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Single Idea 23750

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 8. Socialism ]

Full Idea

Suppose the devil were bargaining for the soul of some wretch, and some pitying person said to the devil 'Shame on you, that commodity is worth twice as much'. Such is the sinister farce played by the working class unions, parties and intellectuals.

Gist of Idea

It is not more money which the wretched members of society need

Source

Simone Weil (Human Personality [1943], p.80)

Book Ref

Weil,Simone: 'An Anthology' [Penguin 1986], p.80

A Reaction

A striking thought. It is paradoxical when the working classes despise the middle classes, and yet aspire to be like them. It's hard to know what a mystic like Weil has in mind. An obvious thought is that the aspiration should be freedom, not money.

Related Idea

Idea 23752 Giving centrality to rights stifles all impulses of charity [Weil]

The 18 ideas from 'Human Personality'

23747 What is sacred is not a person, but the whole physical human being [Weil]
23748 The sacred in every human is their expectation of good rather than evil [Weil]
23749 The problem of the collective is not suppression of persons, but persons erasing themselves [Weil]
23750 It is not more money which the wretched members of society need [Weil]
23751 Rights are asserted contentiously, and need the backing of force [Weil]
23752 Giving centrality to rights stifles all impulses of charity [Weil]
23753 People absurdly claim an equal share of things which are essentially privileged [Weil]
23754 The only choice is between supernatural good, or evil [Weil]
23755 Genius and love of truth are always accompanied by great humility [Weil]
23756 The mind is imprisoned and limited by language, restricting our awareness of wider thoughts [Weil]
23758 Beauty is an attractive mystery, leaving nothing to be desired [Weil]
23757 The spirit of justice needs the full attention of truth, and that attention is love [Weil]
23761 Justice (concerning harm) is distinct from rights (concerning inequality) [Weil]
23760 All we need are the unity of justice, truth and beauty [Weil]
23759 Everything which originates in love is beautiful [Weil]
23762 Evil is transmitted by comforts and pleasures, but mostly by doing harm to people [Weil]
23764 The only thing in society worse than crime is repressive justice [Weil]
23763 Punishment aims at the good for men who don't desire it [Weil]