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willyDParticipant
Yes - if I want to trade my corn for my neighbor's wheat, I most certainly won't want to alienate him by "controlling the waterholes" as you had previously mentioned. I probably wouldn't wanted to get killed by him, either, if I figured he would come to the waterhole with guns drawn. I am guessing you are interpreting my statement to mean that the federal government needs to run the healthcare system, which is a leap too far.N0--I know that would be an impossible position for you--but you have a chink in your armour and for now 'tis enough.
willyDParticipantOh you are a card! Privatize the police? Doorway to disaster and return of the Pinkertons. Do not say this too loudly as you will frighten the children
willyDParticipantAn anecdotal quote attributed to Stalin goes far to explaining the Soviet victory in WWII. “Quantity has a quality all its own.” I pure military terms the Soviets suffered casualties at something like 4-1 compared to the Germans. They won because they could suffer those kind of casualties and still field a big army, not because of any outstanding leadership on Stalin's part. At best he inspired the Russian people, but I tend to give the credit for that to the organs of state propaganda rather than Stalin. By all accounts he was a singularly uninspiring public speaker.He bored them to tears, but that all lauded his attempts--rule:Speak badly, but have a huge KGB. Rave reviews will follow.
willyDParticipantNOT PROTEST–protect–my error!
willyDParticipantBut this is aside the real point, which was that liberals would not survive because they tend to look to the government for answers to their problems, while conservatives tend to look to themselves for the answers.This may be more true than false, but it is not a character question, but deals with one's view of thepurpose and functions of government. We both agree that the government has the duty to protect,but from what? I would argue that the protection is required against foreign foes. domestic lawbreakersand those who take advantage of the halt, lame, blind and stupid. This is where regulation and lawflow together and where Liberal and Conservative viewpoints diverge. I might also point out that thishas become a chliche as bad as the" Republicans are the party of big business." All parties feed at thetrough of big business--it is the American way--and Conservatives ask the government for help when they feel the necessity--banks, car companies for example.
willyDParticipantOther areas of life where conservatives find morality to be concerned are dismissed in the liberal outlook. Please expand on this
willyDParticipantYou're forgetting that without someone to supply the arms, without someone to buy the food or drink, without someone to employ to build the walls - non of that "brutish" world can get done. I would think that man would recognize his need for his neighbor and the necessity to cooperate with him. If I protect my own interests exclusively I will be at a disadvantage, but if I protect the interests of my family and community I will be far better off. If I want to increase my wealth, I need to trade, which requires cooperation with others. Protest the interests of the Community? Welcome my brother!
willyDParticipantRight–peudo Socialism or Liberal dreamworks would be better.Your comments vis a vis human nature harken back to the Greeks but are bestexemplified in the writings of people such as Calvin, Knox, Rousseau and Hobbes.The question was and is--what is the essential nature of man--is he a creature born good and then corrupted by society or is he by nature evil. Having been raised aCatholic ,I was told I was a sinner at birth and it was my nature to sin. My only salvation was in the arms of mother Church. That lasted about 12 years.Most people I know who claim to be LIBERALS see man as a tabula rasa with an footnote--some people are just born bad.Most people I know who claim to be CONSERVATIVES see man as essentially inclined tobe bad.Both these terms are essentially useless in common parlance, but I feel confidant using them here as I know there will be no misunderstanding.Life in the wild: Rousseau: The Noble Savage--life is good--no sin--cooperation--dance in the sushineHobbes: Nasty, Brutish and Short--Dawinian--nature red in tooth and clawKnox/Calvin Man is essentially sinful--only the "elect" are savedWhat would happen if we had the ability to start over? Ha!My opinion of your thesis is that we would be wise to arm ourselves, sieze the foodsources, control the waterholes, build walls and force the weaker of the group towork for the benefit of the strong. In short--we would replicate our society of today ina truncated version.Concern for others usually takes place when one's own needs and desires are fulfilled.Remember the old adage--no sweeter meat exists than that which clings to my bones?
