. Moreno & Marx”
Petition – We don’t want to collaborate with Genocide!
To the House of Representatives
CLOSE THE ISRAELI EMBASSY
Continue reading “Petition – We don’t want to collaborate with Genocide!”
Homo Faber
One of my favourite posts in this blog is called Whole Earth Catalog – 50 Years. Read through to the end of it to find the gem, in my opinion, which is to understand the sad contortion of humanity’s destiny with the creation of the Whole Earth Catalog. That subtitle, Access to Tools, is so significant, more significant than Stuart Brand realised or that any of us realised at the time.
ChatGPT3 says “AI will concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a small elite”
Here is a discussion with Chatgpt3 today, concluding with the headline above”
What do you know about the dialectical relationship between base and superstructure
The concept of the dialectical relationship between base and superstructure comes from Marxist theory and refers to the idea that the economic base of a society (including its mode of production, social relations, and means of production) determines its superstructure (including its legal system, political institutions, cultural norms, and ideology).