Introduction to my work


Version 1.2, July 2007

My work published on the Internet has been written over a number of years. My ideas have evolved, and certainly, there are logical and ideological discrepancies between what I have written just recently and what I have written earlier.

However, on some important matters, I have never changed my mind since as a teenager, I formed my first own philosophical and political thoughts.

I have never been religious.

I have always considered sexual satisfaction the logical primary value in life: in my own life, the life of other men, and the life of women.

I have never had a high opinion of anti-sexual morals.

I have always considered philosophical materialism, rather than philosophical idealism as the correct view of the world. In this respect (but not in many others), I have always been a Marxist.

Quote from the preface of Karl Marx' "A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy", written in 1859:

"The general conclusion at which I arrived and which, once reached, became the guiding principle of my studies can be summarized as follows. In the social production of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of their material forces of production. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness."

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm

In the original German version, the above quote reads like this:

"Das allgemeine Resultat, das sich mir ergab und, einmal gewonnen, meinen Studien zum Leitfaden diente, kann kurz so formuliert werden: In der gesellschaftlichen Produktion ihres Lebens gehen die Menschen bestimmte, notwendige, von ihrem Willen unabhängige Verhältnisse ein, Produktionsverhältnisse, die einer bestimmten Entwicklungsstufe ihrer materiellen Produktivkräfte entsprechen. Die Gesamtheit dieser Produktionsverhältnisse bildet die ökonomische Struktur der Gesellschaft, die reale Basis, worauf sich ein juristischer und politischer Überbau erhebt und welcher bestimmte gesellschaftliche Bewußtseinsformen entsprechen. Die Produktionsweise des materiellen Lebens bedingt den sozialen, politischen und geistigen Lebensprozeß überhaupt. Es ist nicht das Bewußtsein der Menschen, das ihr Sein, sondern umgekehrt ihr gesellschaftliches Sein, das ihr Bewußtsein bestimmt."

http://www.mlwerke.de/me/me13/me13_007.htm

You can read an explanation, written more than 70 years ago, through the following link

Society and Mind in Marxian Philosophy
http://www.marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/society-mind/ch01.htm

In spite of always having been a philosophical materialist, and in spite of having been captivated by Marx' analysis in his Critique of Political Economy, I am not, and never was, a socialist or communist. The fact is: I am not, and never was, an illusionist.

Now for those aspects on which I have changed my opinion over the past few years.

I previously considered myself a nihilist because I could not find any value in any of the standard moral theories (religions, political idealism) and had no inclination to involve myself in any political action, not even in political discussions.

http://www.answers.com/topic/nihilism

But I never really was a genuine nihilist because I always did believe in one value in life: optimal sexual experience.

I have also concluded that it is in my interest to pursue a political agenda.

I have previously seen other men primarily as competitors, not as potential allies. In the pursuit of the political agenda I have chosen, I now emphasize common ground.

I previously was of the opinion that all human societies are a hopeless mess, and that the only sensible path for me would be to get through life as unharmed as possible, while on the way accumulating as much sexual satisfaction as possible.

I now am of the opinion that better societies indeed are possible, and that it is worthwhile to pursue the formation of better societies. A society doesn't have to be ideal in order to be substantially better than the mess most current societies indeed are.

Sorry, I have never had high respect for the intellectual capabilities of most of my contemporaries. If it would be my belief that the formation of substantially better societies requires a preliminary acceptance by a majority of people, I would probably not have concluded that it is worthwhile to pursue the formation of better societies. Social change can, and must, be effected by a dedicated elitist political movement.

Because I have always considered current societies and their morals a mess, my previous position was that governments should be as weak as possible. I now believe that strong government, lead by a dedicated elitist political movement, is our best bet for substantially better societies that allow an optimal degree of personal freedom in as safe as possible an environment.

In newer articles, my vision for substantially better societies always are an important topic. Older articles may just analyze, from a materialistic perspective, the mess which current societies are, and indicate how best get through life without being harmed, while on the way accumulating as much sexual satisfaction as possible.

Sometimes, I do update older articles to bring them in line with my latest conclusions. For other older articles, I sometimes write annotations. Some older articles, however, are difficult to update, and the choice is often only in between either taking them down completely, or just leaving them as they are.

I still learn as I go along. I cannot predict now whether I will arrive at different conclusions in the future, or whether my current conclusions will stand the test of time.

Anybody who searches my work for discrepancies and weaknesses will not have a hard time finding both.