Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Let’s all sing “kumbaya”

In this post David Thompson neatly deconstructs a socialist professor’s airy/vacuous assumptions regarding society’s "duty" to the less fortunate.

It’s a fine read and, even better, it leads (in the comments) to this excellent essay "The road to hell..." where Freeborn John (Peter Risdon) illustrates and analyses the practical and logical flaws inherent in egalitarianism. Eg:
So deep is their assumption that egalitarianism is right, they will ultimately justify the principle on the grounds that it is a fundamental law of some kind. But it is not obvious to everyone that it is, or why it should be perceived to be at all desirable.
[...]
And this is the final problem with egalitarianism. It is totalitarian and, therefore, it is tyrannical. Totalitarianism holds that the state has the power to regulate human affairs, rather than make sure the drains work. It is noticeable, in fact, that under most totalitarian systems in the past the drains didn't work. Egalitarians, and totalitarians, hold that it is reasonable for an agent of the state to step between [citizens] at gunpoint, share it out as seems best to the agent, and imprison or shoot anyone who disagrees.It is almost funny that this notion is held by its adherents to be a moral good.

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