From: Wim Nusselder (wim.nusselder@antenna.nl)
Date: Thu Apr 15 2004 - 07:30:33 BST
Dear Platt,
You wrote 4 Apr 2004 10:02:45 -0400:
'Since we're all handed a set of cultural glasses, it's not surprising that
you would view our situation here in the U.S (and vice-versa) differently
than we do ourselves.'
Can you recognize that I have been trying to look at both the US and
Europe/Netherlands without cultural glasses but with descriptions of
'liberal' and 'conservative' that stay as close as possible to their literal
meaning instead?
You ended with:
'Incidentally, that "Political Compass" that DMB and others have referred to
is flawed. The lower left quadrant consisting of collectivist anarchists is
an oxymoron. Political collectivism cannot exist without coercion.'
The questionnaire constituting the Political Compass
(www.politicalcompass.org) didn't measure economical 'left' and 'right' (the
horizontal coordinates) as collectivism versus individualism. The analysis
attached describes them as state planning of the economy versus deregulated
economy. Gandhi, Mandela, the Dalai Lama, David B. and I are all somewhere
in the middle of the lower-left quadrant. We favour some, but not extreme
individual freedom (anarchy). We favour some, but not all-encompassing state
planning in the economic realm. Surely the state can plan without coercing?
If you agree that some taxes are necessary (if only to pay for defense
efforts), these taxes can be directed to stimulate desirable and
discouraging harmful economic practices, can't they? What's harmful and
desirable being determined with democratic methods with all kinds of checks
and balances that prevent mobocracy, of course.
With friendly greetings,
Wim
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