Government...

[SexWivMusic]

What are your thoughts on the Government. Here 2 help us, here 2 control us, what kind of things do they hide from us, do they care?

 

[protovack]

I believe that a democratic government is a neutral body with respect to the public - they don't really care if the public is harmed or helped. Because entrance into the political elite requires personal will and strong motivation to compete with others.....the "government" can be seen as a filter through which the most competetive "do anything to win" type people gain power. When those people attain power, their ideology comes in to play....and that ideology could be anything from extremely liberal to extremely conservative....

The government, composed mainly of citizens working as part of it, does a lot of good things. It builds roads, establishes safety standards, enforces regulations, etc.

The "politics" of government is largely a show put on for the voters. The real work of a politician is much less glamorous than it seems on the surface. However, the more leg work a politician puts in, the more likely it is that they will be able to exert control over things like foreign policy and other big stuff.

 

[Deadwing]

It's a good system until the people stop caring turning the government into the sneaky fuks they are

 

[ebola?]

>>I believe that a democratic government is a neutral body with respect to the public ->>

I believe the very concept of a democratic government is a convenient fiction. . .

The dominant tendencies of the state are
1. for influence to be exerted by capitalist lobbying and
2. for officials to be corrupted by the power they exert.

That being said, there are a number of people in the state trying to do good.

Also, insofar as social movements gain power, the state becomes a site of class warfare, where concessions may be won by lower strata in society.

ebola

 

[Akoto]

Its a pretty good system, but its getting pretty obviously bloated and even somewhat opressive.

One thing that scares me tho is their controll over information, and thats how pretty much every government has ever controled its populace (other than chains od course). Think about it: What tells you what happens outside or even around your own town? TV. Where do all the new trends start? TV. Where do you go for any information about anything? TV. (TV being the symbol for general communications)

Really, just about anything outside your immediate neighborhood is filtered through someones hands that don't nessisaraly have your best interests in mind. And its only getting easyer with wireless communication where they dont even need a physical line tap anymore, or google which is obviously the main sourse of information online or even anywhere.

Heck, "they" could be reading this right now getting new ideas as to how to mask their opression.

Another thing that pisses me off is MTV. All that damn thing does is regurgitate every fragile teen emotion back at them in an amplifyed way to make teens emotionaly dependant on them and ultimatly support the only driving force of our modern world: money and thus power.

 

[ninjadanslarbretabar]

the government is like a diaper
its really usefull when your (society is) infantile

but you do need to change the diaper
if you dont want to end up with shit in your hand

human change, the technology change, the world is changing
and its accelerating
and we adapt real fast to it,
but not the institution in place

see whats happening in the u.s.a.
change is going so fast that the government seem to go backward
but its not !
it just amplified how old fashion those lezard in power really are

government..
internet is the new goverment
today, who had the most influence in your day..?

religion as being replace by godverment a long time ago
and now its time for real change
democracy and internet go hand in hand
(so does capitalism)

"voting" once every "x" year is a joke
(exept for those who belive things are going gRrreeat !)
millions are debating over shit every instant in this virtual world
we are doing it right now
but where do we vote....

netizen of the gaiasphere most unite
godvernment vs googlevernment

 

[complexPHILOSOPHY]

What are your thoughts on the Government. Here 2 help us, here 2 control us, what kind of things do they hide from us, do they care?

Are we talking about the United States federal government? Or, are we talking about the idea of government in general?

 

[ninjadanslarbretabar]

since this is the Thought and Awareness and not the Current Events and Politics forum
i hope we will be talking about the idea of government in general

 

[complexPHILOSOPHY]

since this is the Thought and Awareness and not the Current Events and Politics forum
i hope we will be talking about the idea of government in general

Well he said, "the" government in his question so that indicated to me that he might be discussing one 'particular' government, not government as a whole.

 

[SexWivMusic]

Are we talking about the United States federal government? Or, are we talking about the idea of government in general?

In general mate.

 

[ebola?]

>>since this is the Thought and Awareness and not the Current Events and Politics forum
i hope we will be talking about the idea of government in general>>

Oddly enough, ALL political theory is relegated to this forum.

ebola

 

[LiveIllegal]

All governments exist for the sole purpose of securing wealth to those who have the most of it.

 

[SexWivMusic]

I think they do us good yet also do us bad. Were stuck in the middle really. Least were not @ the complete bottom.

 

[LiveIllegal]

Luckily, Jesus will save us. All we have to do is hold an arbitrary belief in him. No real progressive action necessary. 8)

 

[Akoto]

^sweet

 

[chokinvictim]

I tend to agree with a lot of what Rousseau wrote about government. "The Social Contract" is a great read.
However, he does say that a large majority has difficulty finding a common goal and setting down common laws to be agreed upon, although a small minority can lead better. However, he also points out the problem with giving a small group too much power.
Eh, everything he writes is so well spoken and supported. Anyone with interest in the subject should read that essay. "A Discourse on Political Economy" isn't bad either, but it wouldn't be the first of his works that I would recommend reading.

"Discourse on the Origin of Inequality" is also good but may be a little too controversial for some people to finish it. He starts out by stating his belief that personal property is the source of all major problems when he says "The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society. What crimes, wars, murders, what miseries and horrors would the human race have been spared, had someone pulled up the states or filled in the ditch and cried out to his fellow men: “Do not listen to this impostor. You are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to all and the earth to no one!”."

 

[SmC]

All governments exist for the sole purpose of securing wealth to those who have the most of it.

Correct.That's basically what i was going to say.It's about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

 

[chokinvictim]

^^ unfortunately, very true. Property is often respected more than individuals, which is pretty backwards.

 

[Free Radical]

All governments exist for the sole purpose of securing wealth to those who have the most of it.

yes! securing private property rights, u nailed it

Also, insofar as social movements gain power, the state becomes a site of class warfare, where concessions may be won by lower strata in society.

ebola

are you as enthused as i am about Chavez' Bolivarian revolution?

was gonna make a general Venezuela discussion thread, but i'm not entirely sure where to create it. CE&P seems more like a news forum than anything else 8)

>>since this is the Thought and Awareness and not the Current Events and Politics forum
i hope we will be talking about the idea of government in general>>

Oddly enough, ALL political theory is relegated to this forum.

ebola

glad you cleared that up. Current Events & Politics is a bit misleading 8)

 

[kittyinthedark]

Government is the natural and inevitable outcome of humans' inherent tendencies toward social ranking and a desire for structure. In that sense, I believe government in and of itself is inherently neutral as it confers no benefit nor detriment to anyone, but governments that have been created by man are generally made with the intent to benefit society as a whole.


P.S. Political theory discussions are being sent to T&A for the time being because too much far-fetched hypothetical discussion was going on. Many were getting too far into the "thought" category to fit legitimately into the forum, and a lot of them were turning into flame wars. It was a better option than simply closing down every hypothetical thread which would have left legitimate posters out in the cold. I apologize on behalf of the CEP community for foisting our refuse on you