From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Mar 09 2003 - 21:13:06 GMT
Hi Steve, DMB, All:
> Platt, so I better understand what you mean by conservative, could you
> state your position on...
>
> Gay marriage
> Capital punishment
> Abortion rights
> Taxation on inherited wealth
> Liaise faire capitalism v mixed economy
Happy to oblige. I'm not in favor of gay marriages or death taxes. I am in
favor of capital punishment and the right to an abortion (but not funded
by the state) up to the time a fetus is capable of living outside the
womb. Finally, I favor capitalism vs. socialism (mixed economy) as
defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica Online:
Socialism is a system of social organization in which private property
and the distribution of income are subject to social control, rather than
to determination by individuals pursuing their own interests or by the
market forces of capitalism.
Capitalism, also called free market economy, or free enterprise
economy, is an economic system, dominant in the Western world since
the breakup of feudalism, in which most of the means of production are
privately owned and production is guided and income distributed largely
through the operation of markets.
For the rationale in favor of capitalism, I turn not only to Pirsig but to
Ayn Rand:
"In a capitalist society, all human relationships are voluntary. Men are
free to cooperate or not, to deal with another or not, as their own
individual judgments, convictions, and interests dictate. They can deal
with one another only in terms of and by means of reason, i.e., by
means of discussion, persuasion, and contractual agreement, by
voluntary choice to mutual benefit. The right to agree with others is not a
problem in any society; it is the right to disagree that is crucial. It is the
institution of private property that protects and implements the right to
disagree - and thus keeps the road open to man's most valuable
attribute: the creative mind" (Ayn Rand, in Capitalism, an Unknown
Ideal).
To see the MOQ connection, simply substitute "response to DQ" for
"the creative mind"
Platt
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