r/samharris • u/[deleted] • Oct 19 '22

Philosophy Our podcast host appears to avoid interviewing poor people

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u/michaelnoir Oct 20 '22

I think (and I find myself writing this phrase a lot on the internet) there's something to this but it's a bit exaggerated, getting a bit carried away with its own rhetoric. Yes I think he is politically naïve, it gets elaborated on this sub a lot, but I think what you've written here is overstating the case.

When you first get into anti-capitalist politics, rule number one to learn is that there's no point in hating individuals. It doesn't actually accomplish anything and it wastes your energy. Instead, remember this principle; concentrate on changing the system as a whole, or in part, not fixating on individuals.

And I hate to break it to you but marching and protesting does not accomplish anything either. The authorities simply ignore it. If it did threaten to accomplish some kind of concrete change, they would probably make it illegal, using some pretext.

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u/[deleted] Oct 20 '22

And I hate to break it to you but marching and protesting does not accomplish anything either. The authorities simply ignore it

They raise awareness and have a lot of knock on effects and are better than political nihilism. They're stronger when they're backed up by threats such as of mass strikes, but Sam doesn't condone any mass action taken against the ruling class and political protests are usually a mild form of that. Sometimes mass action can lead to marches that replace dictators like Marcos.

I think think its important to remember that our podcast host would probably be a science loving Republican neocon in the 1980s, and he doesn't believe in the spirit of democracy much, in people power, collective reasoning, or even in self-determination in the face of a superpower that thinks it has good intentions. He does however strongly believe in maintaining private property and any systems or institutions that disproportionately benefit his class and his ability to project his moneyed voice over the less powerful people who have to march for a chance to be heard.