There’s an old adage that wanting to become a politician should disqualify you from becoming one. I just found it in Plato’s Republic, Book 7 520-521. Perhaps that’s where it comes from?
The state whose rulers come to their duties with least enthusiasm is bound to have the best and most tranquil government, and the state whose rulers are eager to rule is worst.
For Plato this means that rulers must be philosophers: those who have attained the knowledge of the absolute Good, which resides in the heavenly realm of eternal fixed forms of which the so-called real world that we live in is but a poor reflection. These philosophers, as well as being more just, wise and good than others owing … read on »
Archive for the ‘politics’ category…
The Resources of The World Are Limitless
I struggled to come up with a web development angle for this one. I had a brief hope of executing some dazzling metaphorical sleight of hand when I read Thomas DeGregori’s discussion of the “usability” of rocks among proto-humans, but in the end I gave up and decided just to roll with it…
The world’s resources are limitless. I’m not joking. In a world of finite materials – and a finite 88 keys on a piano – resources are no more limited than are melodies and harmonies. Even if we stick to the Western musical scale, we will never run out of tunes. This is because tunes are not raw materials, somehow just there, waiting to be discovered: they come into … read on »
The Great Man-Made River Project and Libyan Democracy
I listened to a Radio 4 programme on the Great Man-Made River project in Libya. For the moment at least, you can listen to it here. It’s the mother of all water engineering projects, and as I’ve said before in this blog, I have an odd fascination with this kind of thing. Apart from anything else the project is beautifully simple, audacious and progressive. According to Unesco it’s the largest engineering scheme currently being carried out in the world, and it has also been described as the eighth wonder of the world. From where I sit in mean little Britain, which made such a cynical fuss about the Channel Tunnel and the Scottish Parliament building, it’s very inspiring.
In the sixties, … read on »
The Taliban Book of Rules
Did anyone catch this a few months ago? The Swiss paper Die Weltwoche published the new Layeha (book of rules) for the Mujahideen, basically the Taliban code of conduct. It’s mostly mundane practicalities:
3. Mujahideen who protect new Taliban recruits must inform their commander.
6. If a Taliban fighter wants to move to another district, he is permitted to do so, but he must first acquire the permission of his group leader.
9. Taliban may not use Jihad equipment or property for personal ends.
11. Mujadideen may not sell equipment, unless the provincial commander permits him to do so.
They’re running a tight ship over there. Any army worth its salt knows how to organize itself and keep discipline. There’s even some measure of protection … read on »
Green Politics: Quintessential Conservatism
I read an article in the Times today by the conservative intellectual Roger Scruton which asserts that environmentalism is truly a conservative, rather than a radical, cause, and that it would be more successful if it were proselytized from this standpoint. In my post from March 3rd I write about Scruton and conservatism, and about this very idea. He is right: conservatives are naturally environmentalist, and leftists are – or traditionally were – believers in technological progress and ambitious action aimed at fundamentally improving the conditions of our species. Conservatism and environmentalism favour the small-scale and local, and promote cautiousness. Socialism is traditionally universalist, internationalist and experimental. Hasn’t politics changed? Incidentally, that’s one reason I don’t subscribe to any political … read on »
©2010 Alistair Robinson