Re: Politics and morality

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Lucien Saumur
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes
>
>In fact, I am the person responsible for starting this newsgroup.

That's fascinating, Lucien, and from your writings I guess that it is
true.

Although I have been quite hostile to some of your contributions, I
have been feeling more sympathetic recently, and have felt that you
have had undeserved stick from others lately.

In particular I agree that humanism should be filling the role from
which Christianity has faded, in the sense that the disappearance of
religion from many lives has left a moral vacuum. And the
disagreements between other contributors  to your views  bears out
your contention that humanism is not yet sufficiently coherent to
meet this task.

I am particularly unhappy with Ron's view that we can only direct
others since we lack the resources to act ourselves. As I have tried
to point out to you in earlier posts (and will try to point out to Ron
here), we all have the power to make things better, to different
extents partly owing to our different resources, but the most
important resource is will.

But I was in disagreement with your remarks about justice. My view
is that people normally use this term in relation to the official system
of jurisdiction, rather than to personal encounters. Thus one has
been treated justly if the court has found in one's favour, and
unjustly if it has not. The only exception to this would be if one is
prepared to accept that one was wrong, and honest enough to admit
it.

-- 
ralph