"Job 1 for any liberal is to prevent the greedy and evil amongst us from destroying us all."

[MrScorpio]

MrScorpio
29 Jul 2010

[Oregone]

1. I thought it was to unquestionably support the lesser of the evil political organizations

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. The centrists can keep that job.

[dtexdem]

3. Job 2 is to prevent the greedy and evil amongst us from destroying some of us.

Job 3 is to prevent the greedy and evil amongst us from harming some or all of us.

And so on.

[The Traveler]

4. Job 2: Treat the damage done by years of benign neglect

The middle class is shrinking, and that isn't because so many of us middle class types are becoming rich. In our lower economic classes, we see that educational and economic opportunities have long been rare and are now rapidly disappearing. Concerns about economic justice aside ... this is a huge waste of human potential, and it implies a vast sea of unnecessary suffering. It is all well and good to talk about investing in physical infrastructure ... but we also need to invest in our people.

[LatteLibertine]

5. I'm not sure

how one will do this without power or a platform to at least voice opposition.

How do you propose we inhibit the most wealthy sociopaths among us without political power?

What do the middle class and poor have besides their vote?

My point is if we embrace the temptation to disengage from the political process because we may be frustrated, we pretty much surrender the bulk of our power.

[MrScorpio]

8. We do so by any means necessary

Is there the possibility of some kind of onset of liberal tyranny to replace the tyranny of greed and evil that we're living under today?

Perhaps.

But in the balancing of things through a struggle, by applying the rules of what we know is correct and true, we could achieve equilibrium.

With that, equality is achievable and power shared.

But most off all, we must be teachers and expect those that we teach use our lessons for the best outcomes.

[WingDinger]

6. Hell yeah.

[Ozymanithrax]

7. The aim of liberalism is to preserve individual rights and maximize freedom of choice.

Liberalism retains a faith in the possibilities of positive improvement in present social conditions. It emphasis's equal rights of all rather than privilege rights of money. It advocates a government responsive to its citizens dedicated to the public good and providing to citizens needs rather than a government serving the needs of power. With its emphasis on individuality, liberalism is not socialism, though political policies using socialist inspired programs are welcome when they enhance individual freedoms.

What liberalism is not is a semi-militant ideology created to battle the forces of the greedy and evil. Indeed, with its emphasis on individualism and individual rights, liberalism is not at all opposed to the acquisition of money, though it does oppose placing power exclusively in the hands of those with money.

[MrScorpio]

9. When considering the ends vs. the means...

Both depictions may not be too far apart at all

[Ozymanithrax]

10. If one accepts that the end justifies the means, then any excess is justified...

it is OK to sacrifice a few or a million, if the end is good enough.

I have never believed the end justifies the means. There are no martyrs, only victims.