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Notes -
So, what are you reading?
Still on Macpherson's Possessive Individualism. For some reason it has connected with me. His basic thesis appears to be that the origins of liberal thought depended on the idea that one was the proprietor of his own person and abilities, completely independent from others in this, thereby ignoring the formative nature of societal influences in his own character.
Perhaps the reason why it has resonated is the hope of, not a politically motivated economic fiction, but simply a way of thinking. If there's a clear and minimal analytical toolset or mindset which can help me be cognizant of possible errors of judgement arising from capitalist influence, I would certainly like to know it. It remains to be seen if this is where the book is headed.
Very slow progress on Said and Al-Ghazali.
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. Getting pretty close to finishing, and quite enjoy it so far.
Stephenson's very interesting to me, because many of his novels seem as if they were written yesterday despite being written decades ago...and also because he strikes me as a sort of Grey Tribe forerunner who clearly has a lot of scathing commentary for liberal political correctness but also isn't quite at home in Team Red. (This is, admittedly, mostly due to reverse-engineering his thinking from reading his novels, a pretty risky methodology for figuring out someone's politics.)
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