From: Dehede011@aol.com
Date: Thu Oct 03 2002 - 13:04:28 MDT
In a message dated 10/3/2002 1:22:04 PM Central Standard Time, hal@finney.org
writes: What I see happening is that this time, it is conservatives who are
starting out on the wrong side of this issue. It is they who are supporting
the state and society, in opposition to supporting the rights and empowerment
of the individual. Conservatives want to set up commisions to decide what is
allowed and disallowed; they want to look to social conventions and
traditions to control what people can do with their lives. They want to
restrict research and to disallow experimentation with new technologies.
They want to use government to control individuals.
Then Hal added, "I think James is right on the money when he says,
"The concept of the dignity of every person must then mean that we want every
individual
to have the freedoms of nobles, rather than the constraints of serfs."
That's exactly the sentiment which can be successful in overcome the
collectivist urges of the conservatives. The question is whether liberals
and "progressives" are willing to adopt this position which goes back to
their classical roots, in opposition to much of modern-day socialist-flavored
liberalism.
Hal,
It seems to me that we need to clarify the terms Liberal, Progressive,
& Conservative among others.
When you say Liberal I assume you mean the term taken on as a self
description by the socialist movement late in the nineteenth century as
described by Von Hayek in his book The Road to Serfdom.
I have never heard Progressive defined but it seems to carry roughly
the same meaning as Liberal that is to say some kind of a member of the broad
socialist moverment.
I don't have but the roughest of ideas as to what a Conservative is.
If there is such a thing as a Conservative I suspect if really should be
written as conservative meaning a broadly defined group of ideas the same as
I wrote socialist.
I quoted you above making some charges against conservatives. I need
for you to more sharply define those before I could ever tell you whether I
agreed, disagreed or required more discussion.
Sorry to be so negative but I am trying without success to understand
you.
Ron h.
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