Fintan, Diana and Squad, hello, all!
First, Fintan, permit me an aside. As I compose this I am listening to Paddy
Maloney and others play some really fine Celtic music. If nothing else, the
world owes the Celts thanks for their music. A Mhairi Bhoidheach, the song
playing as I type, is as fine a song as I've ever heard.
Now, back to morality and politics.
Sorry about that paragraph by paragraph rebuttal. I try not to do it very
often. It's too time consuming and sooner or later devolves into arguing over
minutiae.
One of the great accomplishments of the capitalist/republican system is the
fact that I, who would probably have to be considered as a member of the
economic underclass, have the time and means to study and discuss with you the
MOQ.
One of the things I think you overlook is the morality of our socio-economic
system.
The U.S. was never comfortable with imperialism. It was the basic decency of
the people of the U.S. and the role of the market economy that have curbed the
more egregious abuses of the market economy.
Slavery was abolished and discrimination officially ended not only because it
was held to be morally repugnant but because it makes no sense economically.
Partners in trade are much more preferable than subject colonies.
The military/industrial complex is still nominally under the control of the
people of the U.S. That doesn't mean that abuses don't occur. They are
correctable.
Aside to Diana: IMHO communism doesn't work. Period. Unless you somehow change
human nature it can't work. We have to be motivated by selfish interest at
least somewhat. It simply doesn't matter how much you care because the system
is too rigid to allow DQ. One of my favorite thought experiments is what would
happen if I was to become the dictator of the world. As enlightened as I am
;-) I never get it to work. At some point, the support structure of the
government overwhelms the ability of the state to compensate. The the
enlightened despot turns into a dictatorship of bureacracy.
Be well, all!
Don R. (drose)
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