> > >Platt > > Because liberty was more precious than life itself, for themselves > > and their families. > > Platt > I think the liberty you speak of is a modern concept. Life and survival ( > shelter and food) were a higher priority for the first few thoudsands > years. The liberty you speak of only came a bout the last few hundred > years.
Yes, a modern concept that arose with the moral dominance of the intellectual level that sanctions an individual's right to seek his own happiness instead of being compelled to sacrifice for the happiness of others. Today, the war between social level collectivism (religious fanaticism and national socialism) and intellectual level liberty (individual liberty and free markets) is still being fought with the outcome in doubt. The "mixed capitalist system" we live under today is compromise between the two forces. Like all compromises, it satisfies few and is thus vulnerable to the brutal righteousness of fundamentalist religious believers. One need only witness the vacillations of the Bush administration to experience first hand the battle between individual liberty (war against terrorism) and the collectivist demand to sacrifice for the "greater good" (immigration reform). The history of the 20th century was the victory of intellectual level over the forces of socialism and communism. The history of the 21st century will be about whether that victory was sustained. 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/
