On Wed, 22 May 1996, jim bell wrote:
At 03:55 PM 5/21/96 -0500, snow wrote:
On Mon, 20 May 1996, Vladimir Z. Nuri wrote:
the assassination politics is quite Hitleresque at its root. "kill our enemies, and everything will be better. it is our enemies that are the root of all evil in the world. extinguish them, and you solve all problems automatically"
It is more the MAD theory brought down to the personal level.
With all due respect, I think that comparison is a bit flawed. MAD (mutual
You are right. It is flawed.
more, you'd better not be a crook!
Or turn in too powerful a crook. Law enforcement won't just go away. There will always be those of us who feel that most crimes _don't_ deserve the Death Penalty, and that some sort of penal system will continue to be necessary. In your system this would not be possible because most people would be afraid to turn people in for fear of reprisal. I think that the biggest flaw in your system is the belief that people will act rationally. Do you think that the Menendez(sp?) brothers would have hesitated one second in having there parents offed to collect the inheretance?
Note: I don't necessarily think that AP is a good idea. I think that people should do their own dirty work.
In practice, I think this would be comparatively common as well. What currently deters such "take the law into your own hands" is the fact that police (being, essentially, in the business of protection) don't want you to provide for yourself by protecting yourself. They make it hard on people, in the same way they did with Bernard Goetz, the guy who shot four muggers on the New York city subway system. Once AP gets rid of the police, it will be much easier to protect yourself and not risk jail time, etc.
Umm... I think that the biggest reason that the Police don't want you taking the law into your own hands is that civilians tend to screw up badly. They get the wrong target, they don't stop when they should etc. The POLICE usually don't have a problem with an individual protecting themselves (as long as the response fits the crime, killing a shoplifter is a no no.) It is the court system that frowns on it. Is there the ability to predict a "mild beating" with your system? or a "severe beating", or simply a killing? Having one level of punishment is not a very good legal system. AP cannot replace it.
Superficially, a person might argue that the lack of police would also make it easier for the muggers. However, a "professional mugger" would make a LOT of enemies, and it wouldn't take long before he's dead. He'd only have to be caught once. Any victim of any mugger would be happy to donate to see him gone.
Give me the name of a mugger.
Right. Moreover, I believe that governments simply cannot exist as we know them under these circumstances. Besides, they won't be necessary.
See, you have far more faith in humanity than I do. Petro, Christopher C. petro@suba.com <prefered for any non-list stuff> snow@crash.suba.com