From: Dehede011@aol.com
Date: Thu May 15 2003 - 12:37:08 MDT
In a message dated 5/15/2003 1:22:27 PM Central Standard Time,
samantha@objectent.com writes:
> Dehede011@aol.com wrote,>
> > I believe the socialists got term by going back and taking
> > it from the founding fathers in the American Revolution.
> > If so that is a clear case of using a label to attempt to
> > conceal.
>
> I think it is more likely that socialists and communists and even
> Nazis were probably more misguided then deliberately dishonest.
> Humans usually tend to believe in what they are doing, no matter
> how obviously wrong it seems to others. Where disagreements arise,
> it is human nature to assume the other side is deliberately being
> dishonest. "Never attribute to conspiracy that which is adequately
> explained by stupidity."
I think I am more likely to assume that true conspiracies are not the
norm and successful ones are fairly rare. I do however believe with Gatto we
can often explain events by referring to people with a shared bias.
In the case of socialists adopting the term liberal. I believe anyone
reading von Hayek's Road to Serfdom will find his discussion of how the
socialists in the 19th century adopted the term liberal to cover their true
colors. He lays out events at some length. As to their taking it from our
founding fathers and that era that was only my speculation. However until
the socialists adopted the term I believe "Liberal" was held in good repute.
At the lower levels I can easily accept that communists, socialists
and Nazis or Italian Fascists were only misguided. However at the highest
level my reading of history is that the communists and nazis were a criminal
organization bent on taking over a country to their own aggrandisement.
BTW, I wrote the 1st paragraph you quoted but I believe you will find
someone else wrote the second paragraph -- and very well too.
Ron h.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Thu May 15 2003 - 12:48:41 MDT