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From: dgary@ecsvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Were not drifting; were being tugged - (nf)
Message-ID: <3088@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 9-Aug-84 15:39:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.3088
Posted: Thu Aug  9 15:39:02 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 13-Aug-84 00:47:22 EDT
References: ism780b.55
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<>
>From: jim@ism780b.UUCP Wed Aug  8 00:31:13 1984
>Not *all* people have these problems.  The percentage of people which have
>these problems vary widely from society to society.  This is because *people
>are a product of their environment*.  This includes you.

Valid point.  It's interesting to look at crime statistics in various
countries.  Why is murder so much rarer in Switzerland than in Italy?
(Switzerland having much weaker gun laws to boot, I believe.)  And why
is the US rate of violent crime so high, in spite of our having the
largest portion of our population in prison of any Western democracy
(and someone correct me if that isn't true)?

>I am interested in discussing institutions and their effects on societies
>and the people who make them up, and ways of changing those institutions
>to achieve better societies.  I am tired of arguing with simplistic
>libertarians who have no philosophical depth.  Does anyone else out there
>have any constructive ideas?
>-- Jim Balter (ima!jim)

A little strongly stated, but I tend to concur.  Obtaining freedom is
loads harder than just putting limits on government.  Wish I could get
all Libertarians to read John Stuart Mill's On Liberty.  That may be
asking a lot from people who consider Ayn Rand a philosopher, however...
:->

D Gary Grady
Duke University Computation Center, Durham, NC  27706
(919) 684-4146
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