"Captain Compassion" <res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
news:tgt9b11f2tv3irtru4pdq42p1hp6b084d0@4ax.com...

[Article source unknown]

Classical liberalism is a political ideology that originated in the
19th century. It is often seen as being the typical ideology of the
industrial revolution and the subsequent capitalist system. Ideas such
as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of thought were
first proposed by classical liberal thinkers, before they were also
adopted by thinkers of other ideologies. The influence of classical
liberalism has been so widespread that the majority of Western
countries are considered to be liberal democracies.

The key characteristics of classical liberalism:

The importance of the individual
Freedom
Reason
Justice
Toleration and diversity

Thinkers

As the industrial revolution began in the United Kingdom, so did the
first conceptions of liberalism. The first liberal philosopher was
John Locke (1632-1704) who defended religious freedom in his important
work A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). However, he would not
extend his views on religious freedom to Catholics.

Locke was responsible for the idea of "natural rights" which he saw as
"life, liberty and property". Natural Rights theory was the forerunner
of the modern conception of human rights. To Locke, property was a
more compelling natural right than the right to participate in
collective decision-making: he would not endorse democracy in
government, as he feared that the "tyranny of the majority" would seek
to deny people their rights to property. Nevertheless, the idea of
natural rights played a key role in providing the ideological
justification for the (at least moderately democratizing) American
revolution and French revolution.

The main economist of classical liberalism was the Scotsman Adam Smith
(1723-1790), who broadly advocated the doctrine of "laissez-faire" or
"let [it] act" -- minimal government or command intervention in the
function of the economy. Adam Smith developed a theory of motivation
that tried to reconcile human self-interestedness with unregulated
social order (mainly done in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)).
His most famous work, The Wealth of Nations (1776), tried to explain
how an unregulated market would naturally regulate itself via the
"invisible hand" of aggregated individual decisions.

American thinkers were also heavily influenced by liberal ideas. Both
the third and fourth Presidents of the United States, Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826) and James Madison (1751-1836), put the Liberal movement's
ideas into practice. Not only did they set up a liberal democracy,
they also furthered liberal ideology's influence on the American
system of government, by advocating a system of checks and balances,
federal states' rights and a bicameral legislature (two-chambered,
like the US Congress' Senate and House of Representatives.) The
seminal exposition of Liberal values in American government is The
Federalist (1788), more commonly known as The Federalist Papers, by
Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

Classical liberalism today

John Stuart Mill (J.S. Mill, 1806-1873) was influential in developing
modern concepts of classical liberalism. He opposed collectivist
tendencies but also placed emphasis on quality of life for the
individual. He also had sympathy for female suffrage and (later in
life) co-operatives -- positions which were, however, made somewhat
unclear by his support of the British Raj, or British colonialism in
India.

Two groups, libertarians and neo-liberals (such as Margaret Thatcher),
also claim the ideological inheritance of classical liberalism. These
political philosophies are notable for focusing on the notion of
"freedom" as it applies to the market. Some argue that this conflicts
with classical liberal ideas and that even Adam Smith recognized the
limitations of the free market as a sole means of social organization.

Classical liberalism in its various interpretations remains one of the
most pervasive ideologies in the world to this day.

-----

New liberalism (also called modern liberalism or social liberalism) is
a stance in political economy that argues for extensive state
regulation and partial intervention in a capitalist economy. It is
named in opposition to classical liberalism, and serves as an
intellectual foundation for political liberalism, liberal democracy,
and social democracy.

In Europe and the United States, in the end of the 19th century and
the early 20th century, governments started to intervene significantly
in the economy; this trend gathered momentum after World War I, and
became dominant after the Great Depression of the 1930s. People like
L.T. Hobhouse theorized why and how a government could intervene in
the economy without the country becoming a socialist planned economy.
They took the name of new liberals, to signify how they endorsed the
evolving tradition of political liberalism, while rejecting the
radical element from the classical liberal school of economic thought
as well as the then-revolutionary elements from the socialist school.

New liberals believe that while individual freedom should be
guaranteed, classical free-market liberalism had failed to protect the
basic rights of citizens, and that responsible government is the
solution to many social and societal problems. New liberals think of
their stance as a pragmatic midway between socialism and classical
liberalism.

New liberalism is not to be confused with neoliberalism, a name given
to various proponents of the free market corporations in the late 20th
century's global economy. This distinction is important to notice,
because "new" or "social" liberals tend to be scandalized by the
positions of "neoliberals".


