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From: Keith_Iluvitar_Weiner@mts.rpi.EDU
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: Advocacy and Passion
Message-ID: <1497658@MTS.RPI.EDU>
Date: 17 Oct 89 21:18:15 GMT
Sender: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle)
Organization: UC Irvine Department of ICS
Lines: 35
Approved: tittle@ics.uci.edu

>) the unearned prejudice [against women] does not benefit any man who is
>) competant, THEREFORE we do not support it.
>
>Some very competant factory owners and managers benefited from
>discrimination that enabled them to pay women less than men for
>doing the same work.  They supported and fought to preserve the
>system that allowed this.

The ideology which advocates that government's role is to control
people, because they are inherently evil or "selfish" is
collectivism/altruism/mysticism. This is not to say that Anarchy is
the way to go. There _is_ a proper purpose for govt. Mandating the
whims of the majority is _not_ its proper purpose. Protecting the
inalienable rights of the individual _is_ its proper purpose. "Wait",
you say. "Dont people have a right to live free from discrimination?"
That depends on several things which are not distinguished by the
current system, but which are very important. If a man refuses to hire
woman, then she does _not_ have a right to that job.  Thats _his_
money he wont givy her, and no one has any moral claim otherwise.  If,
on the other hand, a man told a woman to quit her job (as his
coworker) or else he would "get her", then he threatens the use of
physical force, which _should_ be illegal. Likewise if the govt itself
were to discriminate, it would necessitate the use of physical force
(as a somewhat more complicated corollary which I assume is not
argued). So what I advocate for govt's role is to protect its citizens
from the _initiation_ of physical force/fraud from domestic and
foreign criminals. Its purpose is _not_ to attempt to impose
"egalitarian" measures (again, what if people are _not_ equal?)
 
"An elective despotism is NOT what we fought this war for!" - T Jefferson

--
mi gloria es vivir tan libre / como el pajaro del cielo; |
no hago nido en este suelo / donde hay tanto que sufrir, | Cindy Tittle
y nadie me ha de seguir / cuando yo remonto el vuelo.    | tittle@ics.uci.edu