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thewashingtonian -> RE: Political Philosophy (4/2/2010 7:44:57 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: MrRodgers
quote:
ORIGINAL: NorthernGent
Typically English....and what I would call realistic....but then I would say that as I wouldn't call myself a proper idiot dreaming about the improbable.
Anyway.....
What does the experience of human nature tell you?
That we are more civilised today than we have ever been.
What is the political climate that allows for that?
We need an appeal.....most of us hate absolutism......but we need a ruler.....most of us will accept the laws of the land.
So we are happy to submit but only where our voices are heard.....meaning Communism/Fascism/Libertarianism are not for the long term but Liberalism and Conservatism are....which I suppose is borne out by the fact that Western societies are not ran by the fringes.
Me......there ain't much about me that isn't liberal....and I think libertarians are dreamers and have much more in common with communists than they do conservatives.
There is much mythology about libertarianism as they have nothing at all in common with communists. Communism is an economic system called collectivism under the ownership of the govt. Libertarianism is the antithesis of communism in its requirement and properly so, in one responsibility of govt.,...the protection of private property.
My only real problem is their living in the Ayn Rand world of Laissez Faire capitalism where 'there are no [socialogical] truths discovered...not in an exchange of wealth in the pursuit of a profit.'
What the libertarian fails to recognize is that in addition to one of the so-called 'evil' necessities of govt., protecting the citizen from the power of govt. and thus believe in limited federal govt. power but also to protect the people from the power of business and its obvious potential for greed and corruption.
You know, it's funny you should mention that because I was just discussing the same with with a friend of mine who is a Marxist. Communists and libertarians really aren't too different. I think, in essence, we both want the same thing, and that's equal freedom between all peoples and an honest government.
Your last statement is where the real crux is. Power, corruption, and greed is going to come from somewhere, either from business or government. I believe, though, with strong willed nation, we can stand up to either and both. In regards to business, we can simply stop buying from whoever we see unfit to sell the public anything and with the government, we can elect incompetent politicians out of office while electing someone more suited for the job. It's all just a matter of society realizing this, which it hasn't yet.
Also, I do believe there is a VERY, VERY limited role the government should play in commerce. In a political science class I took recently, I found that Adam Smith had the best idea (in my mind) for how the government should engage. Basically, the government should behave like a soccer referee in commerce. He doesn't play the game nor is he all that active in the game's activities, but if there is wrong doing (i.e. the establishment of monopolies), the government does have the responsibility to step in and make things right.
Apart from that, it should be up to us. We the people need to shoulder our own responsibilities in the world of politics and business. We have the power to end companies and "strong" political figures. Most of us just don't realize it and many of us just don't care.
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