If the election of 1988 were held today... (user search)
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  If the election of 1988 were held today... (search mode)
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Author Topic: If the election of 1988 were held today...  (Read 4078 times)
Emsworth
Junior Chimp
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Posts: 9,054


« on: August 16, 2005, 04:39:40 PM »

Well, one of the rights we have is the pursuit of happiness
Perhaps, but only as long as other, more fundamental rights are not infringed.

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Why should you be able to pursue happiness, but not the corporation? Surely, the people who run the corporation have the right to pursue happiness by firing you, under your argument?

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Unbridled capitalism? Hardly.
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Emsworth
Junior Chimp
*****
Posts: 9,054


« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2005, 06:56:05 PM »


Why should you be able to pursue happiness, but not the corporation? Surely, the people who run the corporation have the right to pursue happiness by firing you, under your argument?

The rights of the individual do not apply to corporations.
Why shouldn't they apply to those who own the corporations? To rephrase the question: Why should your boss not be entitled to pursue happiness by firing you?

In any event, the notion of a so-called "right to pursue happiness" is rather arbitrary. If it exists, it does not override another person's right to property.
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Emsworth
Junior Chimp
*****
Posts: 9,054


« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2005, 09:39:52 PM »

In any event, the notion of a so-called "right to pursue happiness" is rather arbitrary. If it exists, it does not override another person's right to property.
Well, by that logic we should have no tax whatsoever.
No, not so. The power to tax is absolutely independent of the "right to pursue happiness." Taxation is a justified measure insomuch as it provides for the protection of individual rights and for the general welfare.

In any event, you haven't answered my previous question. Why should your boss not be entitled to "pursue happiness" by firing you? Why should your happiness take precedence over his?
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Emsworth
Junior Chimp
*****
Posts: 9,054


« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2005, 08:10:46 PM »

When there is too loose of a state grip on economic activities, the forces of big money and large corporations naturally work to crush the little man.  People lose the ability to gain a fair living through honest work.
I dispute that point. But, let us accept it for the sake of argument.

The government does not owe anyone a living. The government exist solely to protect and promote the rights and freedoms of the people; it does not exist to give them handouts, whether directly in the form of money or indirectly in the form of excessive regulation.

Another important point is that everyone's freedoms must be equally protected. I see no justification for protecting the worker more than the business owner. On the contrary, both must be equally protected; socialism does not do so.

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At the risk of seeming harsh, so what? Ultimately, the company is doing what it is supposed to do: achieve a profit. It is not responsible for your welfare, nor should it be.

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A rather convenient argument, no?

But I ask: if you should be able to control your own life and destiny, why should the business owner not be able to do the same? Why should his so-called right to control his destiny be sacrificed to help you?

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There is an enormous difference. The government is obliged to protect your freedom; the business must respect it, but it need not protect it.

In any event, businesses aren't taking anybody's freedoms away. If anything, it is the freedom of the business owners that is being trampled.
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