Renting in the Peoples Republic of Seattle

[alebrewer]

Just a figure of speech. I'm getting to thinking about these issue less in terms of our own political parties and more in terms of what/how they're trying to exercise power. That balance between individual vs group interests.

well said. As much of a Libertarian as I am, I DO believe that there are proper roles of government into the market system. Primarily where there is potential for market failure (e.g. regulation of contracts, patents, etc.), and where there are indivisible goods - police protection, national defense, public road system, etc. As a citizen who is fairly altruistic, and who is a member of a VERY prosperous country, I personally believe there is also some mandate for the government to provide for, and protect, those who are incapable of adequate provision or protection, but that, too, is a slippery slope - as aptly evidenced by our own government.

 

[George Hatch]

To take the tangent a little further, I look around and see functioning societies all over the world, most operating with a more/less unique balance point in the spectrum

<-----group rights ---------------------individual rights---->

North Korea might be considered by many to be on the one side of that spectrum and Somalia might be on the other side with most other societies falling somewhere in between. To the extent that most of these societies are functional I think that demonstrates that most any combination can work if the people more/less support it. So maybe social cohesion is a bigger factor in getting to a civil society than ideological purity. People can and will put up with a totalitarian social order if they think it's in their interests to do so, whether that control is enforced by the state itself or by other social means such as the church or social media or nosy neighborhood cliques. The "mean girls" at high school trope would be an example of using social modes to coerce conformity.

 

[gregb]

<-----group rights ---------------------individual rights---->

or <----justice----------------------------freedom------->

 

[George Hatch]

I think the other end of the scale upon which justice rests is mercy. This is what is just vs this is what is merciful.