--
A general rule: if enough people predict something, it
wonąt happen. -- J. G. Ballard

"America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy." -- John Updike

"Long term commitment in relationships is only necessary because it takes
so damn long to raise children. Marriage may well be some kind of trick
to keep the males around beyond sexual satiation." -- Captain Compassion

"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant

Joseph R. Darancette
res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net

Thank you for that article. It mentioned Hobhouse, but did not mention John
Maynard Keynes. I saved that article; if you could enlighten us as to where
you found it, I'd appreciate it. Because I think Keynes was brilliant as
was Marx, but dangerous to the stability of economy, I do not call myself a
new liberal. The early conservative moment in America including Barry
Goldwater and Everet Dirkson were very proud of being classical liberals. I
am a classical liberal as described in this article.

I would differ with Adam Smith and the classical "laissez-faire" doctrines
only when it comes to health care. With the social collective pressures of
mega-insurance companies there is no "laissez-faire" health care system in
America. Social collective obfuscations of actuarial pools work toward
weeding out those at risk and building a false confidence in the healthy
that they will be covered until they, too, become an unprofitable risk.
During Adam Smith's day medical care was "laissez-faire", but the
commitment of a doctor to heal put them at disadvantage at the bargaining
table. They reversed their disadvantage since the day of Adam Smith.

The heart and soul of "laissez-faire" is based upon the contract. It is
basic to contract law that the parties be of sound mind. People that are
sick or gravely injured are not of sound mind. They come to the bargain
table under the duress of the circumstance. It is not unlike people who are
in need of police or military protection. It is just not a time or place
for bargaining. America has a love affair with the idea of private medical
care, but it is so non-existent that it becomes very difficult to obtain
services without the social collective backup of insurance.

Until other classical liberals face the truth of where medical care fits in
the hierarchy of critical services, I guess I have to call myself a
moderate. I realize how unique my ideas on healthcare are, but once the
light shone, I could see no other way. I would even read the right for the
Government to provide health care under the constitution. "....in order to
provide for the common defense...."

Thanks again for posting this article,
Randy R. Cox

"Captain Compassion" <res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
news:tgt9b11f2tv3irtru4pdq42p1hp6b084d0@4ax.com...

[Article source unknown]

Classical liberalism is a political ideology that originated in the
19th century. It is often seen as being the typical ideology of the
industrial revolution and the subsequent capitalist system. Ideas
such
as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of thought
were
first proposed by classical liberal thinkers, before they were also
adopted by thinkers of other ideologies. The influence of classical
liberalism has been so widespread that the majority of Western
countries are considered to be liberal democracies.

The key characteristics of classical liberalism:

The importance of the individual
Freedom
Reason
Justice
Toleration and diversity

Thinkers

As the industrial revolution began in the United Kingdom, so did the
first conceptions of liberalism. The first liberal philosopher was
John Locke (1632-1704) who defended religious freedom in his
important
work A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). However, he would not
extend his views on religious freedom to Catholics.

Locke was responsible for the idea of "natural rights" which he saw
as
"life, liberty and property". Natural Rights theory was the
forerunner
of the modern conception of human rights. To Locke, property was a
more compelling natural right than the right to participate in
collective decision-making: he would not endorse democracy in
government, as he feared that the "tyranny of the majority" would
seek
to deny people their rights to property. Nevertheless, the idea of
natural rights played a key role in providing the ideological
justification for the (at least moderately democratizing) American
revolution and French revolution.

The main economist of classical liberalism was the Scotsman Adam
Smith
(1723-1790), who broadly advocated the doctrine of "laissez-faire" or
"let [it] act" -- minimal government or command intervention in the
function of the economy. Adam Smith developed a theory of motivation
that tried to reconcile human self-interestedness with unregulated
social order (mainly done in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)).
His most famous work, The Wealth of Nations (1776), tried to explain
how an unregulated market would naturally regulate itself via the
"invisible hand" of aggregated individual decisions.

