--- Justin <justin-cypherpunks@soze.net> wrote:
state's personality, the state has the right, nay, obligation to
On 2004-12-10T15:50:22-0500, Steve Thompson wrote: [snip] preserve
its identity unchanged. (Isn't this pretty much polysci 101 material?)
Not typically. The idea that the state has its own identity is obvious, because it has a name -- the "state". It is clearly an atomic entity, in the same sense as a beehive or ant colony (to borrow unapologetically from R. Dawkins). However, discussion of the state as an singular entity that acts to preserve itself is typically delayed until study of Leviathan. Then it's expanded when studying Kant's theory of International Relations.
This is what happens when one picks up ideas from people who present them second-hand (or at even greater distances from their origin) and who do not make proper footnotes.
Those are typically 2nd-year courses, at a minimum. IR is typically 3rd or 4th year, but Leviathan is discussed in any number of classes, just not polysci 101.
My bad. Regards, Steve ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca