Kropotkin's mission statement

Philosophy Forums Philosophy
1

I believe that every philosopher should and must,
engage in a mission statement about what they believe in
and what they are trying to do… This mission statement is
not a one and done type of thing, it is an ongoing project that
helps keeps us on track with what we are trying to do within
philosophy…

My mission statement has a couple of parts…

The first part is getting people to reevaluate their current
beliefs… Our indoctrinations as children, for the most part,
are exactly the same beliefs we hold as adults…
Our beliefs and values are a regurgitation of our childhood
beliefs… that for most people, their values haven’t change
one iota since their childhood… Part of the reason our
values and beliefs hold us back, prevent us from making
some sort of progress as human beings is that we just
keep recycling the same old values…and one of the major
recycled values is a belief in god… the name of the god may
change, but the belief itself is part of why we haven’t made
any progress in becoming human… as I have laid it out…
this belief in god is holding us back from making any progress
in our journey of going from animal to becoming human…
it is a tie that binds us to the past which prevents us from
moving forward… human beings can only travel two ways,
one is back and the other is forward… belief in god is traveling
back and not, not moving us into the future…
Moving forward becomes impossible because we are tied,
stuck in the past with our identifications with past ideologies,
such as god, religions, nationalism, nihilistic isms
such as capitalism and communism and Catholicism
(which is a stand in for all religions)
as we are in a every changing environment, changing
conditions, we must hold values and beliefs that keep
current with the new environment that we find ourselves in…
Part of Kropotkin’s mission statement is that we human
beings are always moving in some direction or another…
and I hold that the direction we should be moving in is forward,
into the future, not the past… as most ism’s are backward looking,
not forward looking and thus I reject them…

One of the famous slogans of the past is ‘‘God, King and Country’’
and I reject all three… they are isms that are hold us back from
becoming human… and they must be replaced…

No god, no kings and no countries…as least
countries in terms of another ism, nationalism…
the problem with isms is that they replace thought and
an evaluation of what it means to be human…
If we think we hold the truth, there is no reason for us to
seek out what it means to be human… if we already have
an answer, why bother seeking another answer?
certainty kills any attempt to discover the reality or
truth of our lives… that is the true danger of belief in
isms and ideologies… we become set, fixed in our beliefs
and values and there is no movement… if we believe in god,
that prevents us from exploring such things as morality, ethics,
values… the ‘‘truth’’ presenting in such isms tie us to a set/fixed
belief system… and there can be no progress given this set/fixed
understanding of the universe… so central to the heart of
the Kropotkin mission statement is the need for us to evaluate
and reevaluate our values and beliefs…

Two: another aspect of Kropotkin’s mission statement is
the exploration of ethics and morality… to continue Nietzsche’s
mission statement in which we understand ethics and morals in
terms of us being human, not in terms of having ethics and morals
dictated by a god…a secular ethics and morals… on what
can we base that on? That we no longer believe in religious
base values is only too apparent give the history of
the last two centuries… I hold that belief in god is
nihilism because it negates and devalues human beings
and their values… part of the Kropotkin mission statement
is the rejection of the modern nihilism values that we
hold… ask yourself, what word is the opposite of
nihilism? This shows us how locked into nihilism we
really are… our values and isms are nihilistic because
they deny human beings and their values… recall the
slogan ""god, King and country’’ at no point does this
slogan put human beings first… What is first is god,
and king and country are also before, ahead of human
beings and their values…

Kropotkin’s mission statement puts human beings first,
not god, not king, not country…

Then next aspect is the evaluation of values… what values
should we hold? What values are values we should be
pursuing? I hold that the value we should be engaged
with is Justice… not freedom as some suppose…
and what is Justice? it is the application of being just
to all people equally… Justice really means equality before
the law…and not just the law, but the application of
the rules, equally applied to everyone…
Justice is the act of treating everyone, everyone one meets
equally… based on the fact that all human beings are equal…
we have equal value and the ism’s of our times rejects
this equality… ‘‘God, King and country’’ rejects
this application of everyone being treated equal…
what come first in ‘‘God, King and Country’’ is god,
king and country… not human beings…

let us approach this from another angle…
in the next post…

Kropotkin

2

as noted before, part of the problem is that we don’t
hold to values or beliefs that put human beings first,
we hold to god, or king or country or in capitalism, money
first… so, let us reframe this in terms of our current world
events…

Is the actions of IQ45, in his putting country first, and deporting
illegals moral or just or ethical? this is an attempt to see how
our political sphere is or isn’t, also about putting human beings first…

let us begin with his actions of deporting illegals… is that moral,
ethical? I say it is not only immoral, unethical, it is anti-human and
even anti-life… Let us begin with deportations in terms of the
religious…

the bible says in both Matthew 22:39 and Leviticus 19:18…

‘‘Love they neighbor as thyself’’