American thinkers were also heavily influenced by liberal ideas. Both
the third and fourth Presidents of the United States, Thomas
Jefferson
(1743-1826) and James Madison (1751-1836), put the Liberal movement's
ideas into practice. Not only did they set up a liberal democracy,
they also furthered liberal ideology's influence on the American
system of government, by advocating a system of checks and balances,
federal states' rights and a bicameral legislature (two-chambered,
like the US Congress' Senate and House of Representatives.) The
seminal exposition of Liberal values in American government is The
Federalist (1788), more commonly known as The Federalist Papers, by
Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

Classical liberalism today

John Stuart Mill (J.S. Mill, 1806-1873) was influential in developing
modern concepts of classical liberalism. He opposed collectivist
tendencies but also placed emphasis on quality of life for the
individual. He also had sympathy for female suffrage and (later in
life) co-operatives -- positions which were, however, made somewhat
unclear by his support of the British Raj, or British colonialism in
India.

Two groups, libertarians and neo-liberals (such as Margaret
Thatcher),
also claim the ideological inheritance of classical liberalism. These
political philosophies are notable for focusing on the notion of
"freedom" as it applies to the market. Some argue that this conflicts
with classical liberal ideas and that even Adam Smith recognized the
limitations of the free market as a sole means of social
organization.

Classical liberalism in its various interpretations remains one of
the
most pervasive ideologies in the world to this day.

-----

New liberalism (also called modern liberalism or social liberalism)
is
a stance in political economy that argues for extensive state
regulation and partial intervention in a capitalist economy. It is
named in opposition to classical liberalism, and serves as an
intellectual foundation for political liberalism, liberal democracy,
and social democracy.

In Europe and the United States, in the end of the 19th century and
the early 20th century, governments started to intervene
significantly
in the economy; this trend gathered momentum after World War I, and
became dominant after the Great Depression of the 1930s. People like
L.T. Hobhouse theorized why and how a government could intervene in
the economy without the country becoming a socialist planned economy.
They took the name of new liberals, to signify how they endorsed the
evolving tradition of political liberalism, while rejecting the
radical element from the classical liberal school of economic thought
as well as the then-revolutionary elements from the socialist school.

New liberals believe that while individual freedom should be
guaranteed, classical free-market liberalism had failed to protect
the
basic rights of citizens, and that responsible government is the
solution to many social and societal problems. New liberals think of
their stance as a pragmatic midway between socialism and classical
liberalism.

New liberalism is not to be confused with neoliberalism, a name given
to various proponents of the free market corporations in the late
20th
century's global economy. This distinction is important to notice,
because "new" or "social" liberals tend to be scandalized by the
positions of "neoliberals".


--
A general rule: if enough people predict something, it
wonąt happen. -- J. G. Ballard

"America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy." -- John Updike

"Long term commitment in relationships is only necessary because it
takes
so damn long to raise children. Marriage may well be some kind of
trick
to keep the males around beyond sexual satiation." -- Captain
Compassion

"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant

Joseph R. Darancette
res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net

Thank you for that article. It mentioned Hobhouse, but did not
mention John Maynard Keynes. I saved that article; if you could
enlighten us as to where you found it, I'd appreciate it. Because I
think Keynes was brilliant as was Marx, but dangerous to the stability
of economy, I do not call myself a new liberal. The early
conservative moment in America including Barry Goldwater and Everet
Dirkson were very proud of being classical liberals. I am a classical
liberal as described in this article.

I would differ with Adam Smith and the classical "laissez-faire"
doctrines only when it comes to health care. With the social
collective pressures of mega-insurance companies there is no
"laissez-faire" health care system in America. Social collective
obfuscations of actuarial pools work toward weeding out those at risk
and building a false confidence in the healthy that they will be
covered until they, too, become an unprofitable risk. During Adam
Smith's day medical care was "laissez-faire", but the commitment of a
doctor to heal put them at disadvantage at the bargaining table. They
reversed their disadvantage since the day of Adam Smith.

The heart and soul of "laissez-faire" is based upon the contract. It
is basic to contract law that the parties be of sound mind. People
that are sick or gravely injured are not of sound mind. They come to
the bargain table under the duress of the circumstance. It is not
unlike people who are in need of police or military protection. It is
just not a time or place for bargaining. America has a love affair
with the idea of private medical care, but it is so non-existent that
it becomes very difficult to obtain services without the social
collective backup of insurance.

Until other classical liberals face the truth of where medical care
fits in the hierarchy of critical services, I guess I have to call
myself a moderate. I realize how unique my ideas on healthcare are,
but once the light shone, I could see no other way. I would even read
the right for the Government to provide health care under the
constitution. "....in order to provide for the common defense...."

