> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of John D. Giorgis
> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2001 6:54 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Politicians
...
> >At 08:19 AM 3/8/01 -0800 Matt Grimaldi wrote:
> >That was never DB's position on republicans. He had said
> >that their methods were only able to solve a limited set
> >of problems.
>
> No....... David Brin has said repeatedly that Republicans have produced no
> major achievements since 1900. If you'd like I can dig up the quotes
(but
> I'm only going to put in the effort if you really don't believe me.)
Although I'll certainly believe that David has written things along those
lines, I'd also like to add that he certainly believes what Matt wrote. He,
Dave Holtzman (the other founder of Opion) and I had a fairly long
discussion about the kinds of problems that can be solved by "the left hand"
and "the right hand" just a few weeks ago. The overall idea is that the
right can solve structural problems and the left can react quickly to
crisis. It's important, I think, to remember that all of us have both of
these traits to some extent, which means all of us can, and do, do both.
Unfortunately, it's hard to give examples without invoking stereotypes. But
I will, anyway. Conservative-led welfare reform is a structural change
intended to reduce hunger, among other things. Liberal-led government food
programs don't address the structural problems, but they put food into
mouths. Both of these voices are important; when either one is ignored, we
don't get optimal systems. By optimal, in this case, I mean feeding the
hungry *now* and changing society in a way that has as few people as
possible on welfare. Structural changes take time; it's a mistake to treat
them as short-term solutions -- people go hungry. Short-term solutions feed
them, but it's a mistake to imagine that they solve the long-term structural
problem. David criticism is of those who reject one or the other entirely.
All that aside, I'm not suggesting this represents anyone's views of the
last few years of actual U.S. politics.
Nick
