Well, it seems that Calvin is getting the credit (blame?), but it was Hobbs who noted that life is 'nasty, brutish and short'.
I wonder what things would have been like if in fact Calvinists had been less fanatical. It was after the Restoration that Puritanism became a persecuted doctrine and thankfully we now live in a time when we don’t live in a society that forbids having a good time.
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The losers of the 17th century wars in Europe were the calvinists. They all migrated to America. At the time of the Revolution the Calvinists were the majority in the US population. (they quickly declined) Author of the US constitution and the federalists papers was James Madison—who was a thorough going Calvinist. The great contribution of the american constitution to the world is that it places checks and balances and limits on government—because as all Calvinists know — all men and women are naturally evil—including the bosses. And without constraints on their power—they will naturally run amok.
Every last stinkin' ONE of them??
Well, it seems that Calvin is getting the credit (blame?), but it was Hobbs who noted that life is 'nasty, brutish and short'.