Version 1.4, September 2002

The following article quotes first the email of a reader and then my reply.

My personal opinion of de Sade is rather negative.

1. Mainly, I think he is terrible as a writer. I read versions in Russian and in English. Stylistics is amateurish; the text lacks simplicity and often is boring. My educational background is in foreign languages and literature, so I have read a lot in the past, I have what to compare him to.

2. I also have a problem with excessive violence. It is absolutely not arousing to me. Violence (or S&M) should only be acceptable when it is pleasurable for both partners. I hardly consider torture pleasurable.

In life I have a very strong character and would not allow anybody to dominate me, in sex I prefer to be dominated (if I feel secure of course). I do like a bit of S&M, but only a bit, because I don't like pain. More about it later.

3. Philosophy of De Sade, I agree, should be noticed. But it will never be considered anything serious as long as the Church has any standing in the society. His philosophy, at the time it was created, I believe was not created as a philosophy at all, but with the only purpose of agonizing the Church. Some of the things he says have no philosophical value; they are simple insults on anything important to the religion. Please don't think I defend the Church. I have no feelings about it at all, but what I have mentioned diminishes the value of his philosophy (or at least I think so).

4. And finally, description of his sex scenes is hardly note-worthy. It is more elevated in style than a porn magazine (no wonder, they were written centuries ago), but again the style and the language leave much to be desired.

So... personally, when I need something to arouse my senses, a porno story does the job quicker than De Sade; and for enjoyment of reading, his works don't stand a chance to Mopassan, for example.

Well, that's it about De Sade. Any comments?

My reply:

I credit the Marquis de Sade with one achievement: that he recognized the primacy of sex.

The only meaningful activity a modern person can engage in, is to pursue sexual satisfaction.

It doesn't need as many words as Marquis de Sade puts up. What he attempts is to prove that his dogma remains true in even the most extreme of all settings. If, indeed, it were that an individual derives sexual pleasure only in torturing or killing others, than, from the standpoint of this individual, it is in tune with his biological setting to kill and to torture.

All philosophical systems are built on axioms held as self-evident by its disciples. That we as individuals populate this planet only for an insignificant moment in time, and that there is no external purpose for our lives, and that our biologically or genetically set purpose can only be the pursuit of sexual satisfaction... all of this is such an axiom.

It doesn't become more or less true by applying it to extreme situations and by repeating over and over again that yes, even in this or that situation, it is also true (which is precisely what De Sade attempts to do).

De Sade's work is a pre-Darwin biological philosophy, and as such it is significant.

And while it is true that he rides his point until it becomes boring, it is also true that he remains the earliest and most radical proponent of what, in its basics, is a sensible philosophy.

I do not judge writing so much by the beauty of its sentences but by the originality, and truthfulness, of its thought. I believe that it is not the primary work of a writer to construct fine verbal structures, but to observe and contemplate what he is to write about. Form is no substitute for content.

Therefore, I am not really interested in whether his style is amateurish or professional.

People in rich North American and European societies often wrongly believe that because Islam is a religion that gives women fewer rights than men, women would be natural associates in anti-Islamic moves. However, empirical data, both in Christian and in Muslim societies clearly shows that overall, women are more in favor of religion than men, and even women who are not that religious themselves typically don't mind if their husbands are religious. Likewise, my personal experience is that you can ask a young woman in any Third World country whether she would prefer a husband who is rather religious, or one who is not religious, and you will get answers that are heavily in favor of the first option.

The assumption is that men who are religious will likely be more responsible towards their wives and children, will be less likely to drink or gamble, or to maltreat weaker members of their environment. Most of all, they will more likely be faithful.

