And to the point of persuading people of the value of diversity, well, the possibility of persuasion presupposes a democracy. To me it seems we either decide to believe in democracy, and figure this stuff out together, or we decide we don’t believe in democracy, and stop pretending (a la representative democracy, which I feel is a sham).
And I feel uncomfortable with this “not forcing people” claim. It seems to resonate with arguments made against school integration to support “separate but equal,” which of course was not equal but was ethically abhorrent.
Finally, if angel investors really were the answer, then there would already be angel investors swooping in to protect those less fortunate. Given America’s rising social inequality that’s clearly not happening. I think if we take the ideas of community, nation, and common good seriously, then we have to come together as the commons, as the people, and act together.
]]>“Besides, if it’s voluntary, every last person gets a say in how much they are willing to contribute and what purposes they’ll help with. Democratic participation means 50% plus one sets both of those” — these are questions about taxation, which are good to raise and I’m not entirely sure how to respond to them.
The point about transparent taxation being dangerous for socially unpopular but ethically necessary spending still stands though (I know I provided sexual and reproductive rights as my example, which you probably disagree with, but I’m sure you can think of other examples which you would agree with).
]]>There’s some difference, but I feel like it’s quite slight at that point…
]]>