Talk:Scott Nearing

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Anybody want to talk about Nearing's achievements?--Longevitymonger

Many thanks to the individual who inserted the picture of Nearing! Longevitymonger

[edit] About article-merger idea

I believe the idea of a merger of this article with the Helen and Scott Nearing article is not a good one. Helen & Scott (together) lived a self-reliant life that is interesting and meaningful to many people, regardless of political philosophy or adherence. However, Scott was a Marxist (revisionist) - very politically driven in his personal thought and writing. And yet Helen was from a Theosophical background, was spiritually minded, and - while she may have come to sympathize with broadly socialistic societies (like Scandinavian countries) - was not inclined to revolutionary thinking, in the usual sense.

As a couple, their importance is probably mostly as an inspiration for the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s.

The "rugged individualism" of their shared life commitment and practical philosophy presents a paradox when compared to Scott's radical collectivist philosophy.

Scott was Scott - Helen was not. Keep the articles separate.

You mean 'contradiction' rather than 'paradox', surely? In any case, it's hardly clear that there is one, or even that he held "rugged individualist" views.

[edit] No mention of his work as an educator?

Article refers to him as an educator, but doesn't say where, or what he did. Noticed in the History of Monopoly article that he was a professor at Wharton, and was dismissed from there. No mention of this in his bio? Seems like a pretty significant omission.

Yes, I agree--his position as an assistant professor of economics at Wharton is a very important piece of his biography! He was dismissed by Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania for speaking out against child labor. As for Helen, she is a very important character in history as well. Scott and Helen worked together to write for which Scott is well-known, Living the Good Life: How to Live Sanely and Simply in a Troubled World. Helen continued to write books after her husband's death in 1983. They worked well together as a team, and she should be recognized as well.