Posted by
m0t0r1zed on Saturday, June 21, 2008 9:47:59 PM
ok, last cut 'n paste for a while at least ...
unicorns
oh, in regards to "multi-level utilitarianism" ... i am not describing a system of government as it "should be." i am describing how i believe it really is. all other systems of government are essentially works of fiction.
you can paint a horse white and glue a horn to its head and call it a unicorn, but it's still a horse. periodically, you will have to apply a fresh coat and reaffix the horn, if you want to maintain the illusion.
hmm, another analogy. founding a system of government on principles of "liberty," "equality," "justice," or "happiness" is about as rational as building a car that runs on liberty, equality, justice, or happiness instead of fuel.
for example, within systems of government, there are mechanisms for the balance of power. this really has nothing to do with liberty, equality, justice, or happiness. it is purely a mechanism to balance competing interests - to create relative stability among different branches of government. the individual's right to vote is meant as a mechanism to balance the competing interests (relative stability) of the individual vs. the interests of a higher level group.
government is made of concrete mechanisms. contraptions. constructs. devices. machines.
not disembodied, amorphous, ideological principles.
too much reliance on ideological principles or convoluted rationalizations have resulted in governments that do not function as they were intended. they drift further and further away from their ideological "foundations" because they are not rooted in reality.
in a single phrase, that "reality" would best be described as ... a multi-level competition for relative stability.
not quite as catchy as "give me liberty or give me death!"
oh well.