India Uncut

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Sunday, July 17, 2005

The child in us

In an excellent post, Don Boudreaux writes:
Why do people tolerate arbitrary power exercised by other people – and endure the barbarism that the exercise of such power inevitably unleashes?

I have no answer, just this thought: Castro, Chavez, Mugabe, Mao, Hitler, Mussolini – you name the head-of-state thug – derive much of their power from childish sentiments.

We in the west today romanticize childhood. We think of young children as innocent, frank, and cute. Of course, they are these things to a large degree, especially when being raised in protective middle-class homes. But children naturally, even more than most adults, hold simplistic notions of reality.
Read the full thing. "Simplistic notions of reality" perfectly describes the driving force of both the socialist left and the religious right in India, and I hope one day we figure out how to give them a spanking.

Update: In case you haven't already read it, do check out "Lord of the Flies". Fine book.
amit varma, 11:32 PM| write to me | permalink | homepage

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