Re: [OPE-L] Inter-species slavery

From: Dogan Goecmen (Dogangoecmen@AOL.COM)
Date: Thu Nov 23 2006 - 11:53:02 EST


 
In einer eMail vom 23.11.2006 17:47:50 Westeuropäische Normalzeit schreibt  
glevy@PRATT.EDU:

>  Just one point I am missing in this debate. The issues concerning  humans'
> relation to other animals should be articulated in the light  of what Marx
> calls humanisation of nature - not enslavement. There is  a passage in
> Capital where   Marx tallks about humans  relation to donky. The
> implication is this: if  humans   would deal with a donky as donky they
> would degrade themselves to a  donky.
>  Therefore they must deal with a donky as a human as much  as possible. So
> Marx's  point is not enslavement but humanisation  of organic as well as
> anorganic nature.

Hi Dogan

This  was a progressive social perspective from the standpoint of the  19th
Century, a period when there were emerging social movements  opposing
cruelty to animals and demanding that animals be treated in a  more
"humane" way.  I have my doubts as to whether it remains an  enlightened
and progressive perspective from the standpoint of the 21st  Century.

btw, if humans treat non-humans as if they were humans then  isn't this
simply a form of fetishism?

In solidarity,  Jerry



I think you are missing the idea of equality here. What Marx seems to mean  
is just to deal with animals as living beings having their particular  needs.


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