Political idealism vs. political realism
Richard Clark
those who think of themselves as "realists" often serve unwittingly as
cheerleaders for injustice, no? They enforce the sense of
powerlessness often felt by those who are inclined to work for change
and in this way make it possible for a small elite, acting in secret,
beyond democratic accountability, to shape the institutions of power,
the better to serve their narrow and exclusive ends.
The primary meaning of God, according to Michael Lerner and David
Korten, is evinced by the force of healing and transformation that
allows us to transcend that which _is_, as we move toward that which
_should be_. But standing in the way of this are the "realists," who
are quite content with a winner-take-all world that is increasingly
divided between speed mongers and their road-kill.
G o e t z K l u g e
Political idealism provides objectives.
Political realism helps to verify and to achieve them.
Goetz
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SMIPP/frmentro.htm
Edward Flaherty
Richard Clark wrote:
(1) Not all good-intentioned people agree on what "should be."
Characterizing those who don't agree with your vision as being part
of a secret, scheming elite is nothing more than a strawman tactic.
(2) The world is not a winner-take-all society, no matter how
many asinine books Lester Throw writes.
--
Edward Flaherty
School of Business & Economics
College of Charleston
Office: (843) 953-7166
Fax: (843) 953-5697
Web site: http://www.cofc.edu/~flaherty