Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 08:45:01 +0100 (MET)
Subject: M-G: Re: family and Marxism




On Tue, 7 Jan 1997, Vladimir Bilenkin wrote:
> 
> Don't panic, Justin. Nobody will take away the grand-grandchildren of your
> children nor put their women in collective use. The family will be abolished 
> as a social institution and ideology. I don't know what you mean by "family
> relations," but the only relations with sexual content after the Family is gone
> will be those conditioned by purely personal attractions. And no more Oedipean
> triangles, but collective upbringing of children, instead. No more parental
> "love" of the bourgeois individual to his live property but "free association"
> of children and adults alike. Sounds "inhuman", eh? It actually is, from the
> ex profundis our "humanity."
> 
> Vladimir 


	Vladimir,

	I must say I was shocked to read what you've written about the
family, the abolition of it as well as "collective upbringing of
children". In a way I do understand why you want to do away with the
family. After all, it seems to be one of very few institutions left which
still clings to traditional values and shapes its members in an individual
way. "Collective upbringing of children" would put an end to any variety
of opinions and ideas - the same thing has already happened in most state
owned schools, hasn't it? It is curious to note that elimination of
private schools is always the first step in any leftist revolution. That
is why I have always wondered why leftist or left-wing humanists are never
against such ideas - after all these ideas mean the end of differentiation
and one, uniform system of thought. Where will human freedom go then? What
will happen to discussions, arguments, even quarrels and rows? Instead of
them, you will have a collection of the same units, oops, people
- thinking the same, acting the same, feeling the same. IF YOU OPT FOR
SUCH A SOCIETY, PLEASE HAVE ME EXCLUDED.
	One more thing. Have you ever been to a home of unwanted children?
Have you ever witnessed the tragedy of children who can't find their
foster parents. Have you ever seen this highly acclaimed "collective
upbringing of children"? Well, I have. And I don't want to anymore.
					
						Leszek Smutek

PS. Does the name of Pavko Morozov ring the bell in your memory? (The
irony is implied, I'm sorry to say)



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