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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JF Quinnelly who wrote (13428)	10/11/1998 11:21:00 PM
From: Dayuhan	Respond to of 71178

<<the epistemological error of seeking to use the functions of physical science to describe human behavior.>> An error, certainly, from an epistemological perspective. But the theorem has a certain practical value. If you walk into an unfamiliar bar and strike someone soundly on the nose, the results are very nearly as predictable as the bounce of a ball. The same situation prevails between nations. <<I do question the Left's claims of higher virtue.>> Any discussion of virtue would be misplaced, as there is precious little to be found on either side. I was discussing the intelligence of subsidizing dictators and dope dealers as a way of resisting leftist encroachment. I think it was counterproductive and stupid. <<The Right never had political tourist vacations to support Somoza.>> No, they sent tens of millions of dollars instead, along with the occasional shipment of weapons, and a few "USAID advisers" in a "public safety" program, to give instruction on "interrogation techniques". If you were running a dictatorship, which would you rather have, a few ditzy Hollywood has-beens or a steady supply of cash and guns? <<they had no intention of having an election on their own.>> They would certainly have had one, but they wouldn't have lost.<g> I really don't know "what would have happened if...", I doubt that anyone does. But If Somoza had fallen several decades earlier - which he would surely have done without US support - the prospects for a clean transition to a new government would have been a great deal better, and a huge number of lives might have been saved. Speculation, obviously. But an interesting speculation. To even consider debating "relative morality" in a discussion of left vs. right is absurd. The morality of either side is proportional to the degree of ideological extremism. The more extreme the ideology, the less consideration given to morality. The equation does not change with the political direction. All ideologues who justify the means by the end are immoral. It's just easier to see the immorality of those we happen to disagree with. The leftist apologizes for the left and denounces the right, the rightist apologizes for the right and denounces the left. I really don't see any difference between the two. Steve