Is the state necessary?
For good or ill, there is one book that has shaped my political thinking more than any other.
Anarchy, State and Utopia
by Robert Nozick
It was published in 1974, and won the U.S. National Book Award in category Philosophy and Religion in 1975. It was about this time that I put aside my studies of mathematics and chemistry and spent the next two years taking every philosophy class offered.
It was from my reading of Nozick, Rawls and others that I formulated my two basic political questions: What is the role of government, if any. What is the role of the individual?
I will flesh out these two questions in later posts.
Those muscle relaxants I've been taking is making even cheating on this book hard. I Wikied it, and my brain will not absorb...blahh!
Go easy on the relaxants, the heart too is a muscle. I thought Rawls was even more dense than Nozick. For light reading I like hard science fiction.
From a technologists POV I am struck by the fact that our entire society has a transport system which runs on petroleum . In order to obtain that petroleum the state supports multinational oil companies which make shady deals with countries where the oil is . Are you willing to give up your car so that we can have a "minimalist state" ?
In the late 1890's through early 1900, there were more electric cars than gas powered. I can remember on my grandparent's farm in Eastern New Mexico a bank of old glass batteries. My grandmother told me those had been hooked to a "wind" generator when she was a kid and those had been used for electric power at night. If we had a minimalist state, another mechanism would have sprung up to support the multinational oil companies ( or something akin to them) or an entirely different technology may have come about.
In my mind at least, a minimal state would be more community based, not national.
As for giving up my car, I've done that along with television and some other things. I would have a hard time giving up the computer ( been using one since 1979), but it can be done.
By the way, what is the definition of a technologist?
"In the late 1890's through early 1900, there were more electric cars than gas powered."
I didn't know that . Very interesting . Those old electrics had a major range problem . They also did not work in cold weather . I guess they had to heat up the batteries to get them to function then .
Those problems were solved by the gas powered IC engine which we still use today .
" If we had a minimalist state, another mechanism would have sprung up to support the multinational oil companies ( or something akin to them) or an entirely different technology may have come about. "
Perhaps I don't understand what you mean by a minimalist state . Would such a state have participated in the 2 world wars ?
" what is the definition of a technologist? "
That is a broad category which includes engineers , technicians and computer experts .
I havent read the book, but i have always been in favor of townships and even city states rather than nations or vassal states.
The role of government however is to do for the people what they can't do for themselves, and both nothing more and for no longer than necessary.
Me Too! Well anything Sci Fi... but not Sci FiFantasy. I really never liked the Star Wars movies.