willyDParticipant1. I don't think that Marxism today needs to be full-blown in order to be felt. Even if they don't expressly promote the idea of a classless society, they still want to "give it to the man" and swipe the haves with the sword as a matter of "justice" and let the have-nots collect whatever spills on the ground. In liberalspeak this normally involves language like having the "rich pay their fair share" (because 39% to the government is not "fair") while enlargening the public dole for the poor to drink out of...all administered by the hand of the government bureaucrat. 2. What you are observing is one of the contradictions within liberalism. Liberals claim to be populists and like to pit themselves against wealthy and special interests. We know, however, that this is not the case. In a similar way, how many liberal celebrities have we seen advocate to the masses that they should adopt "green" lifestyles. This sounds fine until the masses realize that it means a substantial increase in the cost of living. To the celebrities with their millions, it's no problem at all. Only the commoner ends up suffering.1. Then in the interests of accuracy and to preclude confusion, you ought to choose another word. Marxism is one of those explosive words that we have been conditioned or taught or learned to equate with something bad or un-American. In my limited experience few people can really tell you what the principles of Marxism or "scientific socialism" are. They are content to use it as describing something not to their liking. The words Conservative, Liberal and Socialist have the the same problem--they have morphed to the point where using them without adjectives is hardly worth the time as no real communication takes place. I do not have the temerity to suggest just what word you might choose, but in my mind Marxism does not cut it.2. There are many good thinking and generous people who we might call, with all the problems associated with the words, Liberal and Conservative. Neither group is composed of all devils or all angels. My group--roughly called Liberals--has lots of people who wish to be considered kind sophisticates, enlightened, educated and freed from the shibboleths of their narrow minded upbringing. They also wish to be cool and typically display their concern by driving certain kinds of cars, displaying certain modes of behavior and mouthing platitudes that annoy and disgust the true believers in our ranks. We also have lots of people who sincerely believe that in order to preserve our way of life, we must support policies and fund causes that reduce the gaps that exist between the haves and the have-nots. In their opinion, this is as great a threat to "America" as any terrorist organization. They really fear corporations and see in their machinations a threat to their own middle-class status. Their worst fear is being ousted from their perch and tumbling into the pit with the great unwashed. Not all are celebrities, but they do seem to share the idea that the progressive income tax and levies of like kind are the appropriate way to close the income gap and fund the programs they see as necessary to maintain our democracy. I am one of them.
willyDParticipantOk–That is a working definition and many people see the cavalcade of history as a struggle between classes. However, that does not mean they pay homage to Marx nor do they necessarily desire a classless society. In my experience with my many LIBERAL kindred spirits, I have concluded that the last thing they want is to be forced to hobnob with the hoi polloi. This may something to discuss at a party, but fewif any consort with the working class either at work or in their leisure activities. How can they be expected to deal with people who prefer Rolling Rock to Sam Adams or Kirin beer and read People instead of Harpers? Not only Conservatives live in gated communities.
willyDParticipantCONCEIVE– old age clouds the mind
willyDParticipantAll the groups I mentioned could be Marxists by which I hope you mean that they would advocate that thegovernment would control all the means of production until the final stage of Communism--a classes society--was achieved which would mean that the government would wither away. I find it had to concieve such a thing--but it is possible.Are you saying that I-- a believer in democracy and have great reservations about the actions of Corporations--am a Marxist at heart--you jest of course! Your brush is too broad.
willyDParticipantWOW!This is an alpha plus group==you do know the true purpose of a bureaucracy in both the public and private sector==metastasize or become impotent and court abolishment.
willyDParticipantMight I suggest that both of you fail to comprehend the true purpose of a bureaucracy–even a tiny one thatonly blooms once a decade. Nevermind.
willyDParticipantNot quite. How about this. Hitler was a rabid anti-Semite, perhaps the worst of the crowd. Hisviews were well known and his lickspittles, always eager to curry favor, did everything they could thinkof to forward his program of ridding greater Germany of Jews. Perhaps' like Caligula, Hitler wishedthat the Jews (read the people of Rome) had but one neck so he could wring it. Anti-semitism was rampant in Germany and many other places in Europe so his rantings fell on fertile ground.The Holocaust was a latent horror.Thy tyranny of numbers, the problems of emigration and the coming of the war led to a situation whereonly something as drastic as the Holocaust could resolve the problem and fulfill the "leader's desire.So the Holocaust policy was the logical outcome of solving a problem by the application of industrialtechniques and Teutonic efficiency to a perceived social problem as envisioned by a soi disant "savior" of Germany--a madman. As fear as I can tell there was no master plan to kill the Jews in Germany or in theworld at large. Like Topsy, the policy just grew and grew until the unthinkable became commonplace.All this from a race that gave us Bach, Wagner, Beethoven, Luther, Einstein, Alexander von Humboldt,Mozart, Bismarck, Fritz Haber, Leopold von Ranke. Goethe, Billy Wilder and Marlene Dietrich--astonishing and horrible to contemplate.
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