5.30.2007

ugh

Two stats, quoted in seperate posts on Hit and Run today:

"Fully 65% of Americans agree with the idea that, in general, corporations make too much profit..."

and

"...polls by Gallup that document whether Americans believe the Bible is the literal, inerrant word of God (31 percent), "the inspired word of God" (47 percent), or "a book of ancient fables, history and 'moral precepts' recorded by man" (17 percent)."

I've occasionally wondered whether, in the absence of a viable libertarian (or at least libertarianish) party in the U.S., whether it would be nearly as useful to gather the populists and fundamentalists under one party umbrella, so that at least we'd have someone to vote against consistently.

Based on these numbers, it seems the problem with that strategy is that such a party would likely win. A lot.

There really is no place in this world for those that believe in neither an omnipotent god nor an omnipotent state, is there?

7 comments:

chris said...

There's always the moon. Or remote parts of Montana.

Gino said...

i beleive the bible is the inerant, inspired word of God, as recorded through man, often times presented in the form of history, fables and moral precepts.

BOO!

Brian said...

Gino, your beliefs don't scare me.

You aren't in charge of anything...

Gino said...

yet.

RW said...

I think what's crazy, brian, is that we still don't understand our own country. Statism and literal Christianity are here to stay because they are the easy way out of everything, in my opinion. And that's all we have time for.

Brian said...

Once again, rw wins the thread!

Anonymous said...

People are idiots, present company included.

But their aggregate idiocy CAN be an unbiased determinant of what's "best." But it depends on new institutions that eliminate those biases.

The market for states is no different from the market for cars. You shouldn't need to understand cars to buy them and, in turn, motivate the creation of better cars. With a lack of competition, the answer for every problem is the private individual citizen's conception of the perfect government.

Which ends up looking a lot like Homer's perfect car. Idiotic.

The problem is that the hubris that comes from rejecting belief in God motivates belief in man.

There is a middle way - but the Dawkins-parroting Humanists want no part of it. Because it is cynical and nihilistic and has little to recommend it except that it pisses off self-righteous assholes.

Man is stupid and violent but, under the proper institutional conditions, can have this industry directed in a way that makes everyone better off.

Of course - I am only one man.

And this is the best of all possible worlds. LOL