Thanks again for posting this article,
Randy R. Cox

"Captain Compassion" <res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
news:tgt9b11f2tv3irtru4pdq42p1hp6b084d0@4ax.com...

[Article source unknown]

Classical liberalism is a political ideology that originated in the
19th century. It is often seen as being the typical ideology of the
industrial revolution and the subsequent capitalist system. Ideas such
as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of thought were
first proposed by classical liberal thinkers, before they were also
adopted by thinkers of other ideologies. The influence of classical
liberalism has been so widespread that the majority of Western
countries are considered to be liberal democracies.

The key characteristics of classical liberalism:

The importance of the individual
Freedom
Reason
Justice
Toleration and diversity

Thinkers

As the industrial revolution began in the United Kingdom, so did the
first conceptions of liberalism. The first liberal philosopher was
John Locke (1632-1704) who defended religious freedom in his important
work A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). However, he would not
extend his views on religious freedom to Catholics.

Locke was responsible for the idea of "natural rights" which he saw as
"life, liberty and property". Natural Rights theory was the forerunner
of the modern conception of human rights. To Locke, property was a
more compelling natural right than the right to participate in
collective decision-making: he would not endorse democracy in
government, as he feared that the "tyranny of the majority" would seek
to deny people their rights to property. Nevertheless, the idea of
natural rights played a key role in providing the ideological
justification for the (at least moderately democratizing) American
revolution and French revolution.

The main economist of classical liberalism was the Scotsman Adam Smith
(1723-1790), who broadly advocated the doctrine of "laissez-faire" or
"let [it] act" -- minimal government or command intervention in the
function of the economy. Adam Smith developed a theory of motivation
that tried to reconcile human self-interestedness with unregulated
social order (mainly done in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)).
His most famous work, The Wealth of Nations (1776), tried to explain
how an unregulated market would naturally regulate itself via the
"invisible hand" of aggregated individual decisions.

American thinkers were also heavily influenced by liberal ideas. Both
the third and fourth Presidents of the United States, Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826) and James Madison (1751-1836), put the Liberal movement's
ideas into practice. Not only did they set up a liberal democracy,
they also furthered liberal ideology's influence on the American
system of government, by advocating a system of checks and balances,
federal states' rights and a bicameral legislature (two-chambered,
like the US Congress' Senate and House of Representatives.) The
seminal exposition of Liberal values in American government is The
Federalist (1788), more commonly known as The Federalist Papers, by
Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

Classical liberalism today

John Stuart Mill (J.S. Mill, 1806-1873) was influential in developing
modern concepts of classical liberalism. He opposed collectivist
tendencies but also placed emphasis on quality of life for the
individual. He also had sympathy for female suffrage and (later in
life) co-operatives -- positions which were, however, made somewhat
unclear by his support of the British Raj, or British colonialism in
India.

Two groups, libertarians and neo-liberals (such as Margaret Thatcher),
also claim the ideological inheritance of classical liberalism. These
political philosophies are notable for focusing on the notion of
"freedom" as it applies to the market. Some argue that this conflicts
with classical liberal ideas and that even Adam Smith recognized the
limitations of the free market as a sole means of social organization.

Classical liberalism in its various interpretations remains one of the
most pervasive ideologies in the world to this day.

-----

New liberalism (also called modern liberalism or social liberalism) is
a stance in political economy that argues for extensive state
regulation and partial intervention in a capitalist economy. It is
named in opposition to classical liberalism, and serves as an
intellectual foundation for political liberalism, liberal democracy,
and social democracy.

In Europe and the United States, in the end of the 19th century and
the early 20th century, governments started to intervene significantly
in the economy; this trend gathered momentum after World War I, and
became dominant after the Great Depression of the 1930s. People like
L.T. Hobhouse theorized why and how a government could intervene in
the economy without the country becoming a socialist planned economy.
They took the name of new liberals, to signify how they endorsed the
evolving tradition of political liberalism, while rejecting the
radical element from the classical liberal school of economic thought
as well as the then-revolutionary elements from the socialist school.

New liberals believe that while individual freedom should be
guaranteed, classical free-market liberalism had failed to protect the
basic rights of citizens, and that responsible government is the
solution to many social and societal problems. New liberals think of
their stance as a pragmatic midway between socialism and classical
liberalism.

New liberalism is not to be confused with neoliberalism, a name given
to various proponents of the free market corporations in the late 20th
century's global economy. This distinction is important to notice,
because "new" or "social" liberals tend to be scandalized by the
positions of "neoliberals".


