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Politics : Libertarian Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: chalu2 who wrote (4537)	12/6/2000 6:00:22 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 13060

You didn't say "better" or "best," though I might disagree with that. You said "freest, strongest, most open, prosperous and tolerant nation ever" Freest ever? Far from it. Many "primitive" cultures were far freer than we are. Start with the Aborigines in Australia and go from there. Strongest? In raw military power, yes. In relative military power -- being the strongest country in the then known world -- absolutely not. Rome. China in the dynasty period. England after the defeat of Napoleon. Even Japan at the start of WW II. Most open? You've got to be kidding. Most prosperous? Depends how you define prosperity. Total GNP today, probably. But not the highest average GNP or personal income, but back in history Italy in the Renaissance period may well beat us, and if you only include citizens (not slaves) in counting prosperity, many of the slave owning societies including Greece and Rome had much more leisure time for citizens than we have now. Most tolerant? HA. With our history of slavery, with neo-Nazi groups, with gays hung on fences and killed, with blacks dragged behind trucks, with abortion doctors murdered, with anybody possessing even a small amount of marijuana for personal use jailed, we are TOLERANT? Ha. Tell me you were kidding after all. I don't want to lose ALL my respect for your intelligence. Our country is Right now, as was pointed out, Nethert," though