John,
That everyone values his own existence (except certain poor souls who in
unbearable psychic pain choose to commit suicide} is one of those givens we
can all agree on (except certain Islamic fundamentalists who eagerly blow
themselves up in the belief of being rewarded with eternal sexual
pleasures.) How the desire for personal survival leads to socialism I'm at a
loss to fathom unless one is permanently stuck in a juvenile desire for
motherly care, refusing to take personal responsibility for one's own
decisions. Perhaps you could explain the cause-effect sequence that
inevitably results in an authoritarian government.
I agree we ought to focus on quality of life that above all requires
individual freedom made possible by societal rules that protect individual
rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion,
trial by jury, etc that the MOQ cites as intellectual values. All else is
secondary.
Platt.
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Carl" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 9:48 PM
Subject: Re: [MD] How far do you go to preserve individual life?
Platt,
I take a bit of an adage to heart here, "render unto Ceasar what is
Ceasar's". Society has a vested interest in working out these problems, and
thus it does. but intellectual criticism and analysis helps us figure out
what kind of society we want, and how to get there.
I've raised the issue with you before, that over emphasis upon individual
rights leads to a socialistic politics. It's the absolutization of self, in
the end, that creates the problems. Every self values his or her own
existence, infinitely. And in projecting his own angst into the political
social realm, creates a lose/lose pattern. Because no matter what we do, we
all die in the end anyway. We should focus more on Quality of life, rather
than quantity. That's the most effecient use of our medical resources, imo.
John
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