File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1997/97-01-14.221, message 35


Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 10:31:26 +0100 (MET)
From: Leslaw Smutek <leszek-AT-I-LO.tarnow.pl>
Subject: M-I: Re: M-G: Communism & Family 



	Dear Vladimir,
		Sorry for the delay again. Of course I wasn't offended by
your remarks. I don't, however, agree with them at all.
		Forst, I'd like to quote myself on "collective upbringing
of children" which "would put an end to any variety of opinions and
ideas". You regard it as "an empty tautology that avoids the task of
proving its factual assumptions". Quite nicely written! My point is that
collective upbringing of children is always and ever the same, be it in
Canada or New Zealand, or Greenland. If you want to see examples, just
have a good look into Orwell's "1984" or Huxley's "Brave New World". A
boring world of identical individuals who have the same set of beliefs,
ideas, feelings and reactions, because these have been implemented in them
as a result of "collective upbringing"! I realise that from a strategic
point of view of Communist (Marxist) revolution this uniform upbringing is
the most important issue because you can control the minds of individuals
by blocking unwanted and/or undesired information. E.g. I believe that
most of this list members would claim that the French or Bolshevik
Revolutions were greatest events in the history of mankind. I, for one,
believe them to have been merely cruel & atrocious disasters. We have
different points of departure, so to speak. Now, if your idea of
collective upbringing prevails, kids and adults will get to know YOUR side
of the story, not mine. Now, to be quite frank, I don't opt for MY side of
the story. I basically opt for THERE BEING THE RIGHT OF CHOICE which you,
I'm afraid, want to take away from people. And where there is only one
version, there is virtually "no variety of opinions and ideas", is there?
	Second, you treat private schools as "undemocratic institutions,
outside of the control of society". I don't know what you need the control
of society for in private schools. For me, the point is quite clear and,
again, it is based upon one's personal choice: you want to attend a
private school, you're free to do so. You prefer a different type of
school - you're free to attend it. Please, don't say that private schools
are better because then you'd have to admit, at least partly, superiority
of the private to the collective, state-owned or whatever. As for
democracy vs private schools, let me say that democracy has nothing to do
with schools, education and/or science, so I'm afraid your proposition is
faulty logically and practically. What I agree with you about is schools
"perpetuating the class system and privilege, etc." And it's natural that
if I want to set up my own school, it is with MY OWN money that I want to
provide and build it with. If I find enough candidates to attend it,
that's fine. If I don't - that's fine, too. No one else perishes but
myself. As for your claim for me "to demonstrate that no private schools
equals conformity", it is quite easy to prove, because it reminds one of
the rules of competitiveness. Private schools have to compete because if
they don't, one or more might be forced to close down as people will
NATURALLY prefer better schools. When, on the other hand, all schools are
owned by the state, society, the working class or whoever you please, then
all will be the same. Such schools will have no motivation to be better
and so you'll soon have to force people NOT TO CHOOSE some schools or NOT
TO AVOID others. Such a thing occurred in Poland under the rule of the
Communist Party. The solution that they found was to ascribe people living
within one area, district, region TO ONE PARTICULAR SCHOOL, whether they
liked it or not.
	Thirdly, you've written that what I want or not has supposedly
nothing to do with other people's "wants". Well, I guess you're right, but
then how can you be sure of what other people's "wants" are? Unless, that
is, that you can provide them with their "wants".
	Finally, Pavko Morozov who turned his father in to the police on
an allegation that he was an enemy of the working class. If this is not a
horrible monstrisity, what is?
	Hopefully, I have not offended anybody. I am really looking
forward to hearing from you soon.
					Leszek Smutek 	
	



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