So, how does his actions of deporting illegals match this biblical
injunction? It doesn’t… BTW, this also applies to all the people
that the right, conservatives hate… gays, trans, minorities, women,
the poor…for love to be love, must be unconditional…
I can’t love you if you are not exactly like me… which
is pretty much the conservative message… be white, male,
heterosexual, and wealthy is the ideal of the right/conservative…
which is a direct denial of the biblical injunction of

"Love they neighbor as thyself’’

So, based on Christian values, what IQ45 and conservatives are
doing is a rejection of Christian values… it is anti-life because
it makes illegals ‘‘less’’ human than Americans… and it denies
the basic principle of Justice that is the heart of the American
experience…but Kropotkin, they aren’t Americans, they don’t
deserve justice… Only Americans deserve justice… but
they are human… and that is why the deportations of illegals
is anti-human… it denies illegals their humanity…

From the conservatives standpoint, only Americans, CERTAIN
Americans are allowed to have their humanity… Gays must
be eradicated… and that is anti-human… and Trans, in fact
anyone who fits in the LGBTQ spectrum is denied their humanity…
it is nihilism to deny anyone their humanity…

Now many might say, we have the right to protect ourselves…
but the bible doesn’t say that, it says, ‘‘Love thy neighbor as
yourself’’ That is it…and if life is sacred, as the conservatives
claim, then all life is sacred including those who are LGBTQ…
or illegals… the conservatives apply their religion rules,
very selectively… it is not universally applied, but ‘‘ad hoc’’
of the moment, and that is not what the bible says…

Let us say, one might argue this against illegals in America…

"we can’t afford it’’

""Love they neighbor as yourself’’

doesn’t seem to mention that money is relevant to
loving thy neighbor… in fact, every single defense
of deporting illegals depend on ignoring or rejecting
religious precepts…

If we belief, act upon the notion that all, ALL human beings
have value, has some intrinsic value, then we cannot
justify the deportations of illegals…
and if one were to argue that some human beings don’t have
that intrinsic value, that by being human, you have value,
any rejection of that is nihilism… if you make the argument
that by being gay or black or an immigrant, that you have
less value than others, that very argument is a nihilistic argument…

let us approach another aspect of IQ45 argument…
that of ‘‘America first’’

Kropotkin

3

the next step is to think about this notion of ‘‘America first’’

the basis of capitalism is the idea of private vices somehow,
never actually explained how, but in some mysterious fashion,
that private vices somehow becomes a public good…
and the idea of ‘‘America first’’ falls into this category
of private vices, in some unknown fashion, becomes
a public good…If every single country practices the notion
of their country first, that is private vices becoming a public good…

And this belief flies in the face of everything we know about human
beings…that individual human beings cannot, alone, by themselves
reach or meet their own needs… to meet our bodily or psychological
needs that all life, and especially human life requires, we must
work together… if we cannot meet these needs via private actions,
then we must work together to meet our own needs…
to feed and clothe and educated and receive health care
for myself and my family, requires us, demands that we
have a state, a society to meet those needs…

Human beings are, by evolution, nature, social beings that require
other human beings to reach or meet our needs…we can only
become human beings within a state/society… there is no other
path to becoming human without the aid of other human beings…
the path to becoming requires us to work with others…
the path to meeting our own personal needs requires us to
be a part of the state, society… and we know, know that
if each of us pursues our own private vices, that the state
and society cannot hold or maintain itself…
for the state/society to succeed or work, requires us to
be in service of that state, society… the path to a successful
state, society requires us, each of us, to work for the betterment
of the state, society…private vices brought into the state
or society, weakens it… and enough private vices and the
state, society fails, collapses… for it is only by private
good, can the state succeed with a public good…

the concept of ‘‘America first’’ or "Russia first’’ or ‘‘England first’’
is the attempt to bring private vices to a public good…just
as a state or society can succeed with everyone practicing
private good, we must have the state/society within a global
practice bring its private good being a public good…
in other words, think of the various state, England,
the US, Japan, China, The Sudan, as private individuals,
and the whole, the world, as one state or society…
it requires each state to engage in private good for it
to create a public, worldwide good…
One rogue state practicing private vices, as the US is
currently engaged with, creates a public vice…
it is only by individuals as well as countries and states,
to engage with private good, which then creates a public
good… you want a better world, then every single country,
every single state must bring into the mix, a private good,
that can help create a public good… think of the individual
states, countries a individuals, and then imagine if one
individual/state were to do its own thing regardless of what
everyone else is doing… that is the ideal mix of disaster that
help bring about the two world wars in the last century…
Everyone doing their own thing is the path to world wide failure…
‘‘America first’’ is a disaster for all concerned… and nothing
good can come out of it… nothing…

