Re: The Intellectual Origins Of America-Bashing By Lee Harris

From: joedees@bellsouth.net
Date: Tue 10 Dec 2002 - 18:14:11 GMT

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    > ----- Original Message -----
    > From: <joedees@bellsouth.net>
    > > > When you say it "works" or "doesn't work" what do you mean? What
    > > > does it do or doesn't do that you think it must do?
    > > >
    > > It provides those who adopt it with a higher average standard of
    > > living than other models, just as democracy provides citizens with a
    > > greater voice and more personal freedom than other models (at least
    > > than any alternatives that have been tried).
    >
    > i think that above and beyond all that (which is somewhat subjective,
    > wouldn't ya say?), capitalism and "democracy" (yet to be actually
    > implemented, wouldn't ya say?) "work" because they have the dynamic
    > capacity to adopt strategies "on the fly" to prevent other ideas from
    > gaining enough footing to replace them. the reason americans are
    > conned into making a duality (communist or capitalist, dictatorship or
    > democracy) is because it keeps out other ideas and prevents the
    > CREATION of new ones. it discourages, dissuades and otherwise destroys
    > competition. the only reason these two ideas stand at the forefront is
    > because they can infect more people, not because there is some
    > qualitative superiority inherent in them.
    >
    I would phrase it another way; these systems are perpetually evolutionary, and can change, in response to voter desires, to take advantage of the novel ideas and opportunities that the voters wish to implement. They are dynamic and evolutionary, rather than static and fixed, and engage in continuous elaboration and experimentation. Their futures are not dogmatically predetermined, so they can effectively respond to the unexpected exigencies of an unfolding history. And this is a GOOD thing.
    >
    > alfred
    >
    >
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