The vernacular in my student days was: If you're not a Communist at 20 then you have no heart. If you're still a Communist at 30 then you have no brain.
I agree with you that there is more of a mellowing with age, but that may be just personal. I think there are a couple of drivers in play: A personal journey from youthful idealism through cynical middle-age (when you find that the world is not simple enough to support an idealistic outlook) then into a more mellow senescence ([?]) which may be a result of increased experience and wisdom? Different people take different time periods to work through each of these stages and obviously some never make it all the way. Combine this with a societal oscillation between liberal and conservative. The pendulum swinging between the liberal lefty views that dominated the 70's for example, through the conservative 80s,90s,00s...I think the swing back is well underway. The definitions of left and right are constantly changing (in absolute terms). I heared the other day that one of the architects of Thatcherism has latterly seen the errors of his ways. There is an interesting discussion on post-modern conservatism on an ABC (Australia) radio program here: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/stories/2008/2384582.htm Cheers, Saul On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 11:51 AM, Robert Holmes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > It's Francois Guizot (1787-1874): > *N'être pas républicain à vingt ans est preuve d'un manque de cœur ; > l'être après trente ans est preuve d'un manque de tête.* > *Not to be a republican at twenty is proof of want of heart; to be one at > thirty is proof of want of head.* It's been modified by several authors > (Churchill, Woodrow Wilson, Clemenceau, Disraeli, Bismarck and others) > usually talking about socialism/communism/liberalism etc. Personally I like > Clemenceau's version: > *My son is 22 years old. If he had not become a Communist at 22, I would > have disowned him. If he is still a Communist at 30, I will do it then.* > > Robert > > On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 10:36 AM, Steve Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> <snip> >> There is an old saying which I cannot attribute: >> *If you are not liberal when you are young, there is something wrong >> with you. >> If you are not conservative when you are old, there is something wrong >> with you. >> * >> - Steve >> >> >> >> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >> > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > -- Saul Caganoff Enterprise IT Architect LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scaganoff
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============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
