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ItisyouwhosaythatIam t1_j775fr8 wrote

Listen to "Know Your Rights" by The Clash. They sum it up beautifully. Rights are not consistently nor equitably upheld or defended anyplace on earth or anytime throughout history. Richer, better connected people are more likely to get what they want from the system - period. The rest is just philosophy. Individual philosophy has never, anywhere, been more powerful than wealth or weapons. Collectively, people can achieve anything - with or without philosophy.

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SuspiciousRelation43 t1_j77zy0k wrote

Unless they have anything else to elaborate on than the premise of dialectical materialism, I don’t see how that is useful. Obviously that’s what happens; humans are social, and ability to persuade others into allying with oneself is not entirely correlated with a genuine or altruistic reciprocation. That doesn’t affect the aim of social philosophy, which is attempting to understand the principles underlying those same dynamics.

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ItisyouwhosaythatIam t1_j78o2hq wrote

It seems to me the only principle underlying is that of self preservation. People have figured out that social groups prolong life for the individual - as long as they - despite what they must profess - continue to cover their own asses, first. It is the biggest lie around, that half or more aren't willing to put the good of the many ahead of their own interests, but they pretend that they do.

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