Ed Halliwell: Of course the Dalai Lama’s a Marxist
<a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jun/20/dalai-lama-marxist-buddhism”>Halliwell in The Guardian</a> ..
<blockquote>although it was reported with surprise (at least in the US), the ideological alignment is longstanding. In 1993, he said: “The economic system of Marxism is founded on moral principles, while capitalism is concerned only with gain and profitability. Marxism is concerned with the distribution of wealth on an equal basis … as well as the fate of those who are underprivileged and in need, and [it] cares about the victims of minority-imposed exploitation. For those reasons, the system appeals to me, and it seems fair.” There are a number of caveats (he’s not a Leninist, believes compassion rather than class struggle is key, and doesn’t consider communist regimes such as the USSR, China or Vietnam to have been true exponents), but the dissonance between image and reality remains – the Dalai Lama is not the comforting Oriental pet that consumer society might like.</blockquote>
.. <a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jun/20/dalai-lama-marxist-buddhism”>read more</a>
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