Communism: Involuntary Egoism

Gus Lamarch

In November 1844, Engels wrote a letter to Karl Marx in which he first reported a visit to Moses Hess in Cologne and then went on to note that during this visit Hess had given him a press copy of a new book by Stirner - egoist philosopher -, "The Ego and Its Own". In his letter to Marx, Engels promised to send a copy of the book to him, for it certainly deserved their attention as Stirner "had obviously, among the 'Free Ones' - Die Freien - The Free Ones - was a 19th-century circle of Young Hegelians formed at the University of Berlin and gathering for informal discussion over a period of a few years -, the most talent, independence and diligence". To begin with, Engels was enthusiastic about the book and expressed his opinions freely in letters to Marx:

"But what is true in his principle, we, too, must accept. And what is true is that before we can be active in any cause we must make it our own, egoistic cause-and that in this sense, quite aside from any material expectations, we are communists in virtue of our egoism, that out of egoism we want to be human beings and not merely individuals."

Marx's lengthy ferocious polemic against Stirner has since been considered an important turning point in Marx's intellectual development from idealism to materialism. It has been argued that historical materialism was Marx's method of reconciling communism with a Stirnerite rejection of morality.

"that out of egoism we want to be human beings and not merely individuals." - Engels to Marx in a letter, 1844.

"Individual self-realization rests on each individual's desire to fulfill their egoism. The difference between an unwilling and a willing egoist is that the former will be possessed by an "empty idea" and believe that they are fulfilling a higher cause, but usually being unaware that they are only fulfilling their own desires to be happy or secure." - Max Stirner, The Ego and Its Own, 1844.

Conclusion:

Communism = In short, for the egoist who would like not to be an egoist, he abases himself - combats his egoism -, but at the same time abases himself only for the sake of "being exalted", and therefore of gratifying his egoism. Because he would like to cease to be an egoist, he looks about in heaven and earth for higher beings to serve and sacrifice himself to; but, however much he shakes and disciplines himself, in the end he does all for his own sake.

Raul

Communism = In short, for the egoist who would like not to be an egoist, he abases himself - combats his egoism -, but at the same time abases himself only for the sake of "being exalted", and therefore of gratifying his egoism. — Gus Lamarch

Good article. :up: :up: Actually communism was the major expression of human hypocrisy in politics.

Tzeentch

In short, for the egoist who would like not to be an egoist, he abases himself - combats his egoism -, but at the same time abases himself only for the sake of "being exalted", and therefore of gratifying his egoism. Because he would like to cease to be an egoist, he looks about in heaven and earth for higher beings to serve and sacrifice himself to; but, however much he shakes and disciplines himself, in the end he does all for his own sake. — Gus Lamarch

Even as an egoist this seems rather foolish, for aren't their political opinions more concerned with the sacrifices of others instead of their own?

(I liked your post, by the way)

Gus Lamarch

Even as an egoist this seems rather foolish, for aren't their political opinions more concerned with the sacrifices of others instead of their own? — Tzeentch

The point is that, in essence, all the actions taken by an individual, are performed - consciously and unconsciously - for his own sake. They're not "declared egoists" but, inconscient, "involuntary", egoists.

(I liked your post, by the way) — Tzeentch

Thank you.

It's great to be one of the few people in the world who really know the lie that Communism was and still is...

Gus Lamarch

Good article. :up: :up: — Raul

Thank you.

Actually communism was the major expression of human hypocrisy in politics. — Raul

I would argue that:

1º Advent of Agriculture;
2º Christianity;
3º Communism.

Raul

1º Advent of Agriculture; — Gus Lamarch

Agriculture linked to hypocrisy?

Gus Lamarch

Agriculture linked to hypocrisy? — Raul

The human being - Homo Sapiens - evolved to live in a nomadic society and not in a completely sedentary one. The fact that we fought against our nature for something that would benefit few - beginning of the concept of hierarchy with the advent of sedentarism - and would denigrate - in the long run - many. I can only categorize the advent of agriculture as the greatest hypocrisy of all...

Raul

evolved to live in a nomadic society — Gus Lamarch

Ufff... the Homo Sapiens did not evolved to live in a nomadic society. Evolution is about survival, it doesn't dictates whether you're nomad or sedentary. Being sedentary has just proof being more successful in surviving. Civilizations and the high standard of culture we have are here thanks to sedentarism, you are the son of sedentarism.
Are you saying this because of any romantic-bohemian nostalgia? Or you would like us to go back to nature as chimpanzees?

Gus Lamarch

Ufff... the Homo Sapiens did not evolved to live in a nomadic society. Evolution is about survival, it doesn't dictates whether you're nomad or sedentary. Being sedentary has just proof being more successful in surviving. Civilizations and the high standard of culture we have are here thanks to sedentarism, you are the son of sedentarism.
Are you saying this because of any romantic-bohemian nostalgia? Or you would like us to go back to nature as chimpanzees? — Raul

I do not claim that we should return to a primitive way of life. The point I make - and that you'll only understand if you read my article posted here on the forum - is that the human substance - egoism - was lost with the advent of agriculture, which, consequently, ended up creating the methods that would eventually be used against ourselves - hierarchy, dogma, stratification, religion, etc ... -.

Obviously, the current human would not be able to adapt to a return to the nomadic life of our ancestors. The point is that sedentarism killed the nature of Man - egoism was destroyed.

Quoting myself:

"With the development of agriculture, and therefore, of the sedentary process that would soon follow, the human being, being a natural egoist, would create purposes that would not only facilitate the advance – technological, social and cultural – of his civilization, as they would evolve intellectually, however, here I focus on the fact that all men would be able to fulfill their individual desires without any restriction or denial of when, how, and where to conceive that same purpose; with the first steps of civilizatory development, Man still had some poor hope of being able to be his maximum, however, at some point in the past – I hypothesize that between 10,000 BC and 7500 BC. Between the end of the Neolithic and the end of the Chalcolitic – in some society in an embryonic state, the concept of hierarchy had been created, and I believe it was developed – Hypothesis A – by people who were of the resentful masses who had not accomplished their purposes and who seeing the accumulated power of some of the members of their community, who had been successful in the individual mission of the purpose, concluded that in order for them to be successful – the weak – the strong – those who could achieve individually – and their ways of thinking – placing the individual ego as the greatest virtue, for they had already conceived the idea that human nature was egoist, but in a way that becomes productive through virtue – outside the concept of power, and thus creating a structure capable of stratifying the population and making the control of whoever achieved this “consummation of the ego” be ordered, or – Hypothesis B –, the community elite – the victorious, good, strong, conscious egoists – became aware of the fact that without a structure, society – and its population – would be able to realize themselves individually, and one of these achievements could lead the elite to be removed from their post as elite, causing them to create the organism of hierarchy to remain in power, and by means of doublethinking, distort the basic virtue, egoism." - Gus Lamarch, 2020, Egoism: Humanity's Lost Virtue

Raul

sedentarism killed the nature of Man - egoism was destroyed — Gus Lamarch

So we're not egoist anymore because we're sedentary?

Gus Lamarch

So we're not egoist anymore because we're sedentary? — Raul

Please, do read my article "Egoism: Humanity's Lost Virtue".

Communism: Involuntary Egoism

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