Saturday, March 10, 2012

"All democracies tend to steal from the unborn since they can't vote"

--- Roger Scruton, in an interview in New Scientist on the occasion of the publication of his new book, Green Philosophy, 7 January 2012

Quote in context:
What role should the state play in [lessening our impact on the planet]?

This is one issue we all worry about, regardless of ideology. Wisely, the American founding fathers held that state powers should be conferred and limited by the people: that is what the Constitution was for. However, even in the US, we now see the state stealing future assets to finance current profligacy. All democracies tend to steal from the unborn since they can't vote. But families and small associations can look to the past and future - and the unborn have a voice. The state should return power to small groups so problems land in the lap of those with a motive to solve them.