Big Think

carlos acuña commented on Paul Krugman on Capitalism and Waste on October 14, 2008, 10:52 PM

ej and Drdoom are both correct. Capitalism is a rather high sounding name for an acqusitive, nay, greedy, hoarding, predatory, narcissistic and, ultimately individual and socially destructive ideology. Under capitalism everyone and every thing _degenerates_ into a _role_ to cover up this greed. There is the producer/entrepreneur/"capitalist" and there are the consumer/buyer/"markets." _All_ natural resources get destroyed/consumed at post-Malthusian speed such that destruction of any resource outpaces the pace of replacement--from clean air to clean water, to natural livestock (elk, moose, buffalo, deer, wild turkey, etc.) to topsoil to nuclear waste...you get the idea. And as a _reward_ those who hoard/despoil the resources and who have "caused" scarcity now profit even more obscenely under the "law" of supply and demand.Some ideology!Get me off this spaceship with its crazy crew!

carlos acuña commented on Does public opinion influence your decisions as a judge? on April 14, 2008, 8:27 PM

I am persuaded that Archibald Cox answered this question best: "It is the function of the courts to keep the rights of the individual beyond the reach of majoritarian tyranny."Public opinion, as I interpret it, means "majoritarian opinion," thus, _tyranny_. As such, it should be ignored where the rights of the individual are concerned. An individual--as per the Constitutional charter--joins a society for protection and cedes some "privileges," but never surrenders his rights, especially those specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights.