Pain

“Meanwhile we have learned a hard lesson concerning the relative degree of security that money provides. The years in which each person could call himself a millionaire are not far behind us, and whoever today expresses a wish for a million would also be required to stipulate that this presupposes no new inflation or that the money is to be spent in one of the smaller neutral states.”

Ernst Jünger. P. 24

This passage means that money can not provide security for people. It is just a passing thing that changes over time and can become meaningless. Normally people think that money can bring happiness to them, but more often than not it only creates misery.

I chose this passage because it applies today just as it did when Mr. Jünger wrote it. I can remember when a million dollars was considered to be sufficient money to last a person a life time. Nowadays it’s only enough to buy a decent house in the northeast of the United States, and in a couple of years you would have paid in taxes whatever was leftover. Moreover, money it self does not bring happiness, even if you win the lottery.  Statistics show that 70 percent of all lottery winners will squander away their winnings in a few years.

1. I disagree with Jünger's thesis that pain is the central experience of life. Although pain is a very important part of our lives, I believe that we spend most of our lives seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.

2. The phrase "post-liberal” refers to the concept that we are past the idea that liberalism is going to solve all social problems and that advances in  technical and material development would lead to a utopia where all the countries in the world would resolve their differences in a peaceful manner. In other words, we now that the liberal philosophy does not lead to what it promises that good will always triumph over evil. The liberals now define progress in terms of material wealth and measures of things like income level, education level, and life expectancy.

3. Jünger believes that photography is the “evil eye” because he thinks is an expression of our distinctive way of see. He believes that the fast bombardment of violent images desensitizes people. I agree with him, just look at the best video games: Call of Duty Black Ops.- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.- Gears of War 2. – Homefront. - Saints Row.

4. What is the relationship between specialized education and the "worker type."  I think the relationship is that by specializing education, you isolate the individual form the rest of the body of knowledge; As a result you end up with a person who is skilled on one particular craft like an assembly “worker type”. He may know only how to install the door of a car but does not know about the rest of the assembly process. 

5. How does submission to totalitarian authorities protect an individual from pain??

He believes that the best way to avoid pain is by detaching  ones body  and submitting to the totalitarian  authorities; in that way you will become part of the society and the society can be looked and used as an “object” without feelings