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There won't be peace on Earth until people give up on the idea that they have the right to coerce other people into political relationships.
by stretchwithme 7y ago
There won't be peace on Earth until people give up on the idea that they have the right to coerce other people into political relationships.
- slapshot 7y agoWe (USA) fought a war over that. The "if we agreed to stay together then we have to stay together" side won.
- jdc 7y agoBut the scope of what "stay together" means has steadily grown since then.
- scythe 7y agoThe Civil War was not about some kind of ideal of decentralization and certainly was not about today's pining for city-states. It was mostly about slavery, with some esoteric political theory tacked on to the Confederate Constitution to save face.
- wolco 7y agoIt was about only allowing white labor in the west. It was about the Lincoln winning without any representation from the south.
- labster 7y agoIf it was about that, they would have made a case for secession before Congress prior to attacking Fort Sumter. Surely the right of revolution should only be invoked after at least making an effort at a compromise before attacking.
- stretchwithme 7y agoNot exactly. Those who wanted out of that fairly free arrangement did not want others to get out of literal bondage. The freedom to oppress is not what I was talking about.
- squiggleblaz 7y agoThe domestic political processes of the United States, even when they amount to a civil war, are not binding on other states, however similar or dissimilar they be. I can imagine California would be prevented if they asked for independence today, but Scotland looked pretty much free to go if they'd wanted it recently.