Abraham Rotstein, Weekend Notes XIX

Weekend Notes (Overview)

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Freedom and Technology (3)

[27] The whole question of the loss of freedom hinges on "compelled to compel". However, this is only an illustration. Just like Jesus used the illustration that the one with no sins should throw the first stone.

He […]

[28] Fromm didn't get this point. He forgets something which didn't become apparent in the Old Testament and Jesus made this [29] point: it is not the crowd who is going to stone her. That's all right, but what about you? What are you going to do? Give your coat to the poor? There is probably the same thing in the Dead Sea Scroll, and Christianity made vast propaganda with theology and paid no heed to the teaching of Christ. Everyone knows in his hearts that these things make for life.

Fromm… […]

[30] With Hegel there is the coming up of economic life but there is no intimation of technology.

With Smith it has a pseudo presence. […]

P. doesn't know if he found the machine in Hegel. Hegel didn't miss much. Also Marx to 1844 is the same story. […]

Already in Comte there is no history, bu the structure of society under the laws.

[31] We follow the story of freedom where freedom is seen to exist (German idealism) and technology − which begins with Owen.

[…] Technology is Owen. Under the reality of society, one takes necessity as a counter to freedom.

Hegel discovered it because the French Revolution failed and he believed in it. Therefore he thought it was necessity that made it fail and made Napoleon follow on Robespierre.

Marx never relinquished necessity but placed it in the material aspect of society. […]

P. has a lecture which he gave on the emergence of reform of consciousness in 1927 or '29. P. gave this lecture to a small group including Kolnyai, Ernst Karl Winter, and Otto Bauer. Winter wanted to build up an anti-Gascist group in Vienna. P. was interested only on his own ideas.

Text Informations

Date: December 21, 1957 (Interview)
KPA: 45/14