--
A general rule: if enough people predict something, it
wonąt happen. -- J. G. Ballard

"America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy." -- John Updike

"Long term commitment in relationships is only necessary because it takes
so damn long to raise children. Marriage may well be some kind of trick
to keep the males around beyond sexual satiation." -- Captain Compassion

"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant

Joseph R. Darancette
res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net

Thank you for that article. It mentioned Hobhouse, but did not mention John
Maynard Keynes. I saved that article; if you could enlighten us as to where
you found it, I'd appreciate it. Because I think Keynes was brilliant as
was Marx, but dangerous to the stability of economy, I do not call myself a
new liberal. The early conservative moment in America including Barry
Goldwater and Everet Dirkson were very proud of being classical liberals. I
am a classical liberal as described in this article.

I would differ with Adam Smith and the classical "laissez-faire" doctrines
only when it comes to health care. With the social collective pressures of
mega-insurance companies there is no "laissez-faire" health care system in
America. Social collective obfuscations of actuarial pools work toward
weeding out those at risk and building a false confidence in the healthy
that they will be covered until they, too, become an unprofitable risk.
During Adam Smith's day medical care was "laissez-faire", but the
commitment of a doctor to heal put them at disadvantage at the bargaining
table. They reversed their disadvantage since the day of Adam Smith.

The heart and soul of "laissez-faire" is based upon the contract. It is
basic to contract law that the parties be of sound mind. People that are
sick or gravely injured are not of sound mind. They come to the bargain
table under the duress of the circumstance. It is not unlike people who are
in need of police or military protection. It is just not a time or place
for bargaining. America has a love affair with the idea of private medical
care, but it is so non-existent that it becomes very difficult to obtain
services without the social collective backup of insurance.

Until other classical liberals face the truth of where medical care fits in
the hierarchy of critical services, I guess I have to call myself a
moderate. I realize how unique my ideas on healthcare are, but once the
light shone, I could see no other way. I would even read the right for the
Government to provide health care under the constitution. "....in order to
provide for the common defense...."

Thanks again for posting this article,
Randy R. Cox

"Captain Compassion" <res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net> wrote in message
news:tgt9b11f2tv3irtru4pdq42p1hp6b084d0@4ax.com...

[Article source unknown]

Classical liberalism is a political ideology that originated in the
19th century. It is often seen as being the typical ideology of the
industrial revolution and the subsequent capitalist system. Ideas such
as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of thought were
first proposed by classical liberal thinkers, before they were also
adopted by thinkers of other ideologies. The influence of classical
liberalism has been so widespread that the majority of Western
countries are considered to be liberal democracies.

The key characteristics of classical liberalism:

The importance of the individual
Freedom
Reason
Justice
Toleration and diversity

Thinkers

As the industrial revolution began in the United Kingdom, so did the
first conceptions of liberalism. The first liberal philosopher was
John Locke (1632-1704) who defended religious freedom in his important
work A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). However, he would not
extend his views on religious freedom to Catholics.

Locke was responsible for the idea of "natural rights" which he saw as
"life, liberty and property". Natural Rights theory was the forerunner
of the modern conception of human rights. To Locke, property was a
more compelling natural right than the right to participate in
collective decision-making: he would not endorse democracy in
government, as he feared that the "tyranny of the majority" would seek
to deny people their rights to property. Nevertheless, the idea of
natural rights played a key role in providing the ideological
justification for the (at least moderately democratizing) American
revolution and French revolution.

The main economist of classical liberalism was the Scotsman Adam Smith
(1723-1790), who broadly advocated the doctrine of "laissez-faire" or
"let [it] act" -- minimal government or command intervention in the
function of the economy. Adam Smith developed a theory of motivation
that tried to reconcile human self-interestedness with unregulated
social order (mainly done in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)).
His most famous work, The Wealth of Nations (1776), tried to explain
how an unregulated market would naturally regulate itself via the
"invisible hand" of aggregated individual decisions.

