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To: JF Quinnelly who wrote (27138)	6/2/1999 10:28:00 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 71178

I will have to deal with you somewhat severely...later<g>!

To: JF Quinnelly who wrote (27138)	6/2/1999 11:36:00 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71178

1.)The greater the degree of political interference in the economy, the less economic efficiency and the more diluted is consumer sovereignty; 2.) The politicization of an economic sector will increase the power of the most interested parties in the long run, who will use it to cartelize the sector, to the advantage of established firms and the detriment of competition and innovation; 3.) Therefore, government should regulate minimally, merely establishing "rules of the road" and helping with infra- structure, and should limit the use of taxes, tariffs, trade missions, and the like to favor certain outcomes, since they distort the price structure, which is the best means of determining the efficient allocation of resources. 1.) Self- government requires the discipline of the citizenry, to prevent the wholesale descent into faction, or the absorption in private pleasures to the detriment of public duties; 2.) Furthermore, at least a modicum of decency is required to maintain the level of political judgment necessary to elect candidates for office, and to discern the qualities necessary to make a good leader; 3.) Finally, it is necessary to limit the matters that are the subject of political debate, or the polity will never get beyond debates on first principles, or will deteriorate into civil strife. Therefore, there must be a substantial consensus underpinning public life, shared values that are not continually the subject of debate; 4.) Therefore, it is necessary to instill the values of our culture in our children, at home and in school, and to encourage self- discipline as a virtue, rather than glorifying self- expression and the attitude of "whatever floats your boat", and to uphold our fundamental values and the virtue of self- discipline in all relevant forums. 1.) It is more democratic to allow those who are most affected by policy decisions to make the decisions, as when imposing pollution controls on an area; 2.) It is not only more democratic, but it is more efficient, because those closest to the situation are in the best position to calculate trade- offs--- for example, a rich locale might be able to afford more stringent regulations than a poor one; 3.) Also, local control permits greater diversity among population centers, and therefore allows individuals to locate in the most congenial environment; 4.) Finally, such diversity permits a greater degree of policy experimentation, so that we have a better chance to see what works and what doesn't in such areas as crime control and education; 5.) Therefore, decisions should be made at the lowest level of government feasible, and only rise to the next level when it is unfeasible to contain them. And this is called the principle of subsidiarity. The previous argument goes with this as arguments for limited government, which virtually all Republicans subscribe to.

To: JF Quinnelly who wrote (27138)	6/3/1999 12:33:00 AM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 71178

Some observations from another thread: The modern world is characterized by a kind of traumatic blow to settled arrangements and traditional certainties, occasioned by varied processes, such as industrialization; urbanization; the revolution in science and technology; the breakdown of Christendom into competing sects and the making of civil peace through the quasi- secularization of society; and the radical questioning of the ground of knowledge and ethics into which philosophy fell. Conservatives cannot reverse these trends, but try to "ride the tiger", so to speak, affirming the continuities in our culture over the discontinuities, and taking a stand for maintaining human values. However, to do this properly it is necessary to realize how traumatic all of this has been, and in order to convey conservative insights to a larger audience it is necessary to appreciate that they inherited a bit of a mess, and that the mess is bigger than this generation, and part of something that transcends the responsibility of particular individuals, although it demands from us a response.... Patience is also a virtue. Trying to find the right way to make one's case, not because people are often persuaded easily, but because we frequently plant seeds that may germinate, is a worthwhile activity. Besides, we judge people differently according to the circumstances of their lives. How would you feel if you were to find out that someone whom you had condemned as a malcontent in high- school was subjected to intolerable abuse on a daily basis at home? On the other hand, how would you feel if you discovered that the person you had long admired as being the class success had been given unfair advantage due to his parents' wealth and connections, and as soon as he was on his own he had drifted into mediocrity or worse? We do not know most people terribly well, not even face to face, much less on the Net. When young, I was so habitually closed mouth about my family that I neglected to tell my future wife that I had a brother with cerebral palsy confined to a wheelchair although we had been going together for over a month. She found out when she met him. Thus, because I don't really know, I wish to be flexible in my dealings with people, and give them a chance... We are not self- creating, but work with what we have, both in terms of external opportunities, and the cultural traits and personality that have been shaped by experience. If we were not convinced that that were so, why take so much trouble to raise our children well? I believe in personal accountability, but I also believe that we have to weigh what people have done against the obstacles they have to overcome.... Just an observation about how we view people. We quite properly give more credit to someone who made a good life for himself and his family by hard work and with little help, then to someone who is rich, but squandered a good deal of his fortune in idle pursuits, neither building his character, nor caring particularly for others...