Re: [asa] on the common good, and science

At 05:43 PM 1/26/2007, Janice Matchett wrote:

>At 05:27 PM 1/26/2007, David Opderbeck wrote:
>>But it can be responsible public policy to take things away from
>>people for the common good.
>>
>>Agreed. The idea that government regulation should never deprive
>>people of anything is not sustainable even under a strong
>>libertarian framework; even libertarians recognize that an
>>individual can be deprived of liberty or property to prevent a
>>greater harm to the liberty or property of others. I would go even
>>further and argue that the more nuanced libertarian principle --
>>government should not deprive people of anything that isn't clearly
>>harmful to others, even if it might be harmful to the user -- is
>>not always sustainable either. Curiously, however, liberals tend
>>to be communitarian when it comes to economic regulation but
>>libertarian when it comes to anything relating to sexuality (such
>>as porn and abortion), while mainstream conservates tend to flip these poles.
>
>@ "..S*cial*st systems above all treat men as pawns to be moved
>about by the authorities, or as children to be given what the rulers
>decide is good for them, or as serfs or slaves. The rulers begin by
>boasting about their compassion, which in any case is fraudulent,
>but after a time they drop this pretense which they find unnecessary
>for the maintenance of power. In all things they act on the
>presumption that they know best. Therefore they and their systems
>are morally stunted. Only the free system, the much assailed
>capitalism, is morally
>mature." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1352736/posts
>
>~ Janice

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Received on Fri Jan 26 18:00:26 2007