[Buddha-l] Aung San Suu Kyi and the latest Burmese prosecutions

[Ben Carral]

On Sunday, May 17, 2009, 12:03 AM, Richard wrote:

> Authoritarianism  was just about the only game on the
> planet  until  a few centuries ago. There have been a
> few    tiny,    short-lived,   largely   unsuccessful
> experiments  in  non-authoritarian institutions. They
> usually  fail,  because all but a few people lack the
> ability to cope with uncertainty and open-endedness.

   Maybe  it  would be useful to consider Erich Fromm's
distinction  between rational and irrational authority.
According  to  Fromm,  and  I  agree with him, rational
authority   is  something  quite  important  for  human
beings.  There  is nothing wrong with authority when it
is wisely applied in order to benefit others.

   (See Fromm's _Man for Himself:_

   http://tinyurl.com/p9f4c7 )

   Best wishes,

   Ben (Oviedo, Asturias, Spain)