Theos-Talk Archives (January 1997 Message tl00917)

I ran across the following quote from one of HPB's articles, entitled
"What Are the Theosophists?" in the first "Theosophist," published in
October, 1879: 

"Unconcerned about politics; hostile to the insane dreams of Socialism
and of Communism, which it abhors--as both are but disguised
conspiracies of brutal force and sluggishness against honest labour;
the Society cares but little about the outward human management of the
material world. The whole of its aspirations are directed towards the
occult truths of the visible and invisible worlds. Whether the
physical man be under the rule of an empire or a republic, concerns
only the man of matter. His body may be enslaved; as to his soul, he
has the right to give to his rulers the proud answer of Socrates to
his judges. They have no sway over the inner man." 

Although I agree with her conclusion that Socialism and Communism are
evil (due to their being extremes, not due to their not having
anything good about them), I find the first two phrases hard to
reconcile.  In the very same sentence, she says that the Theosophical
Society is unconcerned with politics and hostile to what I have always
considered to be political philosophies.  The rest of the quote makes
its lack of concern for politics clear, but how else would Communism
and Socialism be categorized?