On Sat, Jul 18, 2009 at 1:47 AM, Doug Pensinger<brig...@zo.com> wrote: > No, what I believe is that regarding matters that effect a group of people > we often make better, more responsible choices when we act as a group rather > than as an individual. We are inherently selfish, but we understand that > selflessness is both more noble and more beneficial to the whole. Acting as > individuals we will tend towards selfishness; as a group, less so.
Perhaps that is true, in an ideal system. But in practice, in the situations we have been discussing, a group means politicians, lobbyists, and special interests, and a lot of decisions that are in the selfish interests of the politicians and those who can exert influence over the politicians. In reality, I don't think the group decisions are any less selfish than the individual ones, except perhaps in quite small groups where everyone knows everyone else. _______________________________________________ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