Women in many Islamic societies prefer the implementation of religious rules, even though this will curb many of their rights. The point is: the implementations of religious rules will also curb the opportunities of their husbands for extramarital sex, as there won't be nightclubs, bars, brothels, or mistresses. This is: if the Islamic society is rich enough to police the implementation of Islamic rules. Because Saudi Arabia is richer than Morocco, it is a safe bet to assume that the implementation of Islamic rules is stricter in the first country. Obviously, though, zealotism can replace material resources to some extend (as was the case in the Taliban's Afghanistan), a general rule of thumb is that upholding law and order costs material resources, so that the poorer a society, the greater the tendency towards entropy.

Some readers will be quick to point out examples where the above theories don't apply. Yes, there will be statistical oddities, and yes, the above is only a rule of thumb. Many other factors play a role in determining the fabric of human interaction in any Third World city, and some of these factors are discussed, in a very practical manner, in the member area.

European and American men who come to Asia for sexual gratifications typically have little awareness of the Asian hierarchy of sexual market value, and of how deeply ingrained it is in Asian societies. Much more than in Europe or North America, sexual market value in Asia depends on factors other than beauty in women and age in men.

For women, a major aspect is sexual freshness. Throughout Asia, the highest sexual market value is attached to virgins from age 15, who are living with their parents and so far have only gone to school. In many Asian societies, their sexual market value is so high that they are normally available only to young men who are willing to go for a marriage, supported by both families.

As girls grow older, their sexual market value declines, even if the keep on staying with their parents (and remain virgins).

In comparison to 18-year olds who go to school and live with their parents, 18-year olds who no longer go to school, but work, or those who live in apartments in big cities, whether they work or go to school, have a lower sexual market value, as their freshness is questionable.

There is a very definite fall in the sexual market value of women who have been married and now are divorced or widows. And there again is a steep decline when they have given birth.

But among these, those who have work and an orderly income are still regarded higher than those who have no job, and whose only choice is to rely on finding a man to help make ends meet.

Prostitutes anywhere in Asia have the lowest sexual market value, though those whose virginity is on the block can ask for a high price once. It only takes a few weeks for their sexual market value to drop sharply.

Obviously, younger prostitutes get more customers, and ask for higher prices, but prostitutes are prostitutes, and even just as girlfriends (not talking about wives), their sexual market value is at the bottom of the scale.

Now enter Western men into the equation. In Western societies, especially in Europe, the sexual market value of women is less hierarchical. What counts in Europe is a beautiful face, and a sexy body. The age of a woman plays less a role, and as long as she doesn't have an infectious disease from it, it matters less how promiscuous she has been.

Furthermore, Europeans typically think that in an ideal match, the woman is some two to seven years younger than the man. This means that even women in their forties can still expect a sexual partnership if they aim at men in their fifties, and they could even end up with a reasonably wealthy one.

You'll have to look for a long time in Asia to find a rich man in his fifties marrying a woman in her forties. Rich Asian men in their fifties will marry young women in their twenties.

For in Asia, not only does the sexual market value of women (but not of men) relate strongly to their age and the degree of sexual inexperience; the sexual market value of men also is often determined simply by his economic status. For this reason alone, older European men will always find their sexual market value increased if they move to Asia, while older Asian women always experience an increase in sexual market value when they move to a Western country.

Divorced Asian women in their forties, when they stay in Asia, have either made their luck previously and then can be with a man who values the opportunity to marry a rich woman, or they will have to be content with a low-class male, or they stay unattached.

In a number of Asian countries with comparatively high divorce rates, Western men have a very easy time making live-in arrangements with local women... who all are divorcees, or widows, or have otherwise (been) separated from their husbands.

Western men in partnerships with local women in these countries often have the wrong impression that it is rather accidental that their women have been in previous marriages, and they think that in principle, they could have found single girls or women, too. But they are wrong: in these countries, where they can easily find a divorcee as partner, they would have a very hard time, indeed, to qualify for a previously unmarried woman.

I don't mind seeing other Western men with local divorcees, or even wit ex-prostitutes. But my personal choice, definitely, are young women who have not been previously married.

Yes, one can go for previously unmarried women in Asia (who definitely are not prostitutes), if one knows where to go to. The member area provides definite information about what to realistically aim for in different countries.