Kropotkin

4

the next step of Kropotkin’s mission statement lies
within this question of morals and ethics and having
this idea of Philosophy as a ‘‘way of life’’…

and this idea is very important within my own philosophy…
why should we lead moral, ethical lives? I mean, no one will
grade us or condemn us if we fail in being ethical or moral…
Give the complete failure of the political aspect of the state or
society to be ethical or moral, why should we, as individuals,
be ethical or moral?

IQ45 and conservatives are immoral… and part of the reason
I state this lies within my earlier post…the deportation of illegals
is not moral nor is it ethical… the threat to take away Americans
Social Security and Medicare, is by any standard, immoral and
unethical… recall that in another thread, I called any attempt
to prevent people from achieving their needs, both their
biological and psychological needs that human beings have,
is unethical and immoral…to take away the ability to
get health care or to afford to live, that is unethical and
immoral…to take away SS or Medicare is to deny people
the ability to feed, clothe, house, get health care… and that is
unethical, immoral… but conservatives/MAGA don’t believe in
ethics or morals… they believe in the trinkets of existence,
money, power, fame, titles, and material possessions…
their ‘‘ad hoc’’ beliefs damage and harm both the state/society
and individuals… and that is the classic definition of immoral,
unethical… the right believes in private vices that leads us
into public vices… for a private vice cannot bring us a public
good…but private vices isn’t just a public problem, it
is tied into our vision of what it means to be human…

What is the goal of being human? Is it to be happy, or to
gain material wealth or is to seek out god or knowledge?
‘‘What am I to believe in?’’ and why that belief and not
another? The question of what it means to be human is tied
directly into the goal or point of existence… ''What am I to do?"
For me anyway, part of the goal or point of existence is to be
moral, ethical… and why is that? the simple reason is that
by being moral, ethical, we are aiding and improving the state,
the society…private vices leads to public vices, private good
leads to public good…
the key to a better society, state is though us being morally
better people… will that lead us to be happier?
my first thought is to say, who gives a fuck…
the point or goal of existence isn’t to be happy…
happiness comes from doing something else that brings
us joy… we do something and it gives us happiness,
and it will do so until it no longer gives us happiness…
seeking out happiness is not the goal, it is the byproduct
of doing something we enjoy or like… done right,
we don’t even notice that we are happy doing something
that we like to do…until we think about it, we don’t
even notice we are happy…that isn’t a strong
recommendation for us to seek out happiness as our
primary goal…so, if happiness is not our goal or point of
existence, then what is?

As Nietzsche pointed out, human beings are on a bridge to
something else… we are going from being animal to becoming
human…that is the goal of existence…I have suggested
a number of times, that those who remain closer to animal,
believe in the lower values of animals…they believe in hate,
anger, lust, greed, the lower values of being human…

When in fact, we should be aiming for the higher values of
being human…which is to say, away from instincts and
emotions… animals react with emotions and instincts…
so, to further the needs of becoming human, we must move
away from both instincts and emotions… but don’t get me
wrong, I believe that emotions do have a place in our lives…
but we must be in control of our emotions… which is exactly
what Nietzsche says the ‘‘Übermensch’’ does…
we control our emotions, our emotions don’t control us…

But Kropotkin, what about such emotions as love?
Surely, you can’t be suggesting that we can control something
as elementary as love? Love, in many ways, love is the
primary and most desired emotion we have…
In fact, as part of our psychological needs, we must
have love in order to survive…along with esteem
and safety/security, a sense of belonging, are essential
psychological needs of human beings… we cannot survive
without love and I am certainly not suggesting that we remove
love from being human… in fact, the opposite…
we must increase love in our lives…
to include our ‘‘neighbors’’ as the bible suggest when it
says, ‘‘Love thy neighbor as yourself’’ thus we expand
our love to those who don’t believe as we do, don’t love
as we do, who don’t dress as we do, don’t look like we do…
Love is not partial or something we can leave or take… it
is essential and all must be accepted as a whole… it isn’t
a pick and choose type of thing… we love unconditionally
and totally…or not at all…

and that is the path to becoming human…
and even the path to happiness… by loving unconditionally…
as happiness is found as a byproduct of doing something, it is not
found as a goal itself…

the goal to having philosophy as a ‘‘way of life’’ is to live
our lives, philosophically… within reason… and thus
finding happiness within that philosophical life…

Kropotkin

5

What private vices complicate and helps damage
the state and the society?

