Re: An Open Letter To Open-Minded Progressives

"Sean O'Hara" <seanohara@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:67453mF2nchnmU2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> In the Year of the Earth Rat, the Great and Powerful skysi declared:
>> That kind of society would be free of cohersion, because everything
will 
>> revolve around reason, not special interests.
>
> Why are special interests distinct from reason? The goal of all special 
> interest groups is to maximize utility for themselves, which is I
consider 
> a reasonable goal.



I think he meant reason in the philosophical sense of the word -- reason 
(intellect) as opposed to instinct and emotion.

Speaking about interest groups, when there is a group of people or an 
individual who attempts to obtain/acquire something and accomplish this 
through invention, production, exchange, without resorting to activities 
detrimental to another group/individual, i.e. coercion/physical 
force/deceit/manipulation, I would call that attempt reasonable, because
it 
does not create an antagonism/conflict. This attempt, in my view, is also 
ethical because it's in agreement with "treat others as you want to be 
treated"



However, under the cir***stances where a group/individual makes the above 
attempt through the help of a third party, i.e. governmental structures, I

think we have an entirely different case. Government is there to serve the

people as a whole, not to give preferential treatments to groups. I'd say 
when government engages in this kind of activity it creates conflicts. How

reasonable is this? If you ask me, Special interest groups and lobbying
for 
special interests strike me as unreasonable (in the bigger sense of this 
word) and unethical.



 -- 
> Sean O'Hara <http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com>
> Flexo: Don't even bother. You people sicken me. I put my life on the
line 
> to guard that atom and this is how you repay me? Well you can go rot for

> all I care. Nah, I'm just kidding, you guys are alright.
>    -Futurama