Top 10 Love Flowers Around The World

Falling in love is indeed an experience - an incident where the dream turns into reality. Celebrate the ultimate feeling of love, illustrate your passion and declare your love with the quiet eloquence of the flowers and feel the splendor of falling in love. Let the sheen of the flowers do the wonder. Spell out those untold words to your sweetheart. Gift these flowers to your beloved and experience the difference that it makes.

The Iris: Let your beloved know how very much you care for her/him with a bunch of Iris. Iris symbolizes love and faith which are definitely the two important stakes for the relationship. Reassure your faith and love for your beloved with the shimmering hue of Iris which is one of the top 10 love flowers around the world and enjoy the rapture of falling in love.

Sunflower: Utter not a word but say lot with the golden shine of the sunflowers. Let the yellow splendor of the sunflower to say those unspoken words. 'Loyalty' that is what sunflower stands for. Give her/him a bouquet of sunflower to reassure your loyalty and to show how very much you love your beloved with this best love flower.

Wildflower: Would you be interested to impress your beloved whilst employing least words? Well, consider giving her/him a bunch of wild flowers which has been regarded as one of the top 10 love flowers around the world. The flowers with their magnificence are just the right ones to say 'I love you' in the most vibrant way. Illustrate your adoration for your special someone with wildflowers and feel the magic of love.

Lilac: Weave the magic of the purple dream with the lilacs and let the violet hue of the flowers to say "Do you still love me?" (that is what the Lilac stands for) Lilac is definitely one of the best flowers of love which has redefined passion with its color, warmth, luster and beauty. Give your love a bunch of lilac and reveal your undying love for your special someone.

Carnations: Typically celebrated for its long lasting attributes, Carnation is indeed the flower to demonstrate your admiration and love for that special someone. Carnation with its shimmer and delicate beauty diffuses your admiration in the most articulate way. Known as the "flowers of love", carnation is just the right flower for your beloved.

Orchid: symbolize your endless love for your special someone with the understated delicacies of orchid. Whisper all those sweet nothings, appreciate her beauty with the shimmer if the Orchids and illustrate how very much you love her. Legendary for its exotic appeal, Orchid is the flower to symbolize refinement, passion, warmth and love.

Lily: Consider gifting your beloved a bunch of lily which is reckoned as one of the best flowers for your love. Lily, with its divine grandeur, stands for tenderness and in Greek mythology Lily is referred as the very "voice of muses". Select a bunch of lily which is one of the best love flowers for your beloved and let the soft colors of the flower utter your admiration and love for your special someone.

Tulip: Regardless of its color, tulip is just the right flower to typify your genuine emotion for your love. Whether the crimson dreams or the purple delight or that pink trance of the tulips—it is just the right flower to epitomize your passion in the most delicate way.

Primrose: unfurl your emotion with the magical splendor of the primroses. Say a lot with a bunch of primrose and experience the ecstasy of illustrating your emotion without uttering a word. Let the hue of the primrose to say that "It's impossible to stay without you" - as you gaze at your beloved's eyes.

Rose: Epitomize your deep adoration for your beloved with the romantic brilliance of the roses. Rose is the flower of love; the flower to epitomize your warmth and affection. Be it any color, rose is just the right bloom to say 'love you' with immense passion. 

Top Love Movies

1. Romeo and Juliet (1960): This cinematic version of Shakespeare's one of the famous plays has every embodiment of romance in it. Loved and appreciated throughout, this one is an instant hit when it comes to love struck couples.
2. The English Patient (1996): This visual adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's award winning novel is a masterpiece. Based on the theme of love and lost love on the backdrop trying times, this one touched everyone's heart.
   
3. City Lights (1931): A classic movie of love, City lights captures the tale of love and romance beautifully. Based on the theme of a love of a vagrant over a blind girl and how he wins his love at the end this is a must see.
   
4. Rebecca (1980): A timeless romantic classic, Rebecca stole hearts of people with its release. An embodiment of love, thrill, and mystery this one is interesting. The plot revolves round a rich widower marrying a young girl and his first wife keeping an eye over them.
   
5. A Walk to Remember (2002): Adapted from the Nicholas spark novel, this romantic movie leaves you emotional and water eyed at the end. This one depicts the love tale of a girl with leukemia, who warns her lover to stay away from her.
   
6. Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961): This one is a favorite till date and never fails to create magic pf romance once at stage. This Light-hearted love tale of a party girl is a hit, watch out the Audrey Hepburn magic.
   
7. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982): A romantic drama set against the backdrop of a vagabond turning to a navy recruit this one is a super hit with the audiences. Packed with punch, a love story for the romantics and escapists.
   
8. Ghost (1990): A must watch in the romantic movie genre, Ghost exudes romance and love like none other. A fantasy thriller based on the theme of love beyond death, this one touched the emotional and romantic chord in the most beautiful way.
   
9. Notting Hill (1999): A huge hit with the audiences, Notting Hill reined the hearts of every love struck couple. Based on the theme of an actress falling in love with a book seller, the powerful performances and the intricacies made it a must watch.
10. Notting Hill (1999): A huge hit with the audiences, Notting Hill reined the hearts of every love struck couple. Based on the theme of an actress falling in love with a book seller, the powerful performances and the intricacies made it a must watch.

Best Love Songs

Light up the flame of love, strike an instant chord of romance or brighten up the day of someone close by dedicating some of the popular love songs. Here is a list of top 10 love songs

1. "Just Can't Stop Loving You" - Michael Jackson: The favorite pop singer of everyone carved out a peppy love song that defines love like none other. It epitomizes the uncontrolled love for your sweetheart.
   
   
2. "Tonight I Celebrate My Love" - Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack: This r&b duet of love drove the entire world mad. A perfect song for slow dancing with your love.

3. "I'll Make Love to You" - Boyz II Men: This love song is considered the best of all their records and is perfect to tune up a romantic night with your love.
   
   
4. "Truly Madly Deeply" - Savage Garden: A favorite till date and a classic romantic song, this one rules every loving heart.
   
   
5. "Crazy In Love" - Beyonce featuring Jay-Z: Beyonce tuned the perfect romantic song that induces moments of love and romance whenever it is on playback.
   
   
6. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" - Eric Clapton: Feel the depth of your love with this famous romantic song of Eric Clapton. Steal your sweetheart's heart away with this one.
   
   
7. "Just The Way You Are" - Billy Joel: Celebrate the love of your life, admire the love of your partner and lead her to a romantic world with this timeless romantic song.
   
   
8. "Making Love out of Nothing at All" - Air Supply: Set the stage of perfect romance with this timeless song of romance. Dedicate it to your love and feel the magic of love.
   
   
9. "Every Night in My Dreams" - Celine Dion: This one is perfect to woo your love one and drive her to a romantic world. Express your heart out through this famous love song.
   
   
10. "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" - Glenn Mendioris: Represent your undying love for your sweetheart and say that nothing on the world can change your love for her.

Top 10 Romantic Cities

1. Paris: The popular romantic city of the world has an unparallel aura about it that even words fail to describe. Enthralling and captivating, the 'city of lights' exudes the charm of romance like none. Best known for excellent wines and desserts, Paris is just perfect for romancing.

2. San Francisco: Explore romance at San Francisco; the city welcomes you for a romantic retreat with all grandeur. Get romantic amidst the natural wonders and set for a timeless romantic ride. San Francisco is the ultimate destination of the lovey-dovey couples.
   
   
3. Boston: Boston offers a fascinating blend of the traditional with the contemporary. The city rich in its historic significance also has to offer something new and modern to the romantic couples. Set for a hot winter romance in Boston and nothing can get better than this.
   
   
4. Venice: The 'Floating city' of the world, Venice, is a great place to induce romanticism in your love life. Lush greenery with beautiful water landscapes Venice just spells out romance in its every nook and corner.
   
   
5. New York: Confess your love atop the empire state building and drive your lover crazy while at New York. A perfect romantic destination, New York creates the magic of romance with carriage rides.
   
   
6. Melbourne: Considered as one of the best romantic city, London creates the perfect magic of romance. Light up the flame of romance; drive your lover crazy in love amidst the spectacular beauties of the city.
   
   
7. New Orleans: The city of New Orleans has it all for romance. Get set for a romantic cruise ride or just enjoy moments of togetherness at the deck of a riverboat. The carriage ride also exudes the romantic charm in its own way.
   
   
8. Monte-Carlo: Eye- catching landscapes and spectacular beaches, Monte- Carlo offers a romantic treat to the couples. A favorite romantic city of the world, this one is a winner in the hearts of all love struck couples. Get set for a romantic drive amidst the calmness of nature.
   
