Interesting quote.

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How about this, a lame arrogant quote by a political moderate (defintion: a person who does not know their own political beliefs so they mindlessly take the middle ground on every political issue) who wants to feel superior over the conservatives and liberals by wrapping themselves in the cloak of being 'above the fray'...

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I am about the farthest thing from a political 'moderate' that you will ever meet in your life. I posted the quote to start a discussion.

Do you disagree? Do you think that political discourse in this country is productive?

I do not disagree with those posters who say that the substantial differences between the two parties are at quite possibly an all-time low. (Anyone who has read my posts on US politics in the past will recall this.) In fact, I don't think that negates the importance of the general rancor in political discourse at all. I think the important point about this appearance of divide and disagreement when the evidence points to the opposite is that the vast majority of people do not understand, recognize, or seriously consider the most important issues as they pertain to them. They are too busy arguing about what is basically two different approaches to late-stage capitalism; one that gives the poor a reach-around, and one that doesn't bother. Differences in foreign policy are similar; they are not moral arguments, but pragmatic ones, as both parties speak the language of US supremacy abroad.

The basic questions that society faces are, how will we produce and distribute wealth? Who is responsible for organizing wealth and who is responsible for organizing power? All of these questions have been answered long before we go to the polls.

Again, I'm not saying that differences don't exist, and that elections and other power struggles don't affect our lives in the long run. But people vastly overestimate the power of the American electorate to make quantifiable changes in their own daily lives, especially in predictable ways.

There is a lot more to this but I'll leave it there for now.

NT

[InchoateHand]

[ QUOTE ]
I am about the farthest thing from a political 'moderate' that you will ever meet in your life. I posted the quote to start a discussion.

Do you disagree? Do you think that political discourse in this country is productive?

I do not disagree with those posters who say that the substantial differences between the two parties are at quite possibly an all-time low. (Anyone who has read my posts on US politics in the past will recall this.) In fact, I don't think that negates the importance of the general rancor in political discourse at all. I think the important point about this appearance of divide and disagreement when the evidence points to the opposite is that the vast majority of people do not understand, recognize, or seriously consider the most important issues as they pertain to them. They are too busy arguing about what is basically two different approaches to late-stage capitalism; one that gives the poor a reach-around, and one that doesn't bother. Differences in foreign policy are similar; they are not moral arguments, but pragmatic ones, as both parties speak the language of US supremacy abroad.

The basic questions that society faces are, how will we produce and distribute wealth? Who is responsible for organizing wealth and who is responsible for organizing power? All of these questions have been answered long before we go to the polls.

Again, I'm not saying that differences don't exist, and that elections and other power struggles don't affect our lives in the long run. But people vastly overestimate the power of the American electorate to make quantifiable changes in their own daily lives, especially in predictable ways.

There is a lot more to this but I'll leave it there for now.

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[InchoateHand]

The fact that Zeno shares a name with the main character (whatever its historical pedigree) of a novel created by an illustrious French writer who was recently posthumously profiled by the NYT Magazine should cast some aspersions on his political character.

[Zeno]

Enjoyed your post. The following link is to a magazine that I subscribe to that usually has interesting and stimulating articles. Note the Autumn 2004 issue with the 'Politics as War' cover. Some very worthwhile reading in that issue, along with almost every other issue as well. Wilson Quarterly

If you do not wish to purchase the issue it should be available in any large library.

-Zeno

PS - Stoics are not scary. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[InchoateHand]

WQ is an excellent magazine---top notch policy analysis, well-rounded articles. I'm too cheap for my own subscription, but I get them all one month after the quarter from a family member.

[Zeno]

NYT magazine? French writer? A character named Zeno?

Here is something of much more interest Pantheism

Le Misanthrope

[InchoateHand]

I was just kidding---I'm loosely familir with the Stoic--in times of undue pressure my father always returns to Stoic philosophers, so they have been something of a constant in my life.

[MMMMMM]

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Both economically and militarily we will be China's bitches inside the next four decades. I'm hardly xenophobic, so I'll leave my value judgements out of this, but within most of our life times China will come to dominate the world stage. There is nothing that can stop this except the Chinese themselves, so I suggest others learn Mandarin.

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And you know all this...how?

[lastchance]

It's a guess, a prediction. China has a workforce, resources, and is really starting to get technology, infrastructure and capital. When you start to get all that, there is a large chance of major growth. Do you not agree China is a major threat to America's position as the main superpower?

[Il_Mostro]

Two words
peak oil

There ain't gonna be any superpowers soon enough. The next 40 years will be rough on the american public. As it will be on Europe, and most of the rest of the world.