Philosophy Now Forum

Observations: 1 Civilisation continues to become more sophisticated and so more complex. 2 As the complexity of any system increases it becomes progressively more difficult to manage effectively. Conjecture: Eventually the complexity of a society will become so great, that to have any chance of bein...

So, to continue my earlier example, who are you going to trust for advice on smoking, the government or the cigarette companies? My friend, there are far more channels of information than just the government and cigarette companies. Don't you think people have the ability to make their own decision...

I'm sorry, it's not the function of government to give anybody advice on anything. The great thing about advice is that it is not coercion. Having advice is empowering. As we all know: knowledge is power. One can follow it, do precisely the opposite, or recognise it is on an important enough subjec...

Proxies can handle defense (local, regional, continental), justice and restitution (maintenance of contract), and transport infrastructure and civil engineering (roadways and minimal 'planning'). ... Equality and "justice" (social) are best left for individuals to sort out amongst themsel...

I'm sorry, it's not the function of government to give anybody advice on anything. The great thing about advice is that it is not coercion. Having advice is empowering. As we all know: knowledge is power. One can follow it, do precisely the opposite, or recognise it is on an important enough subjec...

It's your thread, conceptualizer: what is government's purpose? In my opinion the role of government is to do things that can’t be done by smaller groups or would be better managed by the country as a whole. Some obvious examples: defence, equality, justice and restitution, standards, transport inf...

Well, this conversation is now strayed off topic. So to bring it back I have three questions for you all, please answer them briefly for now so we can get an overview: Are our current forms of government acceptable in their efficacy? Are they as good as we can make them? If they are not acceptable a...

Going on the replies so far socialism seems unpopular here. Oddly it is usually popular among the intelligentsia. It also seems people here are pessimistic about human nature and disparage altruism. Yet altruism is usually considered to be a positive quality. I think it is worth pointing out that pe...

"the country would still end up in a mess" no matter what system is adopted. Probably, but how much of a mess is important and so worth trying to minimise. It'll never happen, of course...too many expect (demand!) lots and lots from the other guy with 'governors' as the conduit for securi...

I voted 'other', that being: democracy is mob rule dolled up. I'm no more inclined to take orders from the crowd (we, the people) than the one (monarch). If I had the power: I'd strike 'governance' from the discussion and replace it with 'proxy hood'. Speaking only for me: as I assess myself and th...

Please explain why you think education it is a scam. I imagine you are referring to some mechanisms used to educate or biases applied to them rather than the value of knowing and understanding. The day education becomes synonymous with knowing and understanding, I'll retract my statement. Until the...

The question then occurs: is free-market capitalism causal for those living standards or just attendant and something else being causal, such as a good education system... Education is the biggest scam on Earth, well, not as big as patriotism and religion, but, you know, it's right up there. I can ...

At least the low cost way I propose reduces the corrupting effects of money. Sorry, money doesn't have corrupting effects, it's the lubricating oil of free-market capitalism, my friend, which has delivered the highest standard of living the world has ever known. Perhaps I would have been more accur...

The problem is that high-level government positions don't pay enough for qualified personnel, so these jobs are taken by people who are on an ego trip and don't care about the salary, and would even pay money to get the job. The same mindset can be said about all non-profit organizations. Regardles...

Well, let's see, you scored an A+ in socialism, but flunked human nature and free-market capitalism. Your comments imply you believe that this is a socialist idea, that people will not do anything without money as a motivator, and the idea is antithetical to free-market capitalism. The idea certain...