Heidegger

“Together with the victory of the revolution, though, Marx’s fundamental
error also became evident. He showed precisely how to overthrow the
existing order, but he did not say how matters should proceed
thereafter. He simply presumed that with the expropriation of the ruling
class, with the fall of political power and the socialization of means
of production, the new Jerusalem would be realized. Then, indeed, all
contradictions would be resolved, man and the world would finally sort
themselves out. Then everything would be able to proceed by itself along
the right path, because everything would belong to everyone and all
would desire the best for one another. Thus, having accomplished the
revolution, Lenin must have realized that the writings of the master
gave no indication as to how to proceed. True, Marx had spoken of the
interim phase of the dictatorship of the proletariat as a necessity
which in time would automatically become redundant. This “intermediate
phase” we know all too well, and we also know how it then developed, not
ushering in a perfect world, but leaving behind a trail of appalling
destruction. Marx not only omitted to work out how this new world would
be organized—which should, of course, have been unnecessary. His silence
on this matter follows logically from his chosen approach. His error lay
deeper. He forgot that man always remains man. He forgot man and he
forgot man’s freedom. He forgot that freedom always remains also freedom
for evil. He thought that once the economy had been put right,
everything would automatically be put right. His real error is
materialism: man, in fact, is not merely the product of economic
conditions, and it is not possible to redeem him purely from the outside
by creating a favourable economic environment.”
 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedi…

Posted on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 3:50 am
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