tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post6262032368608408405..comments2024-03-27T08:40:31.785-06:00Comments on Clayton Cramer.: Very Interesting Addition to my BlogrollClayton Cramerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-44601288707358773892012-04-18T12:53:54.311-06:002012-04-18T12:53:54.311-06:00Thanks for letting me know the Diplomad is back.Thanks for letting me know the Diplomad is back.Davehttp://aclassicalliberal.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-7561434778454332622012-04-17T17:19:03.143-06:002012-04-17T17:19:03.143-06:00In defense of Confucius, I read an article compari...In defense of Confucius, I read an article comparing his school of philosophy to that of the Taoists, and explained that Confucius's philosophy is more libertarian than we Westerners have been led to believe. Of course, both philosophies are thousands of years old, and both have been used to justify both freedom and tyranny over the centuries.<br /><br />If I recall correctly, the person discussing this pointed out that the current Chinese government has resurrected an ancient Chinese philosophy of Legalism, which is basically "Do as you're told, and have the harshest punishments for the slightest offences, because otherwise people will run amok." This philosophy has been mostly dormant, but for some reason I can't quite put my finger on, Communists find it very attractive.<br /><br />Indeed, it's <i>very</i> hard to imagine Legalism supporting any form of liberty.<br /><br />Of course, there's an interesting story of why the philosophy fell out of vogue. It is said that a group of soldiers, marching to the Capitol to report for fighting in a war, were delayed by a tree that fell onto the road, said to themselves, "We're going to be executed for being late...and we'd be executed if we were caught as traitors...so we might as well betray our government, and overthrow it or die trying!" As they approached the Capitol, and people learned of their intentions, their group grew larger and larger until they were big enough to just overthrow the government with ease.Epsilon Givenhttp://epsilon-power.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-74461185388248173472012-04-16T08:18:34.466-06:002012-04-16T08:18:34.466-06:00Mauser: I think you might mean Bastiat. I don'...Mauser: I think you might mean Bastiat. I don't recall Beccaria writing anything about that.Clayton Cramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-69861845118125313082012-04-15T22:05:00.342-06:002012-04-15T22:05:00.342-06:00Realist, that situation sounds exactly like what B...Realist, that situation sounds exactly like what Beccarin (iirc) warned about with regard to democracy, that it can only last until the public realizes it can vote itself largesse from the treasury.Mauserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11732614352398473302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-6958706295841448142012-04-15T21:30:04.619-06:002012-04-15T21:30:04.619-06:00Confucius sounds quite a bit like Plato. We see th...Confucius sounds quite a bit like Plato. We see the same philosophies at both ends of Eurasia.Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04720409839023747889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-28698543970548241082012-04-15T17:21:05.894-06:002012-04-15T17:21:05.894-06:00Thanks for the plug. Just added you to The Diploma...Thanks for the plug. Just added you to The Diplomad blogroll. All the best.DiploMadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02316439950882822419noreply@blogger.com