Private vices like prejudice, bigotry, racism, sexism…
to name a few vices that damages the state and the society…
How does a private vice like bigotry aid and improve the state?
What alchemy turns a private vice like bigotry or prejudice into
a benefit for the state/society? conservatives practice and preach
private vices like greed, lust, prejudice and bigotry…and by
what magic turns those private vices into a benefit for the state/society/

And it is on this basis that I argue for a reevaluation of private
values and their impact on the state/the society…
the conservative has complained about the ‘‘state’’ of
the society/ the state… and voices the common complaints
about minorities, homosexuals, transgender, and of course
immigrants being the ‘‘root’’ cause of the trials and tribulations
of our current state/society… in the eyes of the conservatives,
it is always, ALWAYS someone or something else that cause
America to degenerate… but the fact is that the cause of
America ills lie within our usage of private vices that cannot
translate into a public good… and until we practice private good
that benefits everyone else, can we begin to repair America…
conservatives always talk about personal responsibility, but
refuse to take any themselves…

Or said another way, we can kill or exile every single
person who doesn’t fit into the ‘‘American way’’ and it still
won’t turn America into a utopia… and why? Because
the problem doesn’t lie within those who don’t practice
the ‘‘American way’’… Homosexuals, transgender, liberals,
minorities, immigrants or those who practice different religions
or even no religion… for that is not the source of the problems
within America… it is the failure of Americans, all Americans to
practice private good which is what leads to a public good…
which means no more bigotry, prejudice, anger, hate, that
half the country practices…

You want a better, safer country? then begin by practicing
private good instead of private vices… which is to say instead
of hating, begin by love and by patience, and acceptance of others,
tolerance, and the practice of ‘‘WOKE’’ values… which just means
to be aware of actions and their impact on us individually and
collectively… to be ‘‘WOKE’’ is to be tolerant of others…
to accept others as human beings with value… the intrinsic value
of being human is enough for the acceptance of others…
the path to a better America is by ‘‘Love thy neighbors as
one loves themself’’ that is the path to a better America…
not hate or bigotry or prejudice, but love…

to live life as a ‘‘way of life’’ philosophically…
we can practice philosophy as a ‘‘way of life’’ and
still be able to love and to have charity and to accept others
and to value our neighbors, all neighbors regardless of who
they pray to, how they dress, who they love and what the
color of their skin… you want a better America? that is
the path we must follow…

Kropotkin

6

But what of the small vices we all have…
lying, stealing, cheating, small private vices that
come out of every day life?

How do those vices, as small as they are, affect the state/society?
I would suggest that they are as much of the problems affecting
the society and state as the large problems that damage America…

If I were to lie to my wife for example, that would damage
the state and the society, as much as if I were to steal
10 million bucks… vices, even small ones, do damage
the state and society…public good can only come from
private good… I see people stealing beer from the store
I work at every single day… and with each theft, that
damages America…

and the reason that people steal, one of them anyway,
is that people are alienated, disconnected from the state,
the society and each other… and where that disconnected
come from?

From our failure to treat everyone with decency, curtesy and
respect… we alienate people by failing to treat them as people,
when we use people to get/gain other goals… like capitalism,
when it uses people in an effort to make profits… the goal is
not the dignity or respect of people, that is irrelevant to capitalism…
the goal is to make money, and we use people, unto death, even
and that flagrant negation of people is, in part, why the nihilism
of our isms drive people into engaging the private/public vices…

Why should I treat the state/society with respect when I don’t
get respect or decency from the state/society? the state/society
negates me with capitalism, religion, money, nationalism,
America first negates me… private vices never create
a public good… you want a good public, then we have
to have good works by everyone… ethics and morality must
become much more important than it is today…
The question must become, what is the right thing to do,
not how can I make money, or how can I gain fame or titles
or material possessions? As long as we engage with our
private vices of money, fame, titles, power or material
possessions, we shall not have an America worth living in,
worth investing in… every single action by an American
reflects on who we are, individually and collectively…it is
only by removing private vices and replace them with
private good, that we can move American into the future…
the public good requires us to practice private good, not
private vices…

and so, the question I ask you is this, what private vices
are you willing to end to make America a public good?
Not the gays or trans or immigrants, but you… what are
you willing to do to actually Make America great again?
What vices are you willing to examine and end, to make
America Great Again? It is by engaging in private good that
we can create a public good… So, what are you to do?

