: : My suggestion, although premature, would be to maintain a certain level of individual freedoms, but with the best interests of the collective good taking precedence over the right to exploit people : That woudl require agreement on what exploitation is, and there is very little agreement on that, even between workers whom some would say are being explouited.
*This is where participatory democracy would come into play. We would have to implement a method where everyone has their say, rather than elected officials. Sure it would take a lot of time, but it would be well worth it. And not on the small day to day stuff, only the large issues. It's something worth examining, and I don't pretend to have all of the answers.
: Also "a level of individual freedoms" were maintained in Nazi germany, with the regulation of freedom being for "the collective good". no one can decide the 'good' for another. They dont have the right.
* I doubt that the majority of Germany's citizens felt that this country was acting in the best interests of the collective good. Certain people did, and they used force,propaganda, and fear to pursue their own self-interests. I don't consider there to be many individual freedoms in Nazi Germany in the first place. Perhaps you could provide some examples.
: : The real problem with capitalism and a free market is that one can only prosper by keeping more, and paying less.
: If that were true then wealth would have shrunk. It hasnt, its spread and grown throughout the world.
* How is that so? Could it be only an illusion that wealth has grown? Or maybe it's because we are stripping more and more of our planet and selling it off as our own. Sure the standard of living has increased for some, but I don't believe that wealth has increased at all. Perhaps you believe this to be true because you live in the wealthiest nation of all?
: : As a man, would you feel included when you are bombarded with messages that use sexist terminology like the ones mentioned above? In the beginning, God created woman, for all of womankind, god bless our foremothers,...
: I dont think of males when I here the term 'man' or 'mankind' used in such contexts. I think of humans, people.
* The picture in your head though, is it male or female. How about when you hear the word God? What image is in your head? My point is that most people, regardless of gender, perceive the majority of the world's population as male when they have a mental image, and this sends a very powerful message as to the inequalities between the two sexes.
: : It is very important to recognize the effects that language has on a person's very essence, and the use of gender-biased language has the result of excluding women and making them feel invisible. If you only knew how it felt, you might understand.
: Catch 22, because I am not a woman any opinion I have on language is invalidated?
* Not that it is invalidated, but that you couldn't possibly understand because you have never been the minority in an oppressed group. I'm sure that if you gave it some really profound, honest thought, your conclusion would be the same as mine.
