The Religion of Social Salvation

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"The inadequacy of pleasure-pain psychology, the poverty of utilitarian ethics, the impossibility of explaining moral phenomena by the pursuit of happiness, the uselessness of the greatest happiness of the greatest number as a principle of social ethics -- all these have been demonstrated over and over again on a voluminous literature. Nevertheless, even today this complex of ideas holds a fascination for a not inconsiderable number of persons. This fascination will be more intelligible if we see the complex of sensualism, utilitarianism, and so on, not as a set of verifiable propositions but as the dogma of a religion of socially immanent salvation." -- Eric Voegelin, Crisis and the Apocalypse of Man

Comments

  1. ivanfoofoo9:23 PM

    I don't have to add much here, but this quotation is impressive.

    ReplyDelete

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