   
9. Vienna: Spectacular scenic beauties and stylish love nests welcomes you at Vienna. Get ready for an experience of a kind and drive your love to a romantic world while at this city.
   
   
10. London: Let romance take a lead in your love life while at London. The most happening city of the world, London just sets the perfect mood for romance with spectacular beaches, churches, castles, and Cathedral.

Top 10 Funny Love Quotes

Here are some really funny love quotes from famous authors.

1. Melanie Griffith

There is a place you can touch a woman that will drive her crazy. Her heart.

2. Anonymous

Love is grand; divorce is a hundred grand.

3. Woody Allen

I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox.

4. Woody Allen

The last time I was inside a woman was when I went to the Statue of Liberty.

5. Freud

The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, "What... does a woman want?"

6. Samuel Johnson

Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.

7. Woody Allen

To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. I hope you're getting this down.

8. Agatha Christie

An archeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her.

9. Albert Einstein

Gravitation can not be held responsible for people falling in love.

10. Melanie Clark

You can't put a price tag on love, but you can on all its accessories.

4 Different Types Of Love

We often mistake love as generally just being romantic and never really appreciating the other kinds of love that do exist.

SECURITY LOVE:
This love is the love that everybody needs to survive. It is that feeling of being cared for and nurtured. Some people would describe this as the type of love parents have for their children. This is so important: high on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs; and studies have even proven that people have died of a "broken heart" (there have been no explanations for their deaths other than that).

FRIENDSHIP LOVE:
This is a love between yourself and someone that is totally honest, open and comfortable. You really only have this kind of bond with a few people. You might know a lot of people and be "friendly" with them in a group situation but they are not the best friends I am talking about here.
I have a theory that you can not truely be best friends with a member of the opposite sex. Down the line romance will always come up from either party and feelings will be misinterpreted and mistaken. When this happens, the friendship will change and possibly never be the same again.

ROMANTIC LOVE:
(The much anticipated love!) Most people experience this type of love many times in their life. It is when you see that person for the first time and he/she makes your knees go weak or gives you butterflies in your stomach.i.e. "Love at first sight”. Most people don’t even love the person they think they are in love with…they fall in love with the idea if being in love. This is more of a lustful kind of love, it wears off after a while and hopefully leads to...

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE:
This is the sincere love, the love that lasts forever. This kind of love comes when you have found the person you are destined to be with. Nothing can destroy unconditional love. It is like when you have an argument or disagree about something with that person and you realize that it doesn’t bother you because the love you have for him/her overcomes everything. 

Types Of Love Relationships

Romantic Love

This is what Hollywood wants us to think love is. The foundation is passion, that giddy, swept-of-your-feet feeling. Along with that, there’s often a sense of emotional closeness, so strong, that you feel at one with your partner. The problem with this type of love is that there’s no commitment. Once the excitement wears off, and the day-to-day routine sets in, this love can fizzle out fast.

Fatuous Love

This is the Las Vegas drive-through-chapel-love. Love that makes you think you should spend a lifetime together after you’ve only known each other a week. As with the romantic variety, there’s plenty of passion, but there’s also a sense of commitment, hence the instant-wedding! What’s lacking, though, is intimacy. The two people involved hardly know each other. It leads to questions like, “What do you mean you ‘forgot’ to finalize your divorce?!”

Companionate Love

This is the elderly couple walking hand in hand through the park. It’s also the grumpy, old pair who always seems to have regular spats, yet, wouldn’t dream of leaving each other. Even after the passion has died down, the closeness and commitment are stronger than ever. Of course, that’s not to imply that all older couples lack passion, or that this love is reserved only for the elderly!

Empty Love

Of all types of love relationships, this one is hardest to call “love”. It’s really more a type of respect held up by moral values. It’s the kind of thing that happens when a married couple no longer feels much of anything for each other, but stays together for the kids, for financial reasons, or just out of sheer momentum. Often both partners still feel genuine regard and respect for one another, but neither emotional intimacy nor physical passion are anywhere to be found.

Consummate Love

Here we’ve hit the mother lode! This is the love most of us dream of finding some day. It’s everything all rolled into one; deep emotional intimacy, toe-curling passion, and rock-solid commitment. People who share this type of loveoften consider their partner their best friend, or the “one thing” they can count on. Naturally, this relationship’s bound to hit a few storms along the way, but this type of relationship has everything it needs to weather those storms without sustaining any serious, long-term damage.

