conserative/liberal/radical

First, I would like to comment on how impressed I was with all of my classmates during last night's discussion. There were so many insightful thoughts and comments on both the conservative/liberal/radical perspectives and the reaction to Plato's work. Many times I was provoked to consider ideas that had not occurred to me before the class discussion. I find it interesting and beneficial to learn how we each interpret ideas in our own ways.

I have thought a lot about the conservative, liberal, and radical perspectives since we began our discussion on this topic. I have decided that I do not subscribe completely to any one of these ideas. I find it almost impossible that any person could solely categorize themselves as a conservative, liberal, or radical. Life is just too complicated to make such stark distinctions. Surely, we can learn, appreciate, or agree with aspects of each approach.

I will say that in the past I have had a negative opinion of the "Marxist perspective." However, given the state of the current economic and social crisis that our nation faces, I have come to recognize some truth in the radical belief system. I believe that this crisis has exposed many flaws in our capitalist system. Flaws that have always been present but are now glaringly obvious. For instance, the class war is alive and well and the disparity of wealth is more skewed than ever. Just as the radical view suggests, the wealthy and powerful have promoted their own interests with no regard for the "little guy."

I know that this is a very cynical point of view, but I can understand what it is about. I do believe that our capitalist society is in serious distress right now. I do not believe, as Marx suggests, that it will be broken entirely. It does seem, however, that the greed and excess that our society values has proven to be self-destructive. I strongly believe that there is going to be a shift away from the more, more, more attitude that has prevailed for so long. And....that is not necessarily a bad thing in my estimation.