Re: Optimal level of socialism
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Originally Posted by imp
Cygnus:
Rights and freedoms are only useful if they benefit the nation state. Pure libertarianism results in a nation of wealthy gun owners that ultimately wind up very disappointed when a dictator runs tanks over their houses. I have similar comments for the socialists but I know that other people on the forum will present plenty of legitimate anti-socialist sentiment for me.
Are these rights and freedoms really removed by the state? They are willfully removed by a democracy, i.e. all the citizens, for the benefit of the nation state.
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Yes they are removed by the state as the state is the only source of coercive power. Now you can argue that the power is given to them by the people through democracy but in that case all you have is the tyranny of the masses. Which was the whole point of the bill of rights and the constitution - limiting the powers of government so that no matter what the masses thought certain rights of the minority could be maintained. The constitution however has been eroded greatly - the Kelo VS new London ruling by the supreme court is a prime example. Special interests rule in democracy.
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"Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end - Liberty is the only object which benefits all alike, and provokes no sincere opposition - The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. [I]Every class is unfit to govern[/I]. - Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Action
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