Romantic Love

                                                                        
A romantic relationship is one where you have a deep feeling of connection to the other person. You accept them as they are, want them to feel good, and deeply appreciate who they are. They fit in with most of your preferences in a life partner, i.e.; personality, life goals, beliefs and value systems, etc. One of the ways you desire to express your love for them through your sexuality. Sex is the one key element that distinguishes a romantic relationship from all other types.

Different Types of Love Relationships

We establish relationships with many different types of people. Our family members, neighbors, co-workers, friends, spouses, significant others, etc. We've been taught that the love is different depending on who we're loving. We even have different names for it such as Agape for spiritual love and Eros for sexual love.
The emotion of love is the same regardless of who you feel it for. You want them to be happy, you accept them as they are, and you appreciate some aspect(s) about them. So if love is the same, why does it feel so different depending on who you love?
The distinctions in the loving experience are apparent when we look at how we express our love. The emotions are the same, but how we express and the degree in which we express it are different depending on who we are loving. You may want to spend more time with your friends than your family members. You might enjoy different activities with your co-workers than you do with your spouse.
When and how we express love is determined by preferences. You may prefer to spend more time with someone who is outgoing, rather than quiet, or more serious rather than silly. You may be more physically attracted to someone who is short rather than tall, or older rather than younger. There are an endless number of qualities that we might prefer over others. And those preferred qualities determines who, when, how, and to what degree we express our love.
The focus of this site is on romantic relationships, since this seems to be the area of most interest and concern. This is not surprising since these are the people who we’re choosing to share most of our lives.

Infatuation or Love?

There are some feelings we have when infatuated that we don’t have when we’re feeling love. Some of the “symptoms” of infatuation are; feelings of panic, uncertainty, overpowering lust, feverish excitement, impatience, and/or jealously.
When infatuated, we are thrilled, but not happy, wanting to trust, yet suspicious. There are lingering, nagging doubts about our “partner in infatuation” and their love for us. We’re miserable when they’re away, almost like we’re not complete unless we’re with them. It’s a rush and it’s intense. It’s difficult to concentrate. And most infatuation relationships have a high degree of sexual charge around them. Somehow being with them is not complete unless in ends in some type of sexual encounter.
Do any of these “symptoms” resemble feelings of love? Hardly. So why do we become infatuated? Where does it come from? Perhaps it’s biological.
When infatuated we experience a surge of dopamine that rushes through the brain causing us to feel good. Norepinephrine flows through the brain stimulating production of adrenaline (pounding heart). Phenylethalimine (found in chocolate) creates a feeling of bliss. Irrational romantic sentiments may be caused by oxytocin, a primary sexual arousal hormone that signals orgasm and feelings of emotional attachment. Together these chemicals sometimes override the brain activity that governs logic.
The body can build up tolerances to these chemicals so it takes more of the substance to get that special feeling of infatuation. People who jump from relationship to relationship may be craving the intoxicating effects of  these substances and may be “infatuation junkies”.
When the chemical flood dries up, the relationship either moves into a loving romantic one or there is disillusionment, and the relationship ends.

Is Love Painful?

“The pain associated with relationships has more to do with fear, than love.”

Who hasn't experienced the pain of love? Or is it the pain of rejection? The pain of self doubt? The pain of fear? It's important to distinguish between love and totally separate feelings.
When it comes to pain surrounding love, we're more likely referring to the “add-ons” of love. The love baggage, we might call it. For some reason, many people assume negative emotions are a part or element of love. But experientially we know this isn't true.
Love is not painful, it feels incredible. The pain and hurt we feel doesn’t come from love, it comes from our doubts, fears, anxiety, perceived rejections, broken trusts, anger, jealousy, envy, etc. So why do we as a culture lump all those other feelings in with love?
Perhaps its because we feel these uncomfortable emotions most often in association with our love relationships. Our primary relationships are important to us, so we assume these doubts and fears are all part of the loving experience. But is this really true?
When we are fearful, angry, anxious, unhappy, or jealous, are we truly experiencing a state of love? They sure feel different, don't they? Love feels warm, open, joyous and filled with a deep sense of appreciation. Pain steps into a love relationship when you switch it from a "wanted relationship," into a "needed relationship." You don't NEED any one relationship. Want? Yes. Need? No.
If you go into a relationship not feeling terribly good about yourself, you're more likely to become dependent on your partner to help you feel good about yourself.  If we felt empty before they appeared in our lives, we fear the emptiness returning if they leave, so their staying with us becomes paramount. That dependency can create all kinds of fear and unhappiness when there's a perceived threat to you staying together.
If we aren’t giving ourselves the acceptance we crave, we look to those around us to provide it for us. Again, none of this has a thing to do with the love you feel, but everything to do with the fear you feel.
If you really want to remove the love baggage of fear and unhappiness, the first step is to improve your self awareness and self acceptance.

