[lit-ideas] Re: FW: Re: ] Hillary Clinton Speaks Up for israel at U.N.Rally
- From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:26:29 -0400
I had written:
"The vehicles of change might be through referendum or electing a
particular group of representatives into power."
to which Simon Ward replied:
"Only if the state in question is democratic."
I agree, but these were merely examples. I am not trying to describe
the conditions for change but addressing the fact that they can and do
happen. How does a state change from a Monarchy to a Constitutional
Monarchy, as in the case of the U.K.? How does a state shift from a
single party oligarchy to a multi-party democracy, as in the case of the
former East Germany? How do settlements of immigrants form themselves
into a state, as in the case of the U.S.?
My point is that trying to understand these cases is not a matter of
grasping some universal principle of the 'authority of state', but
rather recognizing the particular circumstances people found themselves
in that led them to form better government. Once we have moved beyond
beating our favourite ideological drums, it seems to me that we are left
with the important business of thinking about how the Palestinians and
Iraqis might go about forming good government.
Sincerely,
Phil Enns
Toronto, ON
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