Oct 19, 2022Liked by Phocaean Dionysius, Montana Classical College
Good discussion, thank you. I will add (though I’m not endorsing this view) that I’ve heard the justification for positive liberty as “the first concept of liberty was fine until capitalism proved so predatory as to require more security of liberties,” in addition to Phocian’s observation that the second concept reflected a decline in competence for a population that could not flourish under the first concept. Perhaps the second concept of liberty is the only thing separating us from having a population of helots, though I suspect the helots were capable of flourishing once relieved of bondage, hence the care the Spartans took in preventing that.
Also, I don’t know if this was intentional, but I chuckled at Phocian’s analogy regarding Douglas’s opinion of the wife marrying too early, considering he married a 23 year old as a geezer, and then later, as an even older geezer, he married a 22 year old.
Good discussion, thank you. I will add (though I’m not endorsing this view) that I’ve heard the justification for positive liberty as “the first concept of liberty was fine until capitalism proved so predatory as to require more security of liberties,” in addition to Phocian’s observation that the second concept reflected a decline in competence for a population that could not flourish under the first concept. Perhaps the second concept of liberty is the only thing separating us from having a population of helots, though I suspect the helots were capable of flourishing once relieved of bondage, hence the care the Spartans took in preventing that.
Also, I don’t know if this was intentional, but I chuckled at Phocian’s analogy regarding Douglas’s opinion of the wife marrying too early, considering he married a 23 year old as a geezer, and then later, as an even older geezer, he married a 22 year old.