> I agree. This is why I am a libertarian: because it is the direct logical
> conclusion of utilitarianism.
I see your point, defining the distinction between utilitarianism and egoism,
perhaps I am merely the victim of liberal memes which have pretty successfully
dovetailed utilitarianism and egoism in the minds of the general populace. THis
is something that has bothered me in the past. Perhaps we need to find or create
some good counter memes to promote....
> With regard to your point about authoritarianism, I'm sure most liberal
> proponents of this form of subjective truth claim to be moving towards
> ANARCHO-socialism, or "true" Communism, rather than authoritarian
> socialism; I am not so certain that they are completely wrong. Any
> thoughts on this matter would be appreciated.
While most armchair proponents of anarcho-socialism may have the wide eyed,
devoted beleif that they will wind up in an anarchical communist state, keep in
mind that both the Russians and Chinese thought the same thing prior to their
evolution, or at least included it in their propaganda. I think that it has been
repeatedly and sufficiently demonstrated in the dozens of failed communist
revolutions that while the rank and file may beleive this propaganda whole
heartedly, the hard core leadership of any such movement always tends to prefer
to grab power when it has been sufficiently demonstrated that most people do not
want to live in such an anarchical communist paradise. They find that they need
to shove it down people's throats at the point of a gun, or in the case of Pol
Pot, kill anyone at all who merely has the potential to think for themselves.
An afterthought: I noticed in the news that the IRA, while accepting the new
peace agreement, still maintains as its goal the eventual establishment of a
socialist state in Northern Ireland....I think that this is a good indicator of
their seriousness and honesty in regard to the current agreement...
-- TANSTAAFL!!! Michael Lorrey ------------------------------------------------------------ mailto:retroman@together.net Inventor of the Lorrey Drive MikeySoft: Graphic Design/Animation/Publishing/Engineering ------------------------------------------------------------ How many fnords did you see before breakfast today?