The Two Boots of Authoritarianism

cyberclass.net ^ | 1/30/04 | Gary Lloyd

[tpaine]

Yep, we've all seen plenty of these political diagrams.. And they all point to the same conclusion.

It is radical politics, lead by zealots/fanatics of all stripes, left, right, authoritarian or libertarian, that cause all of our problems..

Finding a viable center is the hard part. For a few years, while we wrote a constitution & BOR's, we found it..

Too bad we couldn't keep it.

[tpaine]

Seriously? That post was pure straw..

I can see & understand most anything, except for your ludicrous attempts to make Adams morality remarks into advocating authoritarianism.

[yatros from flatwater]

The problem always becomes that of Tolkien's metaphor. No created being can wield absolute power - even with noblest intentions. "There is no one good", to quote a certain rabbi from Nazareth. Therefore, that government is best that governs [the] least [domain].

So... the original Thomas Paine was prescient... the Constitution was insufficient to restrain the weakness of men. Just as Israel demanded a king and suffered for it, our founders demanded a strong central government... We're simply witnessing the outcome of the law of "Nature's God".

[tpaine]

"No created being can wield absolute power - even with noblest intentions."

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That is why, constitutionally, we gave no beings in the USA absolute powers.

Some seem to think they have aquired them..
They will learn otherwise, the hard way.

[DoctorMichael]

"....we've all seen plenty of these political diagrams...."

'Models' (IF, of course, they're valid) merely help clarify a situation and provide a framework to (1) not only work under but (2) have a 'Predictive' power that can govern planning for the future.

"....Finding a viable center is the hard part...."

Eggs-act-lee!

Thanks for posting this article. I had not considered a 'Matrix Model' before. It WAS thought provoking.

[tpaine]

"Some men may promise to govern well, but make no mistake about it - they mean to govern."
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It must be impressed upon such men, -- that abusing the power to govern is not wise.

[tpaine]

Finding a viable center is the hard part. For a few years, while we wrote a constitution & BOR's, we found it..
Too bad we couldn't keep it.

Thanks for posting this article. I had not considered a 'Matrix Model' before. It WAS thought provoking.

Glad you liked it. Thanks for the bump.

[r9etb]

One last try, and then I'm giving up on you.

Too bad we couldn't keep it.

And why coulnd't we keep it? If you're going to toss out John Adams's formulation, then perhaps you can enlighten us as to what the real reason might be.

Why couldn't we keep it?

[tpaine]

Finding a viable center is the hard part. For a few years, while we wrote a constitution & BOR's, we found it.. Too bad we couldn't keep it.

And why couldn't we keep it? If you're going to toss out John Adams's formulation, then perhaps you can enlighten us as to what the real reason might be. Why couldn't we keep it?

Because we allowed partisan politics to rear its ugly head, imo..

In a free republic, political parties have to be, - obviously, - part of the process. How we can limit their power without limiting our freedom is the dilemma.
-- Because, imo, it is their powers which are driving our system into authoritarian socialism. The 'republocrat' majority rules.