Socialist Workers' Party conference, London
TitleSocialist Workers' Party conference, London
ReferenceTAPE/172/1
Date
11-Jul-92
Scope and ContentSide 1 of tape - "Human nature?"
This tape starts off with an evaluation of human nature as regards needs – love, affection, hate, gender differences. The way the media and politicians manipulate the arguments to further a political end. The lecture gives an overview of the change from feudal society to a Capitalist society. During the lecture the speaker argues that the once-omnipotent authority of the Clergy elitist ruling class, get the lower classes in place by the ordained wisdom of God. During the nineteenth century the ordained wisdom of God was replaced by Social Darwinism which stated Society was stratified due to the competence of its members, i.e. don’t blame Society for misfits, blame the individuals for their own behaviour.
New ideas in biology, in gene theory, the speaker claims, can be used and manipulated to pervert truth, into a right-wing theory of biologically prone or driven tendencies of intellect, criminality, etc. the speaker puts forward the theory that Capitalism exploits this situation for its own ends, i.e. it backs up the ideas about individualism, selfishness, greed etc. The speaker states that a Marxist interpretation of human nature is at odds with this individualistic outlook and prefers a co-operative outlook.
Questions next come from the floor regarding:
- sterilization for the inadequate or socially undesirable.
- are people inherently stupid or intellectual or is behaviour learnt, i.e. nurture versus nature argument.
A speaker from the floor gives an example of how experience can change a person’s principles and ingrained attitudes. Struggle, the speaker states, can be an enlightening experience. Struggle is not necessarily a bad thing! Capitalism, the speaker states, does not necessarily want us to struggle, but to be numbed into impotence.
Another speaker states that Science is not neutral, and does have a hidden agenda, possibly even an unconscious agenda which may favour a certain interpretation of data over another interpretation.
This tape starts off with an evaluation of human nature as regards needs – love, affection, hate, gender differences. The way the media and politicians manipulate the arguments to further a political end. The lecture gives an overview of the change from feudal society to a Capitalist society. During the lecture the speaker argues that the once-omnipotent authority of the Clergy elitist ruling class, get the lower classes in place by the ordained wisdom of God. During the nineteenth century the ordained wisdom of God was replaced by Social Darwinism which stated Society was stratified due to the competence of its members, i.e. don’t blame Society for misfits, blame the individuals for their own behaviour.
New ideas in biology, in gene theory, the speaker claims, can be used and manipulated to pervert truth, into a right-wing theory of biologically prone or driven tendencies of intellect, criminality, etc. the speaker puts forward the theory that Capitalism exploits this situation for its own ends, i.e. it backs up the ideas about individualism, selfishness, greed etc. The speaker states that a Marxist interpretation of human nature is at odds with this individualistic outlook and prefers a co-operative outlook.
Questions next come from the floor regarding:
- sterilization for the inadequate or socially undesirable.
- are people inherently stupid or intellectual or is behaviour learnt, i.e. nurture versus nature argument.
A speaker from the floor gives an example of how experience can change a person’s principles and ingrained attitudes. Struggle, the speaker states, can be an enlightening experience. Struggle is not necessarily a bad thing! Capitalism, the speaker states, does not necessarily want us to struggle, but to be numbed into impotence.
Another speaker states that Science is not neutral, and does have a hidden agenda, possibly even an unconscious agenda which may favour a certain interpretation of data over another interpretation.
Extent1 Cassette tape
Physical descriptionNWSA copy
LanguageEnglish
Persons keywordSocialist Workers Party
SubjectConferences
Conditions governing accessOpen
Levelfile
Normal locationZ (Room 24)