What is your ideal political structure?

[fullmetaljesus]

Ideal structure?

Me being supreme leader of the U.S.A.

There would be some pretty wild changes.

 

[oze]

...Snip...

Just recently I talked to one of the smartest people I know, and he described how our initial idea of Republic has been degraded by universal vote and degradation into democracy. When people who own nothing can vote themselves money at the expense of others, the state goes down.

...Snip

I'm actually surprised to realize that this makes perfect sense to me. Only landowners, that is, those with everything to lose, get to vote. Earmarks, handouts and pork spending would end overnight. This makes me happy.

 

[jamil]

I've spent about 20 years now, trying to figure out where I REALLY stand politically.

I don't fit in well amongst progressives (at all) but I don't fit in amongst conservatives either once we get past the first level of "small gov, low taxes" talk.

In college, I was pretty intrigued by the "crunchy con" movement. (Conservatives that care about the environment etc). I also read a lot of Pat Buchanan during this time, thinking myself to be a paleocon...but what exactly are we conserving at this point?

Ron/Rand Paul made a lot of sense to me with some of the libertarian arguments, although amongst hardcore libertarians...they viewed me as too conservative (I'm like...kind of against people murdering their unborn children you know).

Once I came to saving faith, I started exploring theonomy/theocracy but didn't really fall cleanly into any of those camps either.

What I have resolved...we shouldn't all be voting equally, that much I'm sure of. I'm 100% against pure unfiltered democracy.

What I'm left with is kind of oscillating between a sort of republican monarchy and a Christian libertarianism. (yeah I know)

Your thoughts?

Best? I think what we have is pretty good, at least in terms of what the US constitution describes. But, if I were to criticize what we have I would say the US constitution doesn’t protect against crony capitalism enough.

 

[jamil]

I'm actually surprised to realize that this makes perfect sense to me. Only landowners, that is, those with everything to lose, get to vote. Earmarks, handouts and pork spending would end overnight. This makes me happy.

Nope. Owning real property doesn’t make one uniquely vulnerable to losing something they have a right to.

 

[Ark]

Politics is downstream of culture and no political structure can protect human rights in the face of a culture that doesn't value them.

The ideal is a dictatorship of rights preservation, and a culture that deposes any dictator who fails to adequately preserve rights. In the real world you don't get that, at least not in perpetuity, so we came up with a checks system. But checks don't work when the entire culture agrees that rights don't exist.

 

[jamil]

Politics is downstream of culture and no political structure can protect human rights in the face of a culture that doesn't value them.

The ideal is a dictatorship of rights preservation, and a culture that deposes any dictator who fails to adequately preserve rights. In the real world you don't get that, at least not in perpetuity, so we came up with a checks system. But checks don't work when the entire culture agrees that rights don't exist.

I mostly agree about culture. I suppose the question we're trying to answer is more of a practical one. A benevolent dictator isn't very realistic.

I think in terms of culture, America got too caught up in pursuing the American dream to figure out that the radical left was working to transform culture into something that could wipe out that dream and create a completely different one. The dream of equity. That culture is based on ********.

 

[Ark]

I mostly agree about culture. I suppose the question we're trying to answer is more of a practical one. A benevolent dictator isn't very realistic.

I think in terms of culture, America got too caught up in pursuing the American dream to figure out that the radical left was working to transform culture into something that could wipe out that dream and create a completely different one. The dream of equity. That culture is based on ********.

Yeah my answer is "I don't have an answer". No system can impose rights in the face of a culture that doesn't value them. Not in the long run, anyway.

The ideal system is the one that consistently, long term instills rights as an overwhelming, universal cultural value. I would say our system was a very good try but appears to be failing.

 

[BigRed]

Anarcho-capitalism.

Anarcho-capitalism - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[BigRed]

Ideal structure?

Me being supreme leader of the U.S.A.

There would be some pretty wild changes.

What could go wrong?

 

[jsx1043]

Is sitting on a throne made of the skulls of your vanquished enemies in the running?

 

[fullmetaljesus]

What could go wrong?

Wwfmjd?

 

[wtburnette]

Yeah my answer is "I don't have an answer". No system can impose rights in the face of a culture that doesn't value them. Not in the long run, anyway.

The ideal system is the one that consistently, long term instills rights as an overwhelming, universal cultural value. I would say our system was a very good try but appears to be failing.

We've found that a small, fringe group and eat the system from within and corrupt everything of value, even though the vast majority prefer the unique system we had in place.

 

[jamil]

Anarcho-capitalism.

Anarcho-capitalism - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Anarcho capitalism is impossible. It is incompatible with human nature. Don’t get me wrong. I wish it could work as well as the deluded inventors of it dream it would. That would be swell.

 

[jake blue]

Anarcho capitalism is impossible. It is incompatible with human nature. Don’t get me wrong. I wish it could work as well as the deluded inventors of it dream it would. That would be swell.

Yup but that's the same flaw in every government system. Humans screw up everything!

 

[jamil]

Yup but that's the same flaw in every government system. Humans screw up everything!

Not quite everything.

Apple Pie. I rest my case.

 

[jake blue]

Not quite everything.

Apple Pie. I rest my case.

You've never seen me in a kitchen!

 

[jamil]

It’s the invention of apple pie that is an important contribution of humanity even though some instantiations may fall short of the glory.

 

[wtburnette]

It’s the invention of apple pie that is an important contribution of humanity even though some instantiations may fall short of the glory.

As much as I love chocolate, apple pie ala mode is perhaps the world's best dessert IMO. Of course, I like a well done peach cobbler almost as much...

 

[jamil]

Not much in life is better than Graeter’s strawberry ice cream with hot fudge. But. One place vanilla ice cream is better, is on fresh apple apple pie still warm from the oven.

 

[wtburnette]

Not much in life is better than Graeter’s strawberry ice cream with hot fudge. But. One place vanilla ice cream is better, is on fresh apple apple pie still warm from the oven.

My preference is Dutch apple, or as my Mom called it streusel top.