Posted on 04/12/2020 11:58:01 AM PDT by semantic
Apologies for vanity beforehand - yes I pinged HG for the expected flagellation. Now, as for the main question: Which of these fundamental tenets of progressive socialism is an accepted position on FR? That is, which one of the following 7 bullet points is unlike the others?
“Gun violence is a human rights issue. Gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color, women and other marginalized groups in society. Gun control protects our most fundamental human right, the right to life.”
“From each according to his ability, to each according to their needs.”
"A society should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable."
"Taxes are the price of civilization."
"It takes a village to raise a child."
"Industrial civilization is fundamentally unsustainable. Deep green resistance (new deal) will dismantle in order to secure a livable future for all species on the planet."
Social shaming is a mechanism for conditioning individuals to subvert their desires for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the greater good. Who exactly defines what is the greater good, what metrics do they use to identify the greater good, and what kinds of enforcement mechanisms are at there disposal of government authorities to ensure compliance with directives aimed at achieving the greater good?
Oh, the answer is bullet point #4.
For your reading enjoyment.
Every one of these premises is arguable. They all seem to be looking for a collective answer to the problem they describe. The answers are seldom found at the collective level. Most of these issues can be traced back to individual shortcomings. Seek your answers there.
Dear departed father would quote that philosophy, whose roots are biblical. He was deeply troubled by what he saw during the depression and while spending time in India waiting to point out of the CBI theatre after WW2. Yes he was a New Deal FDR democrat in belief in social safety nets, but he was also fearful of social unrest from the unwashed masses.
The problem with #4 is who are considered "most vulnerable" and how there condition is supposed to "be treated".
Treating children as the most vulnerable is pretty reasonable.
Defining criminals and those who refuse to accept social norms, is not.
Demanding that those defined as vulnerable be able to change all of society to their whims is not a reasonable way for them "to be treated".
As is common with the left, they define words to mean what they want in order to use them against us.
Lots of laughs... Thanks for the “pickup”... {:-)
With respect to number 4....the vulnerable are best protected by allowing people to be free. This is true even as it relates to Corona. Allow herd immunity to take hold by removing prohibitions. This will protect the vulnerable who may voluntarily self quarantine in the interim.
I do not want socialism to spread just because of some communicable disease. As an anti-vaxxer I say it is your responsibility to vaccinate yourself and not my responsibility to get vaccinated to protect you. Our freedoms are on a real slippery slope these days.
OTOH a government is properly judged by how it treats everyone - since all are ultimately vulnerable in comparison with the government.Thus government is properly judged by its expense.
SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins.Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness;Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one . . .the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices.
The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions.
The first is a patron, the last a punisher.
For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest . . . — Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776)
"'It takes a village to raise a child.' It takes a president. It takes Bill Clinton.”—Hillary ClintonIt does take “a village” - society - to raise a child. But society and government are near opposites:
SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins.Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness;Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one . . .the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices.
The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions.
The first is a patron, the last a punisher.
For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest . . . — Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776)
I don’t think HG objects to vanities. What he does speak out about are people who use the posting policy of FreeRepublic to pimp their blogs for which they receive payment and FreeRepublic gets nada.
They’re all useless, inaccurate, and in some cases, dangerous generalizations, full of undefined terms.
Without first defining terms and agreeing on the definition, it is impossible to have a coherent and meaningful discussion.
This is a very common problem with today’s so-called “conversations”. Everybody goes with their definitions and you end up with the tower of Babel.
No, it’s #3 “From each according to his ability, to each according to their needs.”
This is the only purely Marxist slogan, the rest are variations on a theme.
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