To: one_less who wrote (45137 ) 5/5/2004 4:44:45 PM From: TigerPaw Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 89467 Like I said, I rest my case.. My comments were based on what Laz wrote. You seem to be claiming that Laz meant something other than what he wrote. Laz claims to be a libertarian Are you trying to claim that Laz is a practitioner of hidden meanings, such as the neocon deceptions taught by Leo Strauss? . <font color=purple>It's hardly surprising then why Strauss is so popular in an administration obsessed with secrecy, especially when it comes to matters of foreign policy. Not only did Strauss have few qualms about using deception in politics, he saw it as a necessity. While professing deep respect for American democracy, Strauss believed that societies should be hierarchical – divided between an elite who should lead, and the masses who should follow. But unlike fellow elitists like Plato, he was less concerned with the moral character of these leaders. According to Shadia Drury, who teaches politics at the University of Calgary, Strauss believed that "those who are fit to rule are those who realize there is no morality and that there is only one natural right – the right of the superior to rule over the inferior." This dichotomy requires "perpetual deception" between the rulers and the ruled, according to Drury. Robert Locke, another Strauss analyst says,"The people are told what they need to know and no more." While the elite few are capable of absorbing the absence of any moral truth, Strauss thought, the masses could not cope. If exposed to the absence of absolute truth, they would quickly fall into nihilism or anarchy, according to Drury, author of 'Leo Strauss and the American Right' (St. Martin's 1999). </font>alternet.org TP