tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30436844.post8336578209887821776..comments2024-03-24T09:31:01.300+00:00Comments on Shiny Ginger Thoughts: On political disagreementDaniel Blanchehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525641726889468099noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30436844.post-75545815239710130312011-03-28T20:50:40.791+01:002011-03-28T20:50:40.791+01:00Hmm... I guess I was seeing the protest as a '...Hmm... I guess I was seeing the protest as a 'whoever shouts loudest' thing. The majority of people will always stay at home rather than march, even for things they feel strongly about - should their views count for less? (Assuming they participate in the process in other ways - voting as a bare minimum).<br /><br />I confess, I am also particularly suspicious of this sort of march because I know there is a real culture of solidarity on the political left. You march for our thing, we'll march for yours. Muddies the waters - e.g., I saw a lot of Palestinian flags on the news at the march. Why?<br /><br />But it's not a big deal. People should certainly be able to march if they want (not to illegally occupy or damage private property), and gov't should consider whether the marchers don't have a point. But I don't think they should be able to get their way just because they marched.Daniel Blanchehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15525641726889468099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30436844.post-22331282138771896102011-03-26T18:06:43.827+00:002011-03-26T18:06:43.827+00:00Helpful. Thanks for keeping this general. I hear y...Helpful. Thanks for keeping this general. I hear your point on <a href="http://wetlenses.blogspot.com/2010/04/nietzsche-spirit-of-resentment.html" rel="nofollow">resentment</a>. But I'm surprised you don't see this as a particularly legitimate part of the democratic process; is that because miliband is such a high profile convened or because you see our democracy as a heavily but rarely punctuated equilibrium? Besides, It's not as if anyone voted for a coalition manifesto; that's not delegitimizing the coalition as undemocratic; Id see the formation of a coalition itself as a crucial part of the ongoing political process within this system, much like this rally. Granted it's susceptible to a postmodern "who shouts loudest merely asserts themselves" rather than a (modern?) "whoever walks within the channels appeals to others" critique. And insofar as it descenda into mere assertion rather than appeal, it falls to that critique, but (a) it doesn't look like that's the case (b) I'm a bit more of a postmodern pragmatist about governments myself anyway, so sue me.;)Chris Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17277300338582244889noreply@blogger.com