-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- On Sun, 26 May 1996, jim bell wrote: :But it wouldn't matter. They wouldn't know who to target, and the people :wanting to form a state have an inherent disadvantage against those who do :not: The act of forming the state identifies them. Real world anonymity is difficult to buy, and actions such as murder (or what you'd like to call "self-defense") take place in the real world. :It doesn't work like that. The act of formation of a state inevitably calls :attention to oneself. The act of opposing that formation does not. AP is :"biased," as it were, against centralized, organized political structure :that arouses the ire of even a tiny fraction of the population. A person :who dedicates himself to ELIMINMATING the state, and does so anonymously, is :difficult or impossible to target. I'd expect a realization of AP to promote a great backlash from a variety of quarters. Such methods, besides being unethical, are probably going to be used as fodder to infringe the liberties of others. In other words, a witch-hunt will result, AP advocates marginalized (if they are discovered). My original reservations, on the grounds of unjust means still stand, maybe we can return to this discussion sometime later. :No, the donations will be made against those people who are actually seen by :the people as the real problem. In an "AP-world," there would be no :"Islamic leaders" to call for Rushdie's death. True, if an author like :Rushdie said or wrote something that really angered a substantial number of :people, they might individually be aroused enough to target him, but that is :far less likely than ire directed by an Islamic leader today, I think. "Religious" fanatics have great appeal, I don't think even AP will make them "go away", the odds are they'll become martyrs. And we know where that takes us. :I (and others) have predicted that there will indeed be "court systems" in :place, although they will be numerous, competing, and voluntary, which will :turn most offenses into crimes punishable by fines. That will adjust the :punishment to the crime, in most people's opinions. I wasn't talking about the legal system in an AP world, but the idea that AP is justice in some sense. Incidentally, a purely civil law court is what I'd like as well, and competing courts and arbitration systems sound good to me. :No "values will be protected," except those that the individuals in society :choose to be protected. <snip> :> Marx was not the first to poitn out that institutions influence :>our actions, that we are products of our times, that the choices we face :>are as much determined by our own preferences as they are by the world :>around us. AP will create an environment where, I believe, an :>undesireable set of options will be presented to each of us. This is :>the "outcome" argument, i.e. undesireable ends, the means themselves are :>reprehensible. The answer (in some sense) to your second statement is contained in the little section I wrote earlier. It's an institutional argument. hostmaster@trill-home.com * Symbiant test coaching * Blue-Ribbon * Lynx 2.5 WHERE CAN THE MATTER BE Oh, dear, where can the matter be When it's converted to energy? There is a slight loss of parity. Johnny's so long at the fair. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Key Escrow = Conscription for the masses | 2048 bit via finger iQB1AwUBMakuLBwDKqi8Iu65AQHxzAMAteGkGW3Y2eIzpli5UuoaTUK/4hlQbZkN eutzCIgsBN2jUtBau0zz4Vjr0p+edTyXXhiBUv3VXjKPkNh4nPZcmG6kv37BLjlg +EhVAl55v8/+b2pqnQ0kx5a+9vr58c7H =VKHB -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----