Kropotkin

7

One of the biggest things I see is this
separation between the words of people
and the action of people… this hypocrisy
we see on a daily from people…
People claiming to be Christian and yet,
they do not live as Christians…
Being a Christian as a ‘‘way of life’’…
that is missing in America today…
People say one thing and do another…

the beginning of this failure is, right from the start,
is a failure of understanding what one actually believes in…
People have been indoctrinated, right from birth, into
believing there is a god… and yet acting and doing,
as if there is no god… This hypocrisy and it is hypocrisy,
lies at the very heart of the MAGA/GOP practice of
government right now…for example, the war in
immigrants, how is that, Christian?
How is taking away Social Security and Medicare,
how is that a Christian ''Way of life?"

It is only in hypocrisy that we can believe that the war on Immigrants
or the war on minorities is Christian… I would suggest that
modern day Christians have no idea what is in the bible…
for their very actions are a denial of the path that Jesus laid out,
their very actions deny the path that god laid out…
One of the key concepts of the bible is the nature of forgiveness,
which is universal… In fact, every concept within the bible
has a universal nature to it… it can be applied to everyone…
but in modern day America, every single attribute given within
the bible is only applied to the tribe one belongs to…
the bible openly speaks about the concept of love…
but the modern day Christian denies this universal concept
to others… or does the Christian invoke love in regard to
those who dress differently or love differently or pray to
different gods? The Christian hatred of others, gays,
trans, immigrants, minorities… is that following the biblical
injunction of love? That is the hypocrisy I speak of…
Claiming to be Christian and yet practicing hate of others…
others that are different than you are…

We are soul sick in this separation between our words
and our actions… if I were to diagnose the ill of America,
after the disconnect between our words and our actions, I
would say we are soul sick… and what are the symptoms
of a country being ''soul sick"

one symptom is this disconnect between words and our actions,
another is the widespread alienation that afflicts most Americans…
another symptom is the malaise that has enveloped America…
Americans are discontented and unhappy… but they don’t know
why… and part of the unhappiness and discontentment lies
our pursuit of the negative…and it is evident in the
support IQ45 has in his negative values and actions…
the MAGA party supports and practices hate, bigotry,
prejudice, anger, retribution, and violence… traits
that are specifically rejected within the bible…
and other values supported by the conservatives
are values like wealth, power, fame, titles and
material wealth… the trinkets of existence that
are negative in nature…in fact, I can’t think of a
single positive trait that is supported by the right
or the MAGA party…
and this negativity in part, fuels the downward spiral of
America…

we are soul sick because half the country has no positive
values to offer us… feel free to name a single positive trait
or value that the MAGA crowd supports?

that very negativity is our soul sickness…
healthy people are positive people with
positive values… sick people have negative values
and are negative in nature…
MAGA has rejected love as a value…because love
is about acceptance of others… and does the MAGA
party accept others and their values? Not at all…
and that rejection has another name, nihilism…
the conservative/MAGA party engages with and practices
nihilism… that is part of being soul sick…
the rejection/denial of people and their values…

and we will, as a people and a country remain soul sick until
we return to positive values… and acceptance of others,
as they are… which is love… something the conservative
and the MAGA party have expressly rejected…
and thus, we remain soul sick…
and we remain soul sick until we return to positive values
and beliefs…

Kropotkin

8

part of the soul sickness I speak of, lies in our refusal
to pursue universal values… such as love, acceptance,
tolerance, the so called ‘‘WOKE’’ values… and until we
accept those values as universal, we shall remain soul sick…

MAGA divides people into smaller groups, gays, jews,
women… into different tribes… and that is not
a universal understanding of human beings…

I am male, I am an American, I am an Atheist, which can
become tribal, but in reality, I am much more, as are you…
for in the end, we are really human beings… and even
broader, we are life… and until we see human beings as
human beings, not as members of a tribe, and human beings
as life, we shall remain soul sick… this breaking of
human beings into small tribes is a symptom of being
soul sick…the acceptance of human beings into larger and larger
‘‘tribes’’ is a sign that we are no longer being soul sick…
acceptance of people into universal values is a positive
and part of the steps to escape being soul sick…
practicing love, as a universal, is another step toward
ending America’s soul sickness… practicing justice,
as a universal value, is also another step into the positive
health of America…

practicing negative values is soul sick, practicing positive values
is escaping being soul sick…

so, what values do you practice? and why those values and not
another set of values?

Kropotkin

9

the current destruction of the American government, as
practice by the MAGA party is just another sign of the
widespread soul sickness of Americans…
the practice of universal values like love and justice
is a sign of a healthy soul… the practice of denying
universal values is soul sick…
it is pretty much as simple as that…

Kropotkin