The vast majority of large, organized human societies in history have been near-totalitarian dictatorships of one form or another, where the role of the average person was absolute subservience to the ruler or the State.
It's easy to believe that democracy and individual rights are the "norm" when one has lived his entire life under such a system, but in fact they are very fragile institutions. For a long time this past century it was threatened by one form of totalitarianism, and now is threatened by another. The philosophies are different in their externalities, but the end result is the same.
I have had difficulty taking anyone seriously who has been fretting about Pat Robertson taking over the country while blissfully ignoring the real theocratic threat facing Western civilization around the world.
Collectivism is a real term. It goes back to Hayek and a lot further.
Off Topic » in reply to My turn: Oh, come on
re: My turn
The whole thread (40 posts)
- 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama
- Thanks, Lindy
- People are stupid
- Wrong.
- Yes, there are worse ways to live.
- Excellent, Eri (n/t)
- Religions suck. They all either passively or actively discourage learning. (n/t)