Platt: I wonder how much freedom they had since their "lords" demanded > much of their produce. Also just to survive they had to work from dawn > to dusk doing backbreaking work, and their life expectancy was about > half of what it is today in modern societies. In the U.S. at least people > control their own lives more than at anytime in history. The > entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and well, although under the current > administration it is being slowly but surely smothered by increasing > government intrusion and interference. > > yeah, that feudalism is a bitch, no doubt. But nevertheless I disagree with one thing you said, digging ditches and working with your body isn't backbreaking work, it's backbuilding work. What really breaks your back is sitting all day, either at the wheel of a truck or in front of a computer terminal, I doubt there's anything worse. I'm thinking of the poor souls slogging away at the Crimson Permanent Assurance </Movie reference - Meaning of Life)
Something Rudy said to me recently was that he contemplated the fact that his people, the Tlingit, who are intelligent and inventive, hadn't anything close to the inventiveness of the victorian society which came and conquered N. America and he said he figures it was because his people didn't suffer enough. One man could gather enough in a day to feed 10 people for a week. Admittedly it was the Ecotopian coastal region, one of the richest ecosystems in the world, but I think he made a good point, the same as Pirsig, which is that suffering drives evolution. Personally, I think we've evolved enough now. I'm ready to stop suffering for a bit. Platt: > > > We agree that no economic system is perfect and that there will always > be biological criminals in government, the board rooms, and on the > factory floor who lie, cheat and steal. But given my druthers I would > rather be a a system that leans toward individual liberty than one that > leans toward government coercion and control. There are always those > who think they know what's best for others and are so sure of their > righteousness that they force obedience. That's when it's time to revolt, > as American colonists did in 1776.. Ok. I'm willing. I'll meet you at the barricades Platt. > Yes, except democracy unfettered can lead to disastrous consequences > as a lynch mob testifies. That's why the U.S. was set up as a republic > with checks and balances between governmental powers and > constitutional guarantees of individual liberty -- an intellectually > constructed system of governance on a moral basis I'd say. > > Agreed. But unfortunately the "moral basis" which you assert has been so severely undermined in the last three decades that the system has evolved to the point of collapse. An unforseen consequence of a values-free metaphysics dominating the halls of power. Oh well. Back to the drawing board! John the friendly agitator > All the best, > Platt > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
