Karl Marx

I must admit.... I had to force myself to read Marx, which is first for all of the readings this semester. But, if you actually try to look into what he is saying, it becomes quite a bit more interesting. (I also find Marx himself interesting, the crazy man he was)

First, Marx exotic claim that all struggles come the fact that class struggles forms the basis for his entire argument. Without a reason for change, why would anyone want to listen his lovely argument anyways? Class struggle is the reason the laborers (proletariats) must overcome and overthrow their masters (the bourgeoisie people).

Second, Marx's argument seems to follow logical format. Why shouldn't the workers control the means of production? Why should the bourgeoisie decide prices and wages? The most shocking thing about Marx's argument is the removal of private property (though he admits it seems strange, because it is).

Also, Marx proposes no mechanism to undertake all of these measures...very strange man....very strange ideas.

Poetry, Particularly Tintern Abbey

I have realized, in the small amount of poetry that I partake of, that I like reading poetry but I fear analyzing it. My favority poem, of the 7 that were assigned, is Proverbs of Hell. (sinister, I know!)

Proverbs of Hell has interesting messages in it, and I just love how Blake entitled teh poem. (Of the three, Blake is my favorite, though I like Byron the best of them all). Proverbs of Hell has the idea of truth, wisdom, selfishness, and morals. Blake has an interesting style with all of his poems, and his grammer in this one proves no less strange. I love the last line of irony: Enough! or Too much

But, back to Tintern Abbey. Wordsworth (great name by the way...do you think he changed it to that or just decided to live up to his name) wrote a poem full of many...words. I think the most important word in this poem is TIME. Time changes, nature changes, views on nature change, and people change. Wordsworth is telling his sister how she should view nature and he reminisces about the days when say nature differently. I don't think it is necessarily bad that the narrator's view on nature has change, change is inevitable. I think the point of this poem is to appreciate nature and understand how one's ideas about nature change over time.

John Locke's Ideas on Religion

Are the religious concepts that appear in the Second Treatise central to Locke's political argument? Why, or rather, exactly why not? In hopes of clarifying my essay, I will undertake a blog post involving ideas on both why religion is central to Locke's political argument and why religion is in fact NOT central to Locke's political argument?

Yep, Religion is Central to Locke's argument because

• Locke mentions God so much...why would he bother if it wasn't revelent
• People fo the time truly believed that the church and God were central to life, in order to make his argument seem valid to these lovely people
• Acceptance with the common man is really important (since this is a main idea in the State of Nature and so on)...the best way to ensure success is to establish some common ground

No! Religion is a minor detail to John Locke

• His ideas are all his own and he just uses God as some examples
• He's a religious man but his ideas are totally separated from this
• He mentions God for fun?
• He reasons through some arguments without using religious terms exactly