re: re: It all depends on what the meaning of 'works' is
You're right, we've drifted way off topic. Thing is, I don't think we have a really appropriate board for this. It's not Current, yet Off-Topic is something of a contradiction in terms--off-topic with relation to what? I wonder if we need a board for more timeless, philosophical discussions? "Background"? "The Meaning of Life"?
A few points before wrapping up:
people who are generally economically conservative, but are still convinced that without government managing the economy to a great extent, an economy could not function.
Some feedback: It can be an impediment to discussion to characterize an opponent's position in a melodramatic way. I talked about the idea that narrow segments of an economy could benefit from "light intervention". That's rather a far cry from "without government managing the economy to a great extent, an economy could not function".
What I am finding fascinating is how deeply the idea of using government force to provide things is now ingrained in even the most reasonable people, ones who would not qualify as socialist under almost any definition....I know people pushing for a Federal prescription drug program who would cut their right arm off before they went door to door to ask for money for Granny's pills. Somehow laundering it through the Treasury changes something. I'm not sure what.
The answer defines a deep philosophical divide. I think that what those notorious commies The Founding Fathers had in mind when they defined one of the basic duties of the government as being "to promote the general welfare" was the commons. I think that they, as keen students of human nature, recognized that a society built only on single-minded devotion to self-interest exclusively would be suboptimum, that it wouldn't do as right by everyone as a society with a government that addressed common concerns on behalf of the people as a whole. There's no disputing that the government has gone too far many times, but disagreeing over the proper balance doesn't invalidate what I see as a legitimate role for government in taking care of things that no individual would or could take care of.