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On People
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This was written in 1992. No doubt it is most UN-Dutch: According to the Dutch (in vast majority) "there are no good guys and there are no bad guys" - by government decision, and according to their Constitution. Personally, I think otherwise - and here follow two lists of oppositions. |
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People without individual character are |
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authoritarian |
higher status implies more rights and more insight |
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totalitarian |
the leader or the majority is right |
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relativists |
what is true depends on their current interest |
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ideological |
personal interests decide what the truth is |
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egoists |
things matter only to the extent they further their own interest |
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ambitious |
their god is the social status of their self |
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unloving |
to love is joy in another's existence and potential |
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conformists |
to be morally good is to follow the leader and the majority |
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fashionable |
the respectable truth is the majority's or leader's opinions |
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unreliable |
promises are kept only if self-interest is served |
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followers |
they need a leader or a majority to "know" the truth |
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cowards |
moral principles hold only if consistent with self-interest |
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weak |
unable to stand on their own legs & carve their on path |
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cruel |
all cruelty is compensation for weakness |
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unpersonal |
middle of the road is safest, easiest, and most popular |
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phoneys |
their social behaviour is make-belief to impress others |
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unspontaneous |
dedicated self-interest requires calculation of impressions |
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sensitive |
since they're phoneys, they're easily hurt by criticism |
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role-players |
everything is related by them to how it makes them appear |
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uncreative |
they can only develop, not originate |
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unprincipled |
because relative truth changes with interest and fashion |
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hypocrites |
being true to the leader and false to oneself makes careers |
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careerists |
the supreme good is one's own status, income and power |
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fearful |
where everyone deceives everyone, everyone fears everyone |
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joyless |
for those in continuous fear of others there's little joy |
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power-hungry |
ambitious egoists like dependent inferiors |
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self-deceived |
they believe their own lies because this makes careers |
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self-limited |
their widest horizon is that of their ego and its status |
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exteriors |
their personal identity largely coincides with their status |
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loyal |
right or wrong, one's groupmembers and leaders are helped |
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insincere |
concern goes by convention, sympathy by self-interest |
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respectable |
keeping up the appearances of a deserving loyal group-member |
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tit-for-tat |
I scratch your back if and only if you scratch mine |
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irrational |
because incapable of objective logical argumentation |
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unreasonable |
because incapable of living by impersonal ethical principles |
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And here is the contrast - the above and below explains a lot about the previous "Century of Total War" in Raymond Aron's apt title of one of his books. It is the people without individual characters who everywhere are the majority; it is the majorities everywhere that persecute their own minorities or anyone not One of Us |
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People with individual character are |
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Not authoritarian |
rights or insight do not depend on social status |
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Not totalitarian |
truth does not depend on opinions of leaders/majorities |
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Not relativists |
truth does not depend on anyone's interests |
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Not ideological |
truth does not depend on one's personal values |
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Not egoists |
what's valuable is not only what serves my interests |
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Not ambitious |
a high social status is important only for fools |
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Not unloving |
to love is joy in another's existence and potential |
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Not conformists |
to be morally good is to live by good moral principles |
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Not fashionable |
truth is respectable because true, not because in fashion |
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Not unreliable |
promises are kept if humanly feasible (or not made) |
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Not followers |
think & choose by your own lights |
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Not cowards |
a moral principle remains one if counter to self-interest |
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Not weak |
able to stand on their on legs and live their own lives |
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Not cruel |
there's no great weakness to compensate for |
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Not unpersonal |
middle of the road is only followed if true and just |
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Not phoneys |
no careers made on impression-management & networking |
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Not unspontaneous |
as one doesn't need to uphold a role (one can't play) |
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Not sensitive |
personal criticism is based on a theory like any other theory |
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Not role-players |
they don't go by what others might think of them |
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Not uncreative |
they can both originate and develop |
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Not unprincipled |
principles remain principles if others dislike them |
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Not hypocrites |
a career based on lies is mental and moral suicide |
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Not careerists |
the supreme good isn't one's own status, income and power |
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Not fearful |
there's no need to fear others for deceiving them |
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Not joyless |
the only thing worth fearing is human folly |
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Not power-hungry |
power implies responsibility, which is demanding & hard |
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Not self-deceived |
they don't believe their own lies |
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Not self-limited |
their horizon lies beyond self-interest |
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Not exteriors |
their identity is interior, self-built and unique |
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Not loyal |
principles are prior to loyalties |
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Not insincere |
concern and sympathy are not dependent on self-interest |
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Not respectable |
keeping up the appearances fits fools, weaklings & liars |
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Not tit-for-tat |
acts are not done because one expects to be paid |
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Not irrational |
capable of objective logical argumentation |
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Not unreasonable |
capable of living by impersonal ethical principles |
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Incidentally, the Dutch Labour Party "PvdA" has probably, outside North Korea, the largest proportion of people without individual character. It has a very succesful party for 50 years: If you were Dutch but weren't born rich and yet lacked all conscience, it was a virtually cetainty you would become a prominent Dutch Labour politician, if you are my age. I am not, but then I have the handicap of an individual mind, an individual character, a conscience and considerable courage, next to the handicap of my disease. Naar: ME in Amsterdam index
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