Re: Distribution & Redistribution

From: michael price (nini_pad_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 11/30/04 

Date: 29 Nov 2004 21:40:41 -0800

Ron Allen <rallen2@bellsouth.net> wrote in message news:<HA6od.37270$jE2.29305@bignews4.bellsouth.net>...
> Ron Allen wrote:
> > So, let's see if we understand your point: The
> > fact that a small minority of people kills other
> > people means that a democratic and libertarian
> > polity is impossible?
>
>
> Robert J. Kolker wrote:
> > Not at all. I am just pointing out that goodness
> > does not come naturally for some. Most people do
> > not commit murder because they are afraid of the
> > consequences (and it is good that there are dire
> > consequences, else we would all be wading in
> > blood). The relative rarity of evil acts is no
> > evidence of goodness. It could just as easily be
> > a lack of courage or a lack of desparation.
>
>
> Ron Allen answers:
> The relative rarity of evil acts is some evidence
> of a relative frequency, a relative habit of good
> acts. Goodness is more a regular habit of conduct
> than evil. There is an abundance of good behavior
> that goes unreported and unnoticed. Evil behavior
> shocks us, and gets our attention. Good behavior
> bores us, and gets our indifference.
>
  But good behaviour is generally more profitable
than evil. Killing your baker and taking his bread
is rare because it has costs, working hard to earn
the money to buy the bread does not. Giving money
to charity has social benefits, stealling from the
church plate has social costs. To really measure
whether people are good or evil it would be neccesary
to observe their actions where the costs for good and
evil acts are about equal. In general I've observed
people are evil quite a lot of the time in that context.
The Stanford prison guard experiment supports this view.
http://www.holah.karoo.net/zimbardo.htm
>
> <><><><><><><><><><>
>
> "Security comes from ownership."
> -- George W. Bush (11/04/2004)

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