Part 211. Early influences

I graduated with a law degree in 1967. Three influences on my opinions then, ones I hold to this day, were Karl Raimund Popper, Martin Luther King Jnr and William Kenneth Galbraith.

This passage by Karl Popper influenced my decision to work for organisations committed to demanding systemic change in our society through practical realisable goals.

“Work for the elimination of concrete evils rather than for the realization of abstract goods. Do not aim at establishing happiness by political means. Rather aim at the elimination of concrete miseries. Or, in more practical terms: fight for the elimination of poverty by direct means--for example, by making sure that everybody has a minimum income. Or fight against epidemics and disease by erecting hospitals and schools of medicine. Fight illiteracy as you fight criminality. But do all this by direct means. Choose what you consider the most urgent evil of the society in which you live, and try patiently to convince people that we can get rid of it. 

But do not try to realize these aims indirectly by designing and working for a distant ideal of a society which is wholly good. However deeply you may feel indebted to its inspiring vision, do not think that you are obliged to work for its realization, or that it is your mission to open the eyes of others to its beauty. Do not allow your dreams of a beautiful world to lure you away from the claims of men who suffer here and now. Our fellow men have a claim to our help; no generation must be sacrificed for the sake of future generations, for the sake of an ideal of happiness that may never be realized. In brief, it is my thesis that human misery is the most urgent problem of a rational public policy and that happiness is not such a problem. The attainment of happiness should be left to our private endeavours.”

Karl Popper, 'Conjectures and Refutations'.  

Not pie in the sky theories or waiting for God's kingdom to come but working towards realising the kingdom now.

I was drawn to Martin Luther King Jnr, not so much by his writings or speeches; rather it was the policy of non-violent protest,  demonstration and challenge to politicians and church leaders to dismantle secular and religious systems perpetuating racial discrimination.  Unsurprisingly many campaigners for an end to discrimination against women and LBGTQ communities and Black Lives Matter have taken the King approach as a basis for their campaigning.

I have considered in earlier posts the influence of Galbraith on my thinking in respect of overcoming poverty. More in a later post......