Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 8/23/84; site ucbcad.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!ucbvax!ucbcad!faustus From: faustus@ucbcad.UUCP Newsgroups: net.politics Subject: Re: Re: Re: Exactamoondo! Message-ID: <51@ucbcad.UUCP> Date: Mon, 7-Jan-85 16:11:33 EST Article-I.D.: ucbcad.51 Posted: Mon Jan 7 16:11:33 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 9-Jan-85 02:17:11 EST References: <2148@umcp-cs.UUCP> <1468@ihuxl.UUCP>, <40@ucbcad.UUCP> <622@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA> Organization: UC Berkeley CAD Group, Berkeley, CA Lines: 34 > Wayne - > > You asked two different questions, so you deserve two different answers. > > First, "the will of the majority." Said will changes, and is not an always > good. Two examples: Slavery in the US. That was the will of the majority, but > was it good? Second, if two people decide that a third persons money should > be redistributed, that makes them a majority. This is normally called theft. > Why should the numbers being 2 million and 1 million make things any > different? The point is that if the majority believe that you should not have rights, your beliefs on how government should be run won't make much difference. The part of society that has the most power, which is generally the majority, will be the one to say what the government is like. Before the middle of the 19th century, most people believed in slavery, or at least believed in letting other people practice it. After the Civil War, the majority believed that slavery shouldn't be continued, and it wasn't. If you are going to start to argue about what is GOOD, I hope that you can provide a proper definition of the word so that we know what you are really talking about... > Now, "only when the situation justifies it." We are now getting to the > heart of the matter. *How* do you decide that "the situation justifies > it?" If everybody thought it was justified, then you shouldn't need to > coerce anybody. If somebody thinks it isn't justified, how do you decide > who is right? Majority rule? Or maybe you believe in an "Absolute Good" > that you can use to make the decision? I think majority rule should do fine. In any case, if the majority want something, they are going to get it, no matter how right your political views are... Wayne