Thursday, June 12, 2008

Step 4: It's Mainly About the Majority

To want to make the world a better place according to leftist principles, you're going to have to want to make it a better place for the majority. At the same time, I agree with the liberal principles of protections for minorities. But it depends on what kind of protections for what sort of minorities.

Practically speaking, the privileged minority has blanket protections for its wealth and power. These protections allow it to harm the interests of the majority in a very real way, as opposed to the inconsequential way that many feel they are impinged upon by having to respect (say) the sexual freedoms of the minority that is not heterosexual.

But it's mainly to make the lives of the majority of people better that is the aim of the socialist project. And any successful revolutionary movement must have the support or at least the acquiescence of the majority. This is crucial for avoiding the dictatorial excesses of the Marxist-Leninsts who only carried out a sort of coup.

I've got to get back to my dishes.

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