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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bearcatbob who wrote (116370)	7/23/2009 8:29:58 PM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 542060

Then, a response to the race horse analogy. That analogy expresses, about as well as I've seen, your libertarian convictions. You would benefit from reading Nozick's works. There is a deep literature on the pros and cons of that approach but Nozick is a terrific, if daunting, beginning. The basic thesis is that of the old cliche that the best government is the one that governs least, or in your case, is the "lightest". There is a phrase "the night watchman" government he uses to dramatize his notion. en.wikipedia.org. There are several problems with the theory: (1) it's a very bad fit for complex, modern societies in which a functioning, stable economy is central to all activities and thus requires both governmental regulation and management (the debate is really about just how heavy the touch, not the touch itself; your horse analogy assumes that the horse is best off without any weight); (2) it dismisses the importance of public functions such as schools, hospitals, and so on, banishing them to the private realm (Nozick explicitly disagrees with Michael Walzer on these points and, if you wish, I'll be happy to argue these points with you); (3) it doesn't address the degree to which the extremes of the business cycle generate human pools of suffering that, if not offered some safety net provisions (to push over to the side the human concern we should all have) can quickly aggregate into political discontent and other problems; and (4) any number of others. I would be happy to discuss any of these points, if you wish.

To: Bearcatbob who wrote (116370)	7/23/2009 9:06:51 PM
From: Mary Cluney	Respond to of 542060

<<<The concept is to think of the US economy as a race horse. If we add weight to the race horse it will slow down.>>> I think you need to hire a good trainer with a lot of good experience, feed the horse properly, give the horse good veterinary care, provide training facilities and proper exercise, provide decent transportation to near where the horse will race, and pay all the registration and entree fees before you can expect the horse to be competitive. All that cost money. Like anything else, like any business, you need to invest carefully if you want to be competitive. Give me some examples of where businesses florish without investments. Give me some examples where businesses florish without a strong government regulatory system. The only countries, outside of the US, where I would consider living are ountries that provide cradle to grave universal education and healthcare (eg, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Great Britain, Canada, and Switzerland, just to name a few off the top of my head). Look at the pictures of the crowds lining the streets for the Tour de France. People in those socialist countries seem to be happy.