Quote from: niko on September 07, 2011, 03:27:13 PM

No, I meant government. Of course, in a country such as US, where most of constituents have the frame of mind that is reflected in comments here, my statement does not apply. But there is more to world than the US. Yes, there are places in this world where government pretty much does a good job protecting the interest of the public - often defending it from narrow-minded, self-centered private interest. Foreign interest, too - with the mentality prevalent in this forum. It also provides valuable services to the public, provides employment, and distributes wealth more equally among constituents.

I'm still not sure about your previous statement. You said that private interests corrupt government, as though the government which facilitates the private interests was not already corrupt. I think that is patently false, but maybe I didn't get what you meant.

"Foreign interested too - with the mentality prevalent in this forum." Can you explain this more? What is the mentality and do they defend with that mentality or defend against that mentality? I'm not clear.

As to the last sentence - yes, some governments do those things. And I would not tell them not to, if that's what their people want.

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My point is, Americans, relatively speaking, almost have no government: it's on the verge of default, weak and easily manipulated by the private interest. They don't even have their own army when they invade other countries - they have to rely on private contractors. People are out on their own, and it shows. And yet, Americans cry that the government is "too big!" From your perspective, France or China or Canada are a living hell.

One reason that I, at least, say that the American government is too big is because it can, despite its peoples' resounding disapproval, engage in multiple illegitimate wars. This means that it kills people in foreign countries, including - or especially - those that have nothing to do with anti-US aggression. This means that it effectively taxes generations to come - generations that may very well want nothing to do with these or any other wars their government concocts - for its unfounded bloodshed. A government that makes such decisions seems pretty big to me.

So, while citizens of other countries may be pleased with their governments and look at Americans like they're insane because their government is already "small," all I have to say is - well, yours doesn't really have the same power to fuck up the world, does it? Yours at least pretends to listen to you, doesn't it? It's practically a different world.

Which I think was along the lines of what you were explaining. Very different perspectives.

But no, Canada, France, etc. are not living hells to me. I have lived in countries with HUGE governments for periods of time. While I felt constricted in many ways, I was comfortable because these governments largely did what their people wanted (outside, perhaps, of immigration Wink

) and were not bloodthirsty.

P.S. America does not have to rely on private contractors to invade other countries, they're just nice to have around because they are not as accountable as its military. If you want to commit war crimes it's best that they don't taint the country's reputation. That's a substantial difference Roll Eyes