Marlena wrote: "I'm not sure that I understand the "non-translatable fundamental commitments"." The original post gave two examples of 'faiths', religious and economic. As faiths, they would include particular commitments that stand as a core around which other commitments are oriented. This core of fundamental commitments might include the belief that God loves us or that a free market system inevitably leads to a free and prosperous society. The problem for a democratic society is that following through on these different commitments cannot be done, in the long run, through identical means. A good example is the upcoming appointment to SCOTUS. Religious/moral conservatives want someone who passes an abortion/homosexuality litmus test. Economic conservatives want someone who passes a lawsuit/regulatory test. These, however, are two very different, and in fact contradictory, kinds of criteria. Religious/moral conservatives want less judicial interference and more power to local authorities. Economic conservatives want more federal involvement to limit what local authorities can do. However, these are not merely in conflict but do not have any means of resolving their differences. For example, there is no way of translating the concerns religious/moral conservatives have over abortion into economic terms just as there is no way of translating limits on lawsuits into religious/moral terms. Economic conservatives want someone like O'Connor who was seen as pro-business while religious/moral conservatives certainly do not. This difference can't be resolved in economic or religious/moral terms since what matters for each side has no comparable concern in the other's language. The role of the political is to provide a venue within which people who are pursuing incompatible, or non-translatable, goals can work together and avoid violence. Sincerely, Phil Enns Toronto, ON ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html