Symbolic Vehicles
I took this weekend off to digest a couple of pages from Russel's History of Western Philosophy. Hidden in the materials about greek and european philosophies that have shaped the modern world as we know it, I encountered an interesting passage about the need for state.
It is mentioned (as I recall it - I don't have the book with me right now), that a state (read: a country/nation) is a medium for achieving two seemingly contradictary objectives: the fulfillment of individual needs, and social cohesion.
To the observer, a pattern might emerge, and that is the pattern of what I call as 'symbolic vehicles'. The state serves as a symbolic vehicle that help individuals in the state to achieve common goals (these maybe included in the state's constitution or founding principles), to resolve conflics that arise among individuals as they strive to meet these goals, and to address the needs of the state entity itself (social cohesion can be considered as a need of the state entity).
The realization of this pattern is everywhere. The symbolic vehicle we call 'family', that which we call 'a company', that which we call 'a church', 'a community', and so on.
Noticing this pattern is quite straightforward, and seeing this pattern is essential to understanding why politics and bureaucracies are needed. What I find refreshing and insightful is the understanding that the vehicle has utility in helping its members achieve seemingly contradictary objectives.
In a way, a symbolic vehicles act as an interface that transform selfish needs into common good. Of course, the implementation of this interface is a different matter, and it varies, ranging from the brainwashing and manipulation of the individuals, to the use of power (whether political or physical force) to crush the opposition :-)
With all that in mind, I can't help asking this question: in which scenarios do powerful individuals atttempt to recruit other individuals into a seemingly 'grande and noble symbolic vehicle' (whether it is a state, a company, a collaboration, a religious entity) for the purpose of making it easier and more practical to crush and manipulate these other individuals ?
It is mentioned (as I recall it - I don't have the book with me right now), that a state (read: a country/nation) is a medium for achieving two seemingly contradictary objectives: the fulfillment of individual needs, and social cohesion.
To the observer, a pattern might emerge, and that is the pattern of what I call as 'symbolic vehicles'. The state serves as a symbolic vehicle that help individuals in the state to achieve common goals (these maybe included in the state's constitution or founding principles), to resolve conflics that arise among individuals as they strive to meet these goals, and to address the needs of the state entity itself (social cohesion can be considered as a need of the state entity).
The realization of this pattern is everywhere. The symbolic vehicle we call 'family', that which we call 'a company', that which we call 'a church', 'a community', and so on.
Noticing this pattern is quite straightforward, and seeing this pattern is essential to understanding why politics and bureaucracies are needed. What I find refreshing and insightful is the understanding that the vehicle has utility in helping its members achieve seemingly contradictary objectives.
In a way, a symbolic vehicles act as an interface that transform selfish needs into common good. Of course, the implementation of this interface is a different matter, and it varies, ranging from the brainwashing and manipulation of the individuals, to the use of power (whether political or physical force) to crush the opposition :-)
With all that in mind, I can't help asking this question: in which scenarios do powerful individuals atttempt to recruit other individuals into a seemingly 'grande and noble symbolic vehicle' (whether it is a state, a company, a collaboration, a religious entity) for the purpose of making it easier and more practical to crush and manipulate these other individuals ?
posted by JPG at
09:47
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