Rafajafar. You were born in Va? Where? I know what you mean about those liberty university people, but everyone i know there is trying to get out of that place. Power and terror is one of the few books by Chomsky that i own and have read. I was introduced to him by my poli-sci friend. By the way Telesis, thanks for the post explaining different governments.
Trix, One of Chomsky’s central points is that in America people can’t be forced into doing anything (yet, give the patriot act a few years) but that they are instead indoctrinated via the major media, etc. The process is very slick and subtle and Noam Chomsky actually backs his work up with facts. The fact of the matter is that you don’t even have to be labelled a communist, if big business doesn’t like you, they just tell the media they’ll cut funding (Yes, this has actually happened).
Power and Terror is really really good. Heh, my Fav documentary is on Chomsky, actually. It’s called Manufacturing Consent, muay beano. Hegimony is good, so is Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda. But Necessary Illusions is an absolute MUST READ. Good shit there.
I was born in Newport News, reared in Hampton until age 14, then moved to York Co. with all the other white people (white flight, aint it grand?) where my family currently lives.
I like the cover of the one entitled “Deterring Democracy” with the picture of the stealth bomber on it. I lived in Va Beach (4 of it in the military) from 1982 to 1989
i’m British and i can honestly say the monarchy is just a tourist attraction, literally.
personally though i’m a little unsure about the concept of a dictatorship as it’s a shame we’ve never had a moral dictator (as ludricous as that sounds). some would obviously argue this is impossible due to the corruption power has on an individual which is a fair point, but what if the ruler was a moral human being and a good leader?
i was thinking about how germany and italy got off easily (easier then they should’ve) after WW2 and that was because of Mussolini and Hitler being in charge. the blame goes on the madmen. whereas america and britain have some enemy’s around the world because we haven’t had a figurehead dictator as our elections are democratic and are thus supposed to represent the views of the masses. no matter how insane/(for want of a better word) “evil” our leaders have been, we still legally voted them in and they held the same legal, democratic power that they should have.
it sounds strange but its something to think about none the less about what a dictator could have done morally for the world/their country using only all of that power to satisfy their egos/desires/mad beliefs, bit of a shame in my opinion
A benevolent dictator! What an interesting concept! He would have to have the soul of Christ and the ruthlessness of Caesar as Nietzsche would have it. Would a truly benevolent perosn want the job?
essentially yes. From a Nietzsche point of view the leader would have to have a strong will to power but also be very moral at the same time so benevolent is a very accurate term here.
the fundamental problem is of course due to the corruption power has on a human being. to be honest the only person i can imagine/have ever heard of who could do the job without going nuts, is Jesus (i’m an atheist by the way) as i believe any other person would not have the heart (even if they had the will) to be a benevolent dictator.
the dictator would have to have the power/manner of a ruler out of the Republic but not be a hypocrite (unlike Plato) and be as moral as Jesus (or close enough) but also be as decisive in political decisions as Machiavelli. They could not be religious or hold to any sense of social structure (i.e. Communism) as this always seems to mess with a dictators mind (Bokassa - religious, Hitler into Magik/partially christian and of course a nazi, Idi Amin - religious, Stalin/Pol Pot - communists etc).
does such a person/will they ever exist? who knows, although i’d like to see it one day
on the topic Alexander the Great wasn’t too bad, he had a very strong sense of honour when it came to his enemies and their defeats/governance and was rather generous/just. The problem is of course due to the fact that those who wrote about him, tend to from a biased point of view (on his side) and due to how old the records of him are, they might have corrupted over the years as well as the tales of his character.
interesting to note not only was he religious (in the superstitious ancient greek way) he was also taught by a philosopher (Aristotle) so theres my point on religious leaders weakened (although how much weakened is of course debatable) and Plato’s concept of the philosopher kings/being taught by the philosophers strengthened.
A good book to read is The Campaigns Of Alexander by Arrian (Penguin) which is very good/informative (although i seem to recall the first half is a little slow) on Alexander as a leader and a warrior.