----- Original Message -----
From: "Gautam Mukunda" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2001 11:39 AM
Subject: Re: Respect for the founders of the US
> On Fri, 15 Jun 2001, Dan Minette wrote:
> > I have tremendous respect for the founders of this nation. But, you do
have
> > to remember that they were politicians, not theorists. I think much of
the
> > American mythology surrounding them actually decreases a true
appreciation
> > of their efforts. I am more than willing to accept that the founders of
> > this country had more than their narrow self interests at heart. I also
> > agree that they made a radical step. But, they did not make a full step
to
> > the democracy that we have today.
> > Dan M.
>
> Now, Dan, you know that saying something like this is waving a red flag in
> front of a bull :-)
Right, that's fine.
>Part of what makes the Founders so special is precisely that they were
theoreticians, >not just politicians.
Actually, I would argue that a Marxist concept would be useful here. I
didn't use it in my first post because it is a bit technical. It is pratix:
the concept of reducing theory to practical applications.
>In fact, three of the most important ideas in democratic political theory
were
> developed by the Founding Fathers, most specifically in the Federalist
> Papers - still the best explication and defense of republican government
> ever written.
Well, I'm not arguing that they were not good thinkers or writers. I'm
arguing that their unique ability is not their ability to theorize. The
French had plenty of good theoretical thinkers.
>When they wrote the American Constitution they
> created a government more similar to that of the Roman Republic than any
> other government in the world since the time of Augustus, but it wasn't
> terribly similar to that of Rome either - it was a largely original
> creation, and remains, in Harvey Mansfield's words, "the foremost creation
> of political science."
>
Well, I think our main disagreement here is the importance of theory vs. the
ability to actually craft something that works. IMHO, the amazing thing is
that they actually got the government to work. Indeed, I'd argue that their
main skill was experimental instead of theoretical. But, as an
experimentalist, I have a different bias than a theorist would. :-)
Dan M.
