Moving to the edge

Author: Wang Dingding
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-08-01
Features: "Marginal" in relation to "mainstream" can refer to those who have always been outside the mainstream, or those who move from within the mainstream to the margin. Economists seem to be naturally aligned with the "mainstream," so the marginalization of economists can be called "being unconventional." "Marginal" is a way of life, so the source of creativity and vitality in society will eventually be exhausted. This is a fundamental perspective I learned from Hayek. Therefore, a truly rich life is a life outside the "mainstream," which Heidegger calls "the world"—the world created by the logos of the fundamental original opposition as it unfolds its own life. I firmly believe that a healthy market society always needs criticism and requires a group of intellectuals and a free media to critique the greedy nature of capital. In a mature market, such criticism is never "mainstream"; it is always just the "voice of the weak." If the "Voice of the Weak"—a part of this book—is the critique of intellectuals against power and money, then "Freedom and Thought"—the second part of this book—is the introspection of intellectuals about themselves as critics.