Miscellaneous thoughts about miscellaneous matters
Recently, more people have been talking about democracy, but I have gotten the impression that they don't know what democracy is. The word democracy is of Ancient Greek origin, demos cratos, meaning rule by the people. There are several related words of the same origin, including oligarchy, rule by few, aristocracy, rule by the best, monarchy, rule by one. Then there is republican government, in which the voting citizens select people to represent them or their interests in restricted meetings. ...
Thomas Hobbes was right. On a fundamental level government is an agreement among the governed to cede some of their personal rights and autonomy in exchange for government providing a framework within which the people governed can more readily and safely carry of heir lives than they could without government. The government provides rules and basic services, such as roads and such, and the people governed pay for the services with a small and equitable service fee called taxes. In ...
This is a letter that I sent to one of the local papers. I wonder if they will print it. The issue is whether the town charter will be amended to eliminate the town meeting and replace it with a thirteen member council. The vote won't come until Spring, so I am saving some of the best for later. When the zeitgeist changes, everything can be different. I was hoping that the election of Trump was an isolated event, but in the Town of Amherst, Massachusetts a Charter Commission ...
Updated 11-17-2017 at 05:26 PM by PeterL