I wanted to start a topic and discussion about a person who came up on a political topic that I feel represents so much more and deserves a more substantial and balanced “treatment” than he was able to receive. There is a plethora of information about him available and many very strong opinions being expressed. So far for me, he seems very inspiring, in a very similar vein as Ron Paul, but also brings values and honesty to the forefront on how they relate to politics and the economy.
I watched online a 5 hour, 5 part lecture he gave, which is admittedly very monotone and some of the philosophical terminology can become confusing. But the message is so honest and straight forward. I wish I had looked for the online transcript beforehand, I found it much easier to understand and enjoy when read, rather than listened to and watched LOL.
Anyways, below are some brief quotes from the lecture, to give you a general idea of his thoughts in his own words and “where” the lecture goes. Also there are links to the transcripts. For me, the most inspiring and best use of 5 hours I can remember.
His actual views on some different social structures, interestingly the exact opposite of what is often portrayed in the media …
“Ideologies which claim to be in possession of the ultimate truth are making a false claim; therefore, they can be imposed on society only by force. This applies to Communism, Fascism and National Socialism alike. All these ideologies lead to repression.”
In reference to his father and the effects on his childhood …
“He had lived through the Russian Revolution and that was the formative experience of his life. Until then he had been an ambitious young man.”
“His experiences during the Russian Revolution profoundly affected him. He lost his ambition and wanted nothing more from life than to enjoy it. He imparted to his children values that were very different from those of the milieu in which we lived. He had no desire to amass wealth or become socially prominent.”
Below is a very simple example of his philosophical views…
“I can state the core idea in two relatively simple propositions. One is that in situations that have thinking participants, the participants' view of the world is always partial and distorted. That is the principle of fallibility. The other is that these distorted views can influence the situation to which they relate because false views lead to inappropriate actions. That is the principle of reflexivity. For instance, treating drug addicts as criminals creates criminal behavior. It misconstrues the problem and interferes with the proper treatment of addicts. “
This is just a small section, showing that it does get confusing, even for him LOL …
“And what about a solitary individual asking himself who he is and what he stands for and changing his behavior as a result of his reflections? In trying to resolve these difficulties I got so lost among the categories I created that one morning I couldn't understand what I had written the night before. That's when I gave up philosophy and devoted my efforts to making money.”
After this point he becomes a self made billionaire and, “gave away over $8 billion to human rights, public health, and education causes. He played a significant role in the peaceful transition from communism to capitalism in Hungary (1984–89), and provided Europe's largest higher education endowment to Central European University in Budapest.”
Anyways, to avoid this going on forever, this is just the tip of the iceberg; I will stop here and put the links below.
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/reflexivity_transcript
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/financialmarkets_transcript
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/opensociety_transcript
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/capitalism_transcript
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/wayahead_transcript
I watched online a 5 hour, 5 part lecture he gave, which is admittedly very monotone and some of the philosophical terminology can become confusing. But the message is so honest and straight forward. I wish I had looked for the online transcript beforehand, I found it much easier to understand and enjoy when read, rather than listened to and watched LOL.
Anyways, below are some brief quotes from the lecture, to give you a general idea of his thoughts in his own words and “where” the lecture goes. Also there are links to the transcripts. For me, the most inspiring and best use of 5 hours I can remember.
His actual views on some different social structures, interestingly the exact opposite of what is often portrayed in the media …
“Ideologies which claim to be in possession of the ultimate truth are making a false claim; therefore, they can be imposed on society only by force. This applies to Communism, Fascism and National Socialism alike. All these ideologies lead to repression.”
In reference to his father and the effects on his childhood …
“He had lived through the Russian Revolution and that was the formative experience of his life. Until then he had been an ambitious young man.”
“His experiences during the Russian Revolution profoundly affected him. He lost his ambition and wanted nothing more from life than to enjoy it. He imparted to his children values that were very different from those of the milieu in which we lived. He had no desire to amass wealth or become socially prominent.”
Below is a very simple example of his philosophical views…
“I can state the core idea in two relatively simple propositions. One is that in situations that have thinking participants, the participants' view of the world is always partial and distorted. That is the principle of fallibility. The other is that these distorted views can influence the situation to which they relate because false views lead to inappropriate actions. That is the principle of reflexivity. For instance, treating drug addicts as criminals creates criminal behavior. It misconstrues the problem and interferes with the proper treatment of addicts. “
This is just a small section, showing that it does get confusing, even for him LOL …
“And what about a solitary individual asking himself who he is and what he stands for and changing his behavior as a result of his reflections? In trying to resolve these difficulties I got so lost among the categories I created that one morning I couldn't understand what I had written the night before. That's when I gave up philosophy and devoted my efforts to making money.”
After this point he becomes a self made billionaire and, “gave away over $8 billion to human rights, public health, and education causes. He played a significant role in the peaceful transition from communism to capitalism in Hungary (1984–89), and provided Europe's largest higher education endowment to Central European University in Budapest.”
Anyways, to avoid this going on forever, this is just the tip of the iceberg; I will stop here and put the links below.
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/reflexivity_transcript
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/financialmarkets_transcript
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/opensociety_transcript
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/capitalism_transcript
http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/sorosceu_20091112/wayahead_transcript
