I once read a poster from the former Soviet Union stating that Communists had   
   attempted to remake human nature, and that that was wrong.   
      
   In fact Communists did what everyone else does: Elevate one aspect of human   
   nature to universal legitimacy while condemning all others.   
      
   Communists believed service to humanity to be the true human nature. Other   
   aspects of human nature – anything from monetary self-interest to   
   spirituality – they condemned. Every other belief structure on the face of   
   the planet does the exact same    
   thing.   
      
   Capitalism believes monetary self-interest to be the true human nature and   
   sees anything else as an attempt at one or another kind of a theft. Patriotism   
   believes serving one's country to be the true human nature and sees anything   
   else as weakness,    
   cowardice or betrayal. Different kinds of psychology see different things as   
   being true human nature and anything else as an attempt to cheat at these   
   things. We see this with “erotic striving” and Adlerian “adequacy   
   striving.” We see this with    
   Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We see this with personality psychology. We see   
   this with self-esteem psychology. And on and on and on.   
      
   And of course religions teach us that the true human nature is submission to   
   God or spiritual growth, and that everything else is “flesh,” “ego” or   
   “sin.”   
      
   While service to humanity may not be a part of the nature of everyone, I have   
   definitely known any number of people who were not Communists who were   
   naturally altruistic and were happy doing tasks that did not bring them much   
   money but that resulted in    
   benefit for many other people. Scientists, educators and social workers do not   
   make very much money, but their contributions to prosperity are vast. Someone   
   else makes money out of the knowledge that they produce and out of the work of   
   the people whom    
   they make employable and law-abiding. Many of them do not mind this state of   
   affairs. When they do revolt – rightfully - is when people decide that their   
   work is useless, that only business creates prosperity, and that everyone else   
   – including the    
   scientists whose knowledge is at the root of the things that they sell and the   
   teachers and social workers who make people employable and law-abiding - is a   
   parasite.   
      
   In 1960s, the naturalistic hippie ideal – to be a part of nature and to live   
   naturally – was seen as the true human nature. In 1980s, that changed, and   
   human nature was thought to be family life and economic self-interest. Both   
   appeared to appeal to    
   the same people at different stages in their lives. Both obviously speak to a   
   part of the human nature. But neither has the right to exclusivity.   
      
   In fact, everything that we see – both the desirable and the undesirable –   
   is an outcome of one or another aspect of human nature at work. There will be   
   ideologies favoring all of them, and there will be ideologies condemning all   
   of them. Communism    
   is merely one of such ideologies.   
      
   As for the psychological theories, I have found all of them lacking. Adler   
   would pathologize everything that has taken humanity from caveman to man on   
   the moon. Maslow was obviously wrong; there are any number of people –   
   especially in religions –    
   who put their higher needs first and either have the lower ones fulfilled as   
   part of striving for higher needs (“Seek ye the righteousness of God and all   
   else will follow”) or denied as contrary thereto (overcoming the “flesh”   
   or the “ego”).    
   There are plenty of people – especially nuns, monks and ascetics - who live   
   well enough without sex. There are plenty of people who live happily enough   
   – and frequently successfully enough and kindly enough - without   
   self-esteem; and there are plenty    
   of people with high self-esteem who are horrible human beings. As for   
   personality psychology, it claims that some people are evil and can only be   
   evil whatever they do; which is of course contrary to most basic reason. And   
   given the definitions of some    
   of these disorders, the world owes vastly to people whom they accuse of having   
   them.   
      
   The error in Communism was not seeing service to humanity to be human nature.   
   The error in Communism was claiming that that was the only legitimate aspect   
   of human nature. There are any number of people who are naturally altruistic,   
   and that is a    
   legitimate aspect of human nature. It is a valid aspect. It is an important   
   aspect. But it is not the only one.   
      
   I have found that all aspects of human nature can go right, and all can go   
   wrong. We have plenty of historical examples of all of the preceding.   
   Capitalism can mean anything from Oracle Corporation to fracking and predatory   
   lending schemes. Natural life    
   can mean anything from the happy Pacific Islander tribes to the cannibalistic   
   Maoris. Patriotism can mean anything from Eisenhower to Hitler. Psychology can   
   mean anything from Rollo May to the lobotomy man. All human phenomena are   
   capable of both good    
   results and bad results. And none deserve to speak for the whole human nature.   
      
   Was Communism wrong to see only one aspect of human nature as the legitimate   
   one? Yes. But that aspect of human nature exists all around the world, and it   
   will continue existing, Communism or no Communism. This aspect needs to be   
   recognized, and    
   mechanisms need to be put into place that it be legitimately fulfilled. It is   
   wrong to give Communism the credit for something that has existed for as long   
   as the world has existed, or to equate it with Communism. It is a part of the   
   human makeup; and    
   the rational solution is to allow it to do its work without making fallacious   
   equations with a vanquished ideology.   
      
   https://sites.google.com/site/ilyashambatthought   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)