American thinkers were also heavily influenced by liberal ideas. Both
the third and fourth Presidents of the United States, Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826) and James Madison (1751-1836), put the Liberal movement's
ideas into practice. Not only did they set up a liberal democracy,
they also furthered liberal ideology's influence on the American
system of government, by advocating a system of checks and balances,
federal states' rights and a bicameral legislature (two-chambered,
like the US Congress' Senate and House of Representatives.) The
seminal exposition of Liberal values in American government is The
Federalist (1788), more commonly known as The Federalist Papers, by
Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

Classical liberalism today

John Stuart Mill (J.S. Mill, 1806-1873) was influential in developing
modern concepts of classical liberalism. He opposed collectivist
tendencies but also placed emphasis on quality of life for the
individual. He also had sympathy for female suffrage and (later in
life) co-operatives -- positions which were, however, made somewhat
unclear by his support of the British Raj, or British colonialism in
India.

Two groups, libertarians and neo-liberals (such as Margaret Thatcher),
also claim the ideological inheritance of classical liberalism. These
political philosophies are notable for focusing on the notion of
"freedom" as it applies to the market. Some argue that this conflicts
with classical liberal ideas and that even Adam Smith recognized the
limitations of the free market as a sole means of social organization.

Classical liberalism in its various interpretations remains one of the
most pervasive ideologies in the world to this day.

-----

New liberalism (also called modern liberalism or social liberalism) is
a stance in political economy that argues for extensive state
regulation and partial intervention in a capitalist economy. It is
named in opposition to classical liberalism, and serves as an
intellectual foundation for political liberalism, liberal democracy,
and social democracy.

In Europe and the United States, in the end of the 19th century and
the early 20th century, governments started to intervene significantly
in the economy; this trend gathered momentum after World War I, and
became dominant after the Great Depression of the 1930s. People like
L.T. Hobhouse theorized why and how a government could intervene in
the economy without the country becoming a socialist planned economy.
They took the name of new liberals, to signify how they endorsed the
evolving tradition of political liberalism, while rejecting the
radical element from the classical liberal school of economic thought
as well as the then-revolutionary elements from the socialist school.

New liberals believe that while individual freedom should be
guaranteed, classical free-market liberalism had failed to protect the
basic rights of citizens, and that responsible government is the
solution to many social and societal problems. New liberals think of
their stance as a pragmatic midway between socialism and classical
liberalism.

New liberalism is not to be confused with neoliberalism, a name given
to various proponents of the free market corporations in the late 20th
century's global economy. This distinction is important to notice,
because "new" or "social" liberals tend to be scandalized by the
positions of "neoliberals".


--
A general rule: if enough people predict something, it
wonąt happen. -- J. G. Ballard

"America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy." -- John Updike

"Long term commitment in relationships is only necessary because it takes
so damn long to raise children. Marriage may well be some kind of trick
to keep the males around beyond sexual satiation." -- Captain Compassion

"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant

Joseph R. Darancette
res0mp8t@NOSPAMverizon.net

Thank you for that article. It mentioned Hobhouse, but did not mention
John Maynard Keynes. I saved that article; if you could enlighten us as
to where you found it, I'd appreciate it. Because I think Keynes was
brilliant as was Marx, but dangerous to the stability of economy, I do not
call myself a new liberal. The early conservative moment in America
including Barry Goldwater and Everet Dirkson were very proud of being
classical liberals. I am a classical liberal as described in this
article.

I would differ with Adam Smith and the classical "laissez-faire" doctrines
only when it comes to health care. With the social collective pressures
of mega-insurance companies there is no "laissez-faire" health care system
in America. Social collective obfuscations of actuarial pools work toward
weeding out those at risk and building a false confidence in the healthy
that they will be covered until they, too, become an unprofitable risk.
During Adam Smith's day medical care was "laissez-faire", but the
commitment of a doctor to heal put them at disadvantage at the bargaining
table. They reversed their disadvantage since the day of Adam Smith.

The heart and soul of "laissez-faire" is based upon the contract. It is
basic to contract law that the parties be of sound mind. People that are
sick or gravely injured are not of sound mind. They come to the bargain
table under the duress of the circumstance. It is not unlike people who
are in need of police or military protection. It is just not a time or
place for bargaining. America has a love affair with the idea of private
medical care, but it is so non-existent that it becomes very difficult to
obtain services without the social collective backup of insurance.

Until other classical liberals face the truth of where medical care fits
in the hierarchy of critical services, I guess I have to call myself a
moderate. I realize how unique my ideas on healthcare are, but once the
light shone, I could see no other way. I would even read the right for
the Government to provide health care under the constitution. "....in
order to provide for the common defense...."

Thanks again for posting this article,
Randy R. Cox