| This question <56|56> overall <42|44> Everclear: <20|79>. |
| Question 59: Why did God create something as imperfect as nature and humans? (And what does this have to do with the topic at hand?) Compare chapter 1 in Cohen's Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence. |
| [43] Everclear: did god create something imperfect? First of all you are inferring that god created nature and humans. As I'm sure you are aware of Darwin and evolution. But sticking with the question, god did not create nature and humans imperfect. According to Marx existence is immediate, humans and nature were put here as is. Now it takes work to bring out the “perfect” qualities that everyone possesses. |
| Saying that a nugget of gold is just a nugget of gold would be wrong. Marx says that in that nugget of gold is, let's say, a gold ring. It just takes some labor to bring that ring out. Michaelangelo said “the sculpture is in the marble, you just have to wipe away the excess.” In so many word this is what Marx says, “production is called ‘mediation’ because it is transformation, not creation; it is a process which acts as the catalyst.” |
| Marx points out there are different activities that brings out an object's use value. Humans and nature are still searching for those activities that bring out an object's use value; i.e. to bring out humans' and nature's use values, so they are not imperfect. |
| The ancient Greek civilization, in my mind, found the way to wipe the excess of imperfectness and find their use values. Their civilization almost seemed perfect. We still study their philosophies in schools around the world. To me, that is incredible that centuries later we still study their civilization. |
| Maybe one day people of this era will find the catalyst to unlock their potential use values. And nature and humans can live as one perfect society. Maybe centuries from now people will study our civilization. I know that is a long shot but you never know. |
| Every “commodity” has use value, it takes sources of “labor” to bring out those values. |
| Hans: See my [56]. |
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