twoms

Ok I thought so, dsayers. Thanks again for the clarity you've provided. Skywriter, that makes perfect sense. There is some Kantian dignity for the workers in communism, but sometimes there are horrible consequences with the group is more important to the individual. So, I basically made a fallacy in the form of a slippery slope. Is that incorrect? This has been incredibly helpful. You guys are awesome!!

Thank you for those distinctions. That makes perfect sense, vahleeb. There are some goals and outcomes that kind of happen to look utilitarian, but they aren't because of any overarching utilitarian ideas. dsayers, your statement about utility only being for those in power is right on. It's almost as if there are "multiple instances of egoism" from the ruling class. Does utilitarianism claim to be able to be universalized? Thanks again, gents. I have a much better understanding of how utilitarianism relates to communism. Glad I wasn't completely off the mark.

Is communism based on Utilitarianism? I am taking a "formal" undergrad philosophy class (Philosophy of Ethics), and the professor told me that he's never heard of utilitarianism being linked to communism before. This was after I made a statement linking the two. From what I can understand about the two so far, it seems that Kant values the individual at the expense of the group while utilitarianism values the group at the expense of the individual. Is that not individualist anarchism and communism respectively? If communism is different than utilitarianism then the only thing I can think of is that I'm bringing my bias of what the outcomes of communism are instead of the stated intentions of communism - somehow making my statement false. So, in short, am I wrong in my argument that communism stems from utilitarian ethics? Thank you for time, thoughts, and feedback.

So I checked out "House of Cards" on Netflix only because it's the first streaming service original series (that I'm aware of), but I have to say the writers are on the pulse of FDR whether they know it or not. It all takes place in D.C. with all the characters being members of or agents for the Federal govt. It totally nails how only the most potent, concentrated psychopaths/sociopaths succeed. Kevin Spacey's the main character. He is not acting to the level that you may be familiar seeing him, but it's good. I'm still not sure in the second episode whether or not they're glorifying the system or knocking it, but it's doing a great job of showing how the most evil and cunning human predators rise to the very top. So far in the story it's pshycopath on psychopath agression. It's like an all-star game. Had to post about it before I continue watching. Anyone else seen this?