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From: cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Slippery slope nightmares
Message-ID: <376@kontron.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Jul-85 17:30:14 EDT
Article-I.D.: kontron.376
Posted: Wed Jul 17 17:30:14 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Jul-85 05:09:35 EDT
References: <991@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA> <245@ubvax.UUCP>
Organization: Kontron Electronics, Irvine, CA
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> In article <991@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA>, mwm@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA (Mike (I'll be mellow when I'm dead) Meyer) writes:
> > This is the brush that tars statist of all stripes. They know what's
> > best for people, and are going to pass laws (or regulations, or royal
> > pronouncements, or whatever) to see that those things are done or not
> > done. We have another word to describe that kind of society; we call it
> > a dictatorship.
> > 
> > 	<mike
> 
> Oh sure there's a slippery slope for anyone who wants to pass prescriptive
> laws.  Maybe their lust for more prescriptive laws (politicians as
> capitalists, I guess) will lead to a tightening noose which would
> someday equal dictatorship.
> 
> It's never happened (maybe in Switzerland? :-)).  Dictatorships are
> established not by politicians following slippery slopes, but rather
> by coups in times of extreme crisis.  Dictators come as saviors,
> not as well-meaning limited liberal politicians.  The kind of
> dictatorship that mike fears has never happened (although again,
> Switzerland ... [remember the movie "Bread and Chocolate"?] :-))
> 
Hitler and Mussolini came to power by election, not by coup.  While
Hitler had no good intentions, I suspect Mussolini may have, but evil
tends to build on its self.

> This slippery slope of one law leading to a cascade leading to
> dictatorship is a silly nightmare.  We should reassure people who
> have these nightmares that the world is not so gloomy.
> 
Yeah, there's no need to worry about elections like the one that
gave Germany Hitler as chancellor.

> Pragmatic people live on slippery slopes all the time.  They just
> carve out horizontal niches for themselves and maybe put up some
> barriers against avalanches.
> 
> Tony Wuersch
> {amd,amdcad}!cae780!ubvax!tonyw
> 
As technology increases the power of government, the barriers against
"avalanches" become increasingly inadequate.