[Buddha-l] Re: Buddhism and Politics

[Gad Horowitz]

was sakyamuni a "libertarian"?  did he advocate "free markets"?  would he
have enjoyed Ayn Rand's works? would he have condemned "welfare bums"?
Jesus Christ!



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "curt" <curt at cola.iges.org>
To: "Buddhist discussion forum" <buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 5:14 AM
Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Re: Buddhism and Politics


> The word "libertarianism" has been hikacked by people
> that I like to refer to as "pot smoking republicans". Originally
> "libertarianism" referred exclusively to genuine Anarchists.
> As Albert Parsons said, just before he was hanged, "all
> Anarchists are Socialists, but not all Socialists are Anarchists".
> Errico Malatesta, the Italian Anarchist (I know that sounds
> redundant) also said "All Anarchists are Individualists, but
> not all Individualists are Anarchists." So an Anarchist, according
> to Parsons and Malatesta is someone who combines Socialism
> with Individualism.
>
> The important thing about this distinction (between the correct
> and incorrect use of the word libertarian) is that the incorrect
> usage perpetrates a view of individualism that sees individuals as
> inherently in conflict with each other. The Anarchist view of
> Individualism is that individuals are, by nature, compassionate
> and cooperative. While it is easy to scoff and sneer at such a
> breathtakingly naive view of human nature, it is nevertheless
> much closer to the Buddhist view of human nature. The right-
> wing libertarian view of human nature is, in my opinion, at
> the very least very difficult to reconcile with Buddhism.
>
> - Curt
>
> Bernie Simon wrote:
>
> > Dr. Hayes wrote:
> >
> >> No one on earth is uniformly conservative or progressive. I should hope
> >> almost everyone tries to find a good balance between conserving useful
> >> traditions and progressing to better ways of doing things than our
> >> ancestors dreamed possible. And I quite accept that this means no two
> >> people will quite agree on what is worth conserving and what needs to
be
> >> thrown out. That's why we all have no honest alternative to being
> >> liberal.
> >
> >
> > I'll assume this is a joke.
> >
> > Conservatism and liberalism both have their virtues and deplorable
> > excesses. To quote Buddhist guru Gov. Jerry Brown, it's like paddling
> > a canoe: first you use the oar on the right side and then the left, or
> > you go around in circles.
> >
> > Devotees of Buddhism and libertarianism (if there are any) will be
> > pleased to learn of a weblog exploring the connections between the
> > two: "Enlightened Liberty."
> >
> > http://prrometheus.blogspot.com/
> >
> > ----
> > I have read some books
> > and have grown quite brave (Bright Eyes)
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > buddha-l mailing list
> > buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> > http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
> >
> >
> _______________________________________________
> buddha-l mailing list
> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l