Had never heard of agora, but I had thought of using townhall or village square rather than ecosystem when responding to you, so yes, I like that.
I didn't.
You need to live in a place like Palo Alto, then rural Idaho to really understand that. :)
I said that the agora works best where there are more people. I didn't speak to whether people living in low population rural areas were more or less libertarian than those in high density population areas.
We're talking about two different things.
Yes indeed. I still maintain that high population density tends to promote collective thinking, while when you live out of sight of any neighbors, as say the wheat farmers and cattle ranchers sprinkled through the rural areas around me, you tend to be more individualistic.
Perhaps that is the main difference between our views. I see libertarian as individualistic, which downplays interactions. You see libertarian as exchange of ideas, which depends on interactions. To me, its the self taught rancher who lives his life independently of the norms or considerations of anyone else. What is it to you?
BTW, it may well be that there are other factors at play, rather than just population density which causes this. Many rural areas have less racial diversity, and are more religiously conservative, both of which might make them less tolerant of freedom of expression. It is possible that a very homogenous city might be likewise inclined, but I don't know of any good examples of such. |
