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

David Stockhoff · 01 May 2011, 22:44 · from 2011-May.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Sun, 01 May 2011 18:44:52 -0400
Subject: (urth) "Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene Wolfe
In-Reply-To: <4DBDD23B.1090200 at io.com>
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I see. But that's a practical matter, not a theoretical one. Certainly 
it's a problem, but if the conditions of horizontal and vertical 
nonexclusive democracy are met, then theoretically, why should not the 
worst excesses of strong arms (excess mortality, morbidity, deformities, 
poverty) be avoided?

A more serious concern, I would think, is whether wealth can be created 
or must be stolen, even if only in small increments. In other words, 
when we run out of slaves and foreigners to exploit (and bomb), will our 
absolute standard of living rise or fall?

On 5/1/2011 5:35 PM, Jeff Wilson wrote:
> On 5/1/2011 3:01 PM, David Stockhoff wrote:
>> Exactly. But there's nothing inevitable about exclusion from
>> democracy/humanity.
>
> I don't see how a such a democracy can obtain the means to enforce 
> these ideals over all the world without corrupting them and rendering 
> the enforcement moot.
>


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