[MD] Intellect battles the [immigrant] barbarians

[Ant McWatt]

Platt stated to Ham October 30th:

The barbarians that destroyed Rome are now at our gates. The rise and 
acceptance of "anything goes" values (witness the lack of moral backbone 
even to support laws against indecent exposure) are sapping our strength 
from within so that West's willingness to fight to protect and preserve its 
civilization from its plainly dedicated enemies is in doubt. Today 
governments of the West won't even stand up for free speech rights for fear 
of reprisals from the barbarians. Can total collapse be far behind?

Ant McWatt comments:

Platt,

I’m afraid to say that Bush and Blair (the contemporary representatives of 
the Barbarians of the West) are already past the “gates of Rome” and are now 
destroying the cradle of civilisation (i.e. Iraq).

Platt then noted to Ham October 30th:

Case's accusations against capitalism are right out of the left's
book of talking points. It would be nice if they would talk about hard
work, personal responsibility, individual initiative, delayed
gratification, self-discipline, openness to competition, etc. etc., but
don't hold your breath. It's "the system" that's always to blame. And, of
course in the twisted morality prevalent today, it always pays to be 
"oppressed."

Ant McWatt comments:

Tell that all to a starving child in Darfur.  What use is “openness to 
competition” to them?   Capitalism doesn’t work for a substantial proportion 
(if not the majority) of the world’s population.

Platt continued October 30th:

To these folks even the environment suffers from oppression.

Ant McWatt comments:

You know the States has about twenty years before the relative lack of 
global oil supplies will really hit it – hard.  The future doesn’t look too 
bright in Europe either even though it has a slightly better awareness of 
renewables and the environment.  I know you’ll probably be dead by 2030 but 
don’t you have grandchildren to be concerned about?

Platt continued October 30th:

The left is a religion, and like all religion impervious to rational 
argument.

Ant McWatt comments:

I thought the Left in the States was the natural home of academics and 
therefore rational thought?   Doesn’t Pirsig doesn’t call universities the 
Church of Reason?  Moreover, isn't it the conservatives who have been 
recently allying themselves with the Fundamentalist Christians (the natural 
home of the non-rational and the crank)?

Platt concluded October 30th:

Rand elevates the individual. So does the MOQ by making intellect and art 
the highest moral levels. Societies don't think or paint landscapes. Only 
individuals do.

Ant McWatt comments:

This paragraph is circular in its logic unless intellect and the individual 
are different entities.  If you replace the term “intellect” with 
“individual” in your paragraph, it becomes clearer why this is the case i.e.

“Rand elevates the individual. So does the MOQ by making the individual
and art the highest moral levels. Societies don't think or paint landscapes. 
Only individuals do.”

Individuals also say “excuse me” for sneezing in public (social value 
level), eat food (biological value level) and need rocket ships to overcome 
the Earth's gravity (inorganic level).  As I have noted on a number of 
occasions on this Discussion group the human individual in the MOQ is a 
combination of the four static levels, not just an equivalent of the 
intellectual level.  But hey, I’m only a doctorate in the subject so I could 
be wrong!

Sleep tight, don’t let the Muslims bite,

Anthony




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