"Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene Wolfe

David Stockhoff · 01 May 2011, 17:08 · from 2011-May.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Sun, 01 May 2011 13:08:34 -0400
Subject: (urth) "Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene Wolfe
In-Reply-To: <4DBD8AE2.1020701 at io.com>
References: <4DBB1060.1020105 at gmail.com>	<794632.94323.qm at web161803.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>	<BANLkTinVfFohh9fu7VwbgjSKKOfv2Bg-0Q at mail.gmail.com>	<4DBB3F16.4000500 at gmail.com>	<BANLkTikERbP9OsLJArNvPEp1PScccdP1SA at mail.gmail.com>	<4DBC3F51.6070703 at io.com>	<BANLkTik4f3+Pam8qjUpd0iViPKQqyJq4-Q at mail.gmail.com>	<4DBC7A40.4090306 at io.com>	<BANLkTinrXbXqxp9uQzr+Q8J_qustH5tUNw at mail.gmail.com>	<4DBCCACC.6050401 at io.com>	<BANLkTimXeh5vXTJu9B_WXBVgXcU+5aQYQw at mail.gmail.com>	<4DBCD692.1070506 at io.com>	<4DBD4D36.7030609 at verizon.net>
	<4DBD8AE2.1020701 at io.com>
Message-ID: <4DBD9392.8020809 at verizon.net>

One could establish a democracy under the rule of law. But I see the 
basic principle.

I don't see how it extends to poor Chinese people whose water supplies 
are poisoned by melamine simply because Americans want plastic things 
and China is unable or unwilling to protect the Chinese from the effects 
of corruption and environmental pollution (can I call it "environmental 
corruption"?).

There's a lot going on there between arm and nose in such a case.

At any rate, as far as that word "impossible"---I doubt anyone has 
really tried doing avoiding injustice on a large scale without excluding 
certain classes of people as nonhumans. And those that have tried have 
been shot.

On 5/1/2011 12:31 PM, Jeff Wilson wrote:
> On 5/1/2011 7:08 AM, David Stockhoff wrote:
>> Is it impossible? I had no idea. ;)
>
> If your freedom to swing your arm doesn't end where my nose begins, 
> obviously my nose is harmed for the benefit of you getting to swing 
> your arm as you like.
>
> If we agree to limit the freedom to swing our arms where the noses of 
> others begins, there's no check on the the proliferation of noses and 
> one day I am harmed by the atrophy of my arms because there's no room 
> to swing them at all.
>
> We could compromise on a minimum arm-swinging radius, but this harms 
> armless people by reducing their nose-room while they obviously get no 
> benefit from more arm room.
>
> And so on.
>


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