Saint Luke Brotherly Love

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.
And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High Bible, Luke 6.27-6.35

Decidedly, Saint Luke asks us too much. To love those who hate us, when we are clearly incapable of loving the poor we meet, or the unfortunate gathered on the edges of our societies? To love those who hate us, when our daily life is full of indifference towards the unknown people we encounter? To allow others to rob us without reacting, and manage what we lend as if we were giving?

Decidedly, we don’t behave and love in the terms proposed by Saint Luke. We love in much more restricted and conditioned terms.

«Why do I love my own children so much and other people’s children so little? », asks Sponville, peeping into our hearts in a much more realistic way than Saint Luke. And the same Sponville answers: «Because my children are mine, and in loving them I love myself».

Egoism is in fact at the bottom of our hearts – even in our loves. And we can’t expel it. On many occasions we can sympathise, or be capable of generosity and solidarity with other people. But we shouldn’t have any illusions: we aren’t the saints that Saint Luke demands us to be, and we will never be able to love in the terms he asks for.

We are sons of the world’s cruelty. We are descendants of beings who have struggled and killed to survive. In order to survive our ancestors had to practise solidarity, indifference and aggressiveness.  From our distant fathers we have inherited parental and kinship love. We haven’t inherited – because there wasn’t such love in their hearts – the brotherly love proposed by Saint Luke.

We can ask: isn’t it possible to raise ourselves ethically, and to extend our sympathy and love beyond the inner circles considered by our instincts and animal nature? And shouldn’t we face the required love of Luke as a poetic and desirable metaphor?

Certainly. Appeals to brotherly love are always welcome. They can be exalting, and Saint Luke’s words are a good metaphor, in a sense. But we should also be realistic. In defending them, we also incur the inevitable risk of being ignored and our arguments compared to void words and mere rhetoric.

Love Cycles

Time To War And Time To Love on Our Daily Lives

One can read in Ecclesiastes:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
(…) A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

This vision of life as a cycle can be distorting and wrong. There are many other views in which life doesn’t spread out as a cycle but as one damn thing after another, or as an erratic snake, or as the coloured joy of a bird in spring.

But there is in fact a certain angle where life and its elements show up to us in a circular way, where love and war follow on from each other with regularity along time. There is a view in which the Ecclesiastes author is right.

Think of our everyday life, and its wars: the work war, the survival war. Isn’t there, in the interval of our daily wars, a space – perhaps brief, too brief – for a smile, for a calm conversation, for a kiss? There is indeed always an hour, a minute, to love. There is a cycle of war and love in our lives. And Ecclesiastes is right, in this view.

Even those responsible for wars, in the strict sense of the word, aren’t excluded from this cycle. Even those whose hands are dirty with blood – as the Nazis – need a space for loving their children, their spouses, their lovers (yet it may be considered as wretched and insignificant in face of the space dedicated to war and hate).

We all are involved in these cycles. In fact, what varies within the repeating cycles of our lives is the duration of the spaces they contain. In the better of us the space for the superior or for the good acts may be bigger. But in them there is also a large space for repetitive daily things, and for the evil present in the roots of every being. And that’s another perspective of seeing human’s lives as cycles.

Love, Egoism, Competition, Private Profit

Economic Liberalism and Communism

What commands our society? Love? Competition, market forces and private profit?

According to Adam Smith, the father of Economics, love has little or no importance in economic life:

 

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations. 

More than a hundred years after Adam Smith, John M. Keynes, one of the top economists of twentieth century, classified in harsh terms the nature of the regulating rules praised by Adam Smith: «gluttony». It’s gluttony that commands our economic life. It’s not love.

Surely there have been some alternative experiences to the market system vindicated by Adam Smith, namely the communist experiences, and to a lesser degree the social-democratic experiments. But they have failed, or are in regression…

And we may ask: why have communism and other projects of collective love failed so clearly in their application to society and to economic life? Why does liberalism and the market system, with its profit motive and egoistic viewpoint, appear as incontestable winner?

