7999
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All actions come from: body, lower self, perception, means of action, or Fate [Anon (Bhag)]
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Full Idea:
Whatever a man does, good or bad, in thought, word or deed, has these five sources of action: the body, the lower 'I am', the means of perception, the means of action, and Fate.
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From:
Anon (Bhag) (The Bhagavad Gita [c.500 BCE], 18.14/15)
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A reaction:
The 'means of action' will presumably take care of anything we haven't thought of! Nothing quite matches the idea of 'the will' here. A twitch from the first, eating from the second, a startled jump from the third, struck by lightning from the fifth.
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24070
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Economies have material, economic and capitalist layers [Davies,W]
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Full Idea:
Braudel's economic history has three layers. At the bottom is material life of consumption, production, reproduction. Next is economic life of markets, of equals in exchange and competition. Top is capitalism, of opacity, monopoly, power, high profits.
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From:
William Davies (Review of 'The Price is Wrong' by B.Christophers [2024], 24-04-04)
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A reaction:
The point Davies emphasises here is the sharp distinction between the market economy and capitalism.
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24073
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Capitalists use their exceptional power to impose their own rules, and make the state their ally [Davies,W]
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Full Idea:
Capitalists exploit their unrivalled control over time and space in order to impose their rules on everyone else. …It triumphed late, only becoming dominant in the 19th century, when it had conscripted the state as its ally.
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From:
William Davies (Review of 'The Price is Wrong' by B.Christophers [2024], 24-04-04)
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A reaction:
This so very much makes sense of the modern world. Nowadays capitalists are so wealthy that the state has largely become their pawn, rather than their ally. Populist leaders are their puppets (and are well rewarded).
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24074
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Capitalism must mainly rely either on the labour market, or on the financial markets [Davies,W]
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Full Idea:
According to Marxists, the one market capitalism cannot do without is the labour market, which creates saleable things. Others, influenced by Keynes, emphasise financial markets, where pieces of paper change hands on expectation of their value.
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From:
William Davies (Review of 'The Price is Wrong' by B.Christophers [2024], 24-04-04)
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A reaction:
Modern Britain fits the Keynesian account much better, given its low production, and very active (until recently) London financial market.
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24071
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Markets are transparent, with known prices and activity, and minimal profits [Davies,W]
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Full Idea:
Markets are characterised by transparency. Prices are public, and all relevant activity is visible to everyone. And because of competition, profits are minimal, little more than a 'wage' for the seller.
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From:
William Davies (Review of 'The Price is Wrong' by B.Christophers [2024], 24-04-04)
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A reaction:
This account, from Braudel, is to distinguish markets from capitalism.
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24072
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Capitalism is the anti-market, with opacity, monopolies, powers, exceptional profits and wealth [Davies,W]
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Full Idea:
Braudel sees capitalism as the 'anti-market': a world of opacity, monopoly, concentration of power and wealth, and the exceptional profits that can be achieved only by escaping the norms of 'economic life'.
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From:
William Davies (Review of 'The Price is Wrong' by B.Christophers [2024], 24-04-04)
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A reaction:
Given all the talk about the wonders of the 'free market' from right-wingers, this passage came as a revelation to me. Capitalists all dream of a monopoly, which is precisely the destruction of a market.
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7992
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The visible forms of nature are earth, water, fire, air, ether; mind, reason, and the sense of 'I' [Anon (Bhag)]
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Full Idea:
The visible forms of nature are eight: earth, water, fire, air, ether; the mind, reason, and the sense of 'I'.
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From:
Anon (Bhag) (The Bhagavad Gita [c.500 BCE], 7.4)
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A reaction:
Presumably there is an implication that there are also invisible forms. The Bhuddists launched an attack on 'I' as one of the categories. The first five appear to be Aristotle's, which must be of scholarly (and chronological) interest.
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7997
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Only by love can men see me, know me, and come to me, says Krishna [Anon (Bhag)]
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Full Idea:
Only by love can men see me, and know me, and come unto me, says Krishna
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From:
Anon (Bhag) (The Bhagavad Gita [c.500 BCE], 11.54)
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A reaction:
There seems to be a paradox here, as it is unclear how you can love Krishna, if you have not already seen him in some way. This is another paradox of fideism - that faith cannot possibly be the first step in a religion, as faith needs a target.
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7998
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The three gates of hell are lust, anger and greed [Anon (Bhag)]
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Full Idea:
Three are the gates of this hell, the death of the soul: the gate of lust, the gate of wrath, and the gate of greed. Let a man shun the three.
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From:
Anon (Bhag) (The Bhagavad Gita [c.500 BCE], 16.21)
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A reaction:
Anyone who wishes to procreate, champion justice, and make a living, has to pursue all three. Wisdom consists of pursuing the three appropriately, not in shunning them. How did this bizarre puritanism ever come to grip the human race?
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