Re: The Violence Solution

Hara Ra (harara@shamanics.com)
Thu, 01 Jan 1998 13:55:42 -0800

dalec@socrates.berkeley.edu wrote:
>
> On Wed, 31 Dec 1997, Hara Ra wrote:
>
> > How about eliminating "government" and privatising its functions. Can
> > you say the word "libertarian"??
>
> I'd rather not. We need a more nuanced understanding of the social and
> political institutions necessary to maintain civilization in the face of
> the future (can you say the word singularity?) than libertarianism tends
> to provide, imho.

(ahem) My reply was mostly to Mr Genen, and I didn't want to confuse the
issue with details.... Maybe we need something like "postlibertarian" or
even "extroliberterian" ...

> Smash the state, sure, but then what? While
> privatizing and pluralizing functions presently performed (mostly
> brutally, always badly) by monolithic governments will definitely
> eliminate the State, nothing will eliminate government.

There are perhaps some functions that governments do now which may still
be best done by a government. I am not well read enough on privatization
to really argue this. There may be some global regulatory and military
functions which suit a governmental model. Others on this list are
invited to comment.

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| Hara Ra <harara@shamanics.com> |
| Box 8334 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 |
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