Adam Smith gives himself the answer:

 

By pursuing his own interest [people] frequently promote that of the society more effectually than when [people] really intend to promote it.  Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations. 

In other words: the promotion of the society’s interests within the principles of love fails because we are intrinsically egoist. Without constraints and our egoistic engagement, the economic system falls asleep.

But does this picture correspond to the entire truth? Does this mean that our societies can or should work merely or basically according to the economic market principles of profit and competition?

Love and Market

Critics to Economic Market SystemGreediness, Reason and Love

Misery remains in large regions of the world. Conflicts spread all over the world. Our planet is ecologically at a critical point…

There are many explanations for such a situation, of course. We can be rather vague – and yet touch the truth – and say that the problems of our societies are rooted in our ways of behaving and thinking. Or we can be controversial and blame the market laws, or, in other words, the rules that drive our economic systems and societies.

And that’s what Schumacher, an important economist and ecologist of the twentieth century, has defended. To him, «a man pushed by greediness and envy» - which is what is happening in the framework of economic liberalism - «looses his faculty of seeing things as they really are, or of seeing them in their proportions and in the whole, and his successes may turn into a fiasco».

Our environmental problems are a major example of the result of the functioning of market rules. Global warming and huge climate changes are menacing billions of people, and are a direct emanation of man’s greed and of the short term view and interests associated with market rules.

In an epoch where the mermaid chant of liberalism is largely dominant, it’s important to meditate on the words of the critics of that system. They may contain some utopia, or some disagreement with the near world, but they help us to be more critical.

Economics may have constraints and rules. The market can’t be abolished, and can be a powerful mechanism of development. But we must correct it and oppose its evil sides. Love – in its diverse forms: love to others, to the earth, to high cultural standards… and reason, also have an important word in our societies and economics. We can’t leave the market so free of rules as the hard line liberals pretend.

LOVE & ECONOMICS

All living beings kill to survive and run away from death, struggling zealously for their survival. All living beings defend their interests and the interests of their relatives, many times against the interests of other more general interests.

Our daily life – and mainly our economic life – reflects the biological life and its laws. The market laws – linked to competition and to daily struggle - are, in their own way, a reproduction of the laws of biology (or the law of the jungle, if we prefer).

And yet our societies are not jungles, though sometimes it seems so. Our rationality (though limited), our intelligence, and our collective and cooperative side, give to our societies a very complex nature.

Our societies wouldn’t work just based on competition and private interests. Without the corrections introduced by the State, without interventions favouring the poor, the forests or the animal life, without rules of ethics and principles inspired in love and reason, we wouldn’t arrive at where we are. Our societies couldn’t exist. As Sponville says:

Who could possible believe that profit alone is sufficient to ensure a humane society? The economy produces wealth; we need wealth, we can never have too much of it. But we also need justice, freedom, security, peace, fraternity, hopes, ideals. No market can provide these things.

André Comte-Sponville, The Little Book of Philosophy

In fact, market laws and human egoisms are extremely dangerous for our planet and our societies. The instability and dangerous imbalances of our world are mostly a result of the work of the spontaneous mechanisms of market forces, human egoism and short sighted views. And without the reinforcement of collective love forms – solidarity, cooperation, generosity, donation… - our future existence is largely uncertain.

Citizens Pride, Vanity and Love to Motherland

Patriotism and Nationalism Values
To love our country is part of our common sense. Politicians applaud that love, and promote it. Education, the scholar’s spelling-books and the historic data divulge the values and the examples of patriotism. Citizens feel it as good and desirable. There are nationalistic slivers in the common citizen.

We may say: it’s part of human nature. Nationalism is an extension of the love to family, to clan, to tribe, to ourselves. There are blood vows uniting patriots to their flag. The Motherland is formed by our equals, by those who speak the same language and share many common values, tastes, interests, and contribute to a common pool.

It’s natural, then. But not all of which is natural is good (hate is also natural)…

Obviously we have the legitimacy of liking our country. It’s not that that is at stake. What’s really at stake is to be a citizen of a country without being even more a citizen of the world. It is to have pride and vanity, it’s to think that the truth, the good, the reason and the most brilliant history is associated with the country where we were born, and that only our fellow-citizens deserve our solidarity.

