qwerty south said:
theodore dalrymple (aka dr anthony daniels) is my favourite modern writer. an intellectual who has worked as a prison doctor and challenges many 'liberal' ideas...
http://search.city-journal.org/query.go?query=Theodore+Dalrymple&B1=GO&crid=796dceee09460404
Cripes - Dalrymple... No offense qwerty but I have a very deep distrust of this man.. I think he is just another right-wing misanthrope.
I had a look at the first article raised by that search, "
Lo, the Poor Terrorist" which only confirms my suspicion: at one point he adds the aside that a video of the strangulation is available in certain circles - like I care! what does that add to his point? (a purely stylistic criticism, I admit). He argues that Islamic terrorists are not necessarily created by poverty etc because many terrorists are actually middle class - which is a damned good point - but the thrust of this article is that Islam brings them to terrorism, which I think is a gross, dangerous and racist/bigoted thing to say. Maybe the terrorist might be unhinged? How about all the other Christian terrorists out there?
Anyway back to Buick6's topic.
Yeah, I agree with the others in that the best idea of conservatism is leaving behind a heritage to one's descendants in a better state than you received it.
But it's this heritage business which starts all the trouble. Whose heritage is it exactly? Is it a private heritage or does it belong to one's country or community?
Recently on Australian TV they played a documentary of sorts called The F***ing Fulfords which described the existence of the land rich but income poor family of the Fulfords. There the pater familias said unequivocally that his heritage was utterly private and had nothing to do with England, which is fair enough I guess, but when you think about how this mentality is persued in right-wing policy elsewhere it's not exactly healthy for society.
What happens when a certain section of the population has inherited all the good land and resources and everyone else is left on the edges catching whatever scraps that might fall from the table? etc.
A poor generalisation/metaphor but I hope you get the drift.
no, droid wins the thread