> I asked:
> > > Ian, what's your alternative to democracy as the main political
principle?
>
> He answers:
> >Hey, I'm with Churchill on this one.
>
> do you think that Churchill _really _ liked democracy?
=========
How's the quote go; "democracy is the worst form of government, except
for all the others?" Do you _really_ think I'm a fan of Churchillian
personalities?
>
> >Preference dynamics and transitivity paradoxes indicate the need
for
> >institutions that accommodate significant cultural change with
regards to
> >issues of negative and positive liberty. That just ain't happening
in the
> >US and libertarian and anarchistic attitudes towards institutions,
and
> >bureaucracy don't seem to appreciate the complexities of *very*
large
> >societies. Thus we get increasing attacks on our 18th century
defined
> >'sphere of liberty' despite a supposed anti-authoritarian 'pop
culture'.
>
> right, I guess.
>
> >Whether we should see democratic polities through the tropes of
irony,
> >tragedy or both is an open question; right now my money is
> >on tragedy. We can't even seem to agree on what liberty means
anymore, nor
> >even on whom shall 'have authority' to define it's scale and scope.
>
> the classic definition of a "tragedy" refers to a conflict between
two
> goods. To a large extent, the dominant trend in US society is backed
by the
> power of Organized Capital. That's hardly a good.
>
> Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
==============
Well if we're talking about the US state as captured by 'Organized
Capital'....They have their idea of liberty too.......There is a
tragic tension between liberty and property, always has been, always
will be as far as I can tell. There is also a tragic tension between
liberty and authority...Zoon politikon.....
Ian