In this view, nationalism is ridiculous and dangerous and is the cause of many wars and evils. And that may justify the words of Albert Einstein and Bernard Shaw: «Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind» (Einstein), «You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race» (Shaw).

Love, Sex and Politics

Politicians Love of Exhibitionism and Sexual Power 

We may doubt the politicians love to public good. But we shouldn’t doubt their love of power, with all it presupposes: exhibitionism, attempting to escape from our condition as humble and insignificant beings, and… as evolutionary biologists and historians state, sexual power.

What does that last feature mean, exactly?

Some facts may help us to understand it: Solomon, the great ancient sage, had a harem of a thousand concubines (and one consort); Mao-Zedong, the socialist Chinese leader, opposing everything he was ideologically proclaiming, surrounded himself by a harem of some dozen concubines…

And these are not isolated cases. Whenever they could, the powerful men of the past always gathered large harems… Sexual power has been a powerful motivation to many politicians.

Naturally, we may say that democracy and new ethical values have destroyed the harems. And that’s true. But have democracy and the new values destroyed the old searching for sexual power by politicians?

If we analyse the American political scene, it seems much so. President Clinton met with political disaster after his case with Monica Lewinsky, and the same happened before him to Harry Hart. As Matt Ridley says:

 

Whereas the Chinese emperor Fei-tu once kept ten thousand women in his harem, Gary Hart, running for the presidency of the most powerful nation on earth, could not even get away with two.Matt Ridley, Red Queen

Yet we shouldn’t exaggerate. Sex and politics keep mixing themselves, yet in a more moderate and hidden way. Clinton, Gary Hart or John Kennedy aren’t exactly exceptions of what goes on in political meanders. There are at least a good half a dozen American presidents with known extra-marital cases. And many thousands of unknown cases, levered by political positions, at an inferior political level.

That’s a good reason to say, as Kissinger: «Power is a great aphrodisiac».

Politicians Love of Humanity and Public Causes, of the Poor and of Ideals of Better Societies

There is genuine love in politics: the love of public causes, of the poor, of ideals of more perfect societies. There are many revolutions inspired by principles of brotherly love, and we shouldn’t doubt the good intentions of many politicians. As Morin wrote:


It’s countless the political acts inspired by the love to citizenship and to humanity, and by the will to found a better world.
E. Morin, French philosopher and sociologist, As Grandes Questões Do Nosso Tempo


But as he also says:


As in the Goethe tragedy, where the good intentions of Faust causes the loss of Margarita, and the bad actions of Mephistopheles ends by saving her, also in politics the hell is full of good intentions.
E. Morin, French philosopher and sociologist, As Grandes Questões Do Nosso Tempo


And why, we may ask? 


The reasons are very diverse, obviously. Yet there is a powerful and general explanation: the nature of our loves, and the nature of the loves present in the politician’s hearts (when they exist and are not just trivial rhetoric). 


In fact, love isn’t a simple pure thing. Often it is mingled with pride, and vanity. Or mixed with ideas and utopias, or with ignorance of what men are and how our societies and economics work (which are other forms of love of ideas). 


And that – when applied to politicians – is a powerful step to failure. It quickly empties the political love, and closes each man in his world and his interests and ideas - which is, after all, the more natural human condition…

Love And Politics

Politicians’ love of public causes is often rhetorical. Even when such a love exists, it is mingled with the love of the exhibition and the love of empty words and false promises – a very ancient fact, intimately connected to the first steps of democracy.

In fact, the first steps of Greek and Roman democracy were highly rhetoric, with citizens - mostly illiterates - using gaudy speeches bought from the professionals of rhetoric (namely, the so called sophists, a mixture of philosophers and word cheaters).

History records some of these characters, such as Gorgias of Leontini, a distinguished sophist who made his wealth creating speeches and selling the texts to those who wanted to plead in court or in political assemblies. There are documents describing Gorgias wearing purple tunics, skipping on stages, surrounded by stunned audiences, exhibiting his oratorical gifts and his gold wristbands.

When we compare characters such as Gorgias with what is going on today, it is possible to conclude that there has been progress. Today’s politicians are much more discreet. Today, nobody would dare to dress or use the language of Gorgias, or to write a Praise of the Fly, as Luciano did.

And yet there is another standpoint: present politicians have just sophisticated the resources of their predecessors. They haven’t discarded their old love of lying and rhetoric. In other words: it’s a pity they haven’t kept their old vices and gaudy speeches: it would be much easier to denounce them.