> > PS, On "choice": every morning, between 8am and 8:17am, I "choose"
> > to have a coffee, a fully free, first amendment style choice of my
> > free will. Nope, nothing biological or preordained about it
> > whatsoever. Nope, nuthin!
>
> Speaking of free will, anarchism, russians and the like, here's
> an interesting read
>
> http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/michail-bakunin-man-society-and-freedom.html
That's an awesome read! Thank you.
I put it into an OpenOffice file, 4 pages, 88KiB, numbered paragraphs,
"tidy" layout by my standards. Email if you'd like a copy for easy
printing.
Quote:
"Always and everywhere, when the masses are restless, even the most
enthusiastic liberals immediately reverse themselves and become the most
fanatical champions of the omnipotence of the State."
I take exception to the historical absolute assertion "(They
["Liberals"] know very well that no state in history has ever been
created by contract, and that all states were established by conquest
and violence.)", in that around 1900, the Commonwealth of Australia, the
federation of various states including New South Wales, Queensland,
Victoria etc, was created by referendum and consent of the British
parliament and the British monarchy, and not "by conquest and violence"
even though it is true that the majority of states ("countries") in
existence were created by conquest and violence.
New Zealand and Canada and perhaps other Commonwealth states, I think
share similar non violent histories, though I am no historian, so please
do your own research if important.
Setting aside this historical exception to the "conquest and violence"
rule about the creation of states, the paper gives much to think and
debate about.
Quote:
"Under the aspect of their earthly existence, the mass of men present so
sorry and degrading a spectacle, so poor in spirit, in will and
initiative, that one must be endowed with a truly great capacity for
self — delusion, to detect in them an immortal soul, or even the
faintest trace of free will."
