: : Its these threats and consequences that need to be so heavily scrutinized whenever someone offers 'the socialist alternative' or engages in criticism of private property and indivualism.: : And doing so is fun, aswell.
: Excellent thoughts. I feel no attraction to the Socialist/Communist/Green program. Me and millions of others, for the reason's that you list. I don't think that man's make-up, his nature, is built for that.
: I may be wrong, but history in this regard says probably not.
I think you'll find that history says a great many things. I think we could quite legitimatly say that history has shown that an obsession with individual rights and liberties (other than for monarchs and their cronies) has only existed for a couple of hundred years and that it is a purely European phenomenon. I challenge you to show one other place or era in history when the rights of the individual have been deemed of greater significance than the good of the community as a whole. It would seem that the weight of history is very deffinitely not on your side. What you refer to as the Socialist/Communist/Green program (guess which one of which I am a member)is an attempt to stabilise and restrain the excesses of the individualist capitalist historical aberration.
: Except for small inconsequential communities such as the Amish and Mennonites and left over Hippy communes who are, forgive me, parasites.
I think they could only be considered parasites if they are unable to provide for themselves and give nothing back to those who give to them. Amish communities define themselves by their ability to support themselves and there are even some hippy communities who can, shock horror, survive outside capitalism.
Capitalism as Americans and Europeans know it is not the only way. There are other systems which provide everything which their societies need without the harsh injustices of totalitarian communism or rampant capitalism.
At least Gee has a philosophical position which can be debated. You need to prove that your libertarianism is more than just selfishness.
Name calling is not debate.
