Are you a collectivist too? Did not the history of Russia, of Cambodia, of Red China, teach you anything?
Why do people "fudge," when discussing principles. You know perfectly well, "ends" is another word for "goals" or "aspirations," or "purposes," and what they are is dependent entirely on each individual. Goals and purposes pertain only to individuals, and every individual's purposes and goals are determined by that individual's best understanding of what is good and right for him. Do you want the government, the collective, the neighborhood, the "group" deciding what your goals and purposes should be, or do you want to be the only one that decides that, as you are directed by your best reason and your God?
(I do not believe "want" is a legitimate basis for determining what is right, and used that word above to mean, "believe it is what you should want,").
Hank
1. There are plenty of times in my life, when I did not understand what was good for me, and I did or perhaps did not have the opportunity to perceive it.
2. Since goals and purposes pertain only to individuals, I hope what I do in life blesses the most individuals in the greatest way.
Do you want the government, the collective, the neighborhood, the "group" deciding what your goals and purposes should be, or do you want to be the only one that decides that, as you are directed by your best reason and your God?
I want the latter within bounds (no shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, no murder, no owning things when it clearly doesn't benefit me or others, no thievery, etc.). I want pretty much what freedom we all may have to live and enjoy life (and it hurts me, BTW, when I see somone suffer unjustly or unnecessarily) within the order created by those we give the job to, to carry the sword officially and "who do not carry the sword for nothing."