Article

2010-12-02 Science & Technology

Merkel's Climate Advisor: 'Ethical Elite' Must Rule 'Broad Majority'

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Posted by Omaing White7048 2010-12-02 06:09|| || Front Page|| [3 views ] Top

#1 Cannibals All!: Or, Slaves Without Masters, by George Fitzhugh (1857).

Posted by Anonymoose 2010-12-02 09:34|| 2010-12-02 09:34|| Front Page Top

#2 ethical elite = divine right of kings

Newspeak 2010 edition

Posted by Procopius2k 2010-12-02 09:51|| 2010-12-02 09:51|| Front Page Top

#3 'Ethical Elite' Must Rule 'Broad Majority'

I am nearly certain that Madame Nancy Pelosi would agree with that statement and indeed would find it unremarkable.

Our de facto social-democrat party is just coy about saying such things in public. It might disturb the 'natives.'

Posted by Free Radical 2010-12-02 10:08|| 2010-12-02 10:08|| Front Page Top

#4 and making it hereditary will make it even better.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2010-12-02 10:25|| 2010-12-02 10:25|| Front Page Top

#5 'ethical' : That is the key word here. They will define how you live based on what THEY define as ethical.

Posted by Phack Jones3952 2010-12-02 11:26|| 2010-12-02 11:26|| Front Page Top

#6 And that is where the theory falls on its face. There are only so many ethical elite slots to fill, so there will be compitition among those who consider themselves appropriate for the task - so they jockey and maneuver to fill those slots and the effective ruthless get the job where the ethical get kicked out. Then they solidify their position to prevent their own ouster, but only by those who are less ruthless than themselves.

The only way it works is if there is a 100% ethical population to work from. Blow that idea with two examples:

Al Gore - well documented

Sheryl Crow - carbon guzzling tours and house. Decides to sell the house, ok. But rather than demolish the house and donate the property to be a park or something she takes the money and runs.

And what would be the strict definition of the right kind of ethical? Is forced sterilization and/or permits to have children ethical, and how would it be enforced? Look at military drafts, always seemed like the fortunate sons, as it was said, were able to find a way out or around (ironically, that included the singer of said song) while the poor had to bite the bullet. Is that the model?

Would it be by some popularity vote? No controversy with the dancing show eh? Then by computer...which one: Zardoz, Gort, Hal, Skynet, Matrix? Of course even if a pure program were installed it could never be changed, corrupted files, hacked..nope no non imposible.

We already see the justification of using lights containing mercury in favor of less pollution, the euthanasia of working vehicles in favor of production intensive green cars rather than letting the cycle over occur naturally. At what timeline would it be considered ethically pure to justify a nuclear strike against industrial centers where the strike's pollution pays for itself over x years considering the factory pollution, carbon footprint of people and vehicles, with radiation sterilization a bonus to add onto?

At least the divine right of kings has some sort of established cultural accountability. Perhaps the more appropriate phrase would be Masters looking for Slaves.

I'm not against good environmentalism - nobody likes to shit in their own bed or neighbors garbage thrown into one's kitchen - but this behind the scenes smokey room authoritarianism should give pause to both believers and non-believers. You believers need to realize that your good intentions are being used as a sales pitch, this is your version of the corporate logo wearing slave and now you, too, are suckers.

/rant

Posted by swksvolFF 2010-12-02 12:06|| 2010-12-02 12:06|| Front Page Top

#7 Remember, they're not elite, they're just overly-credentialed ...

Posted by Steve White 2010-12-02 13:06|| 2010-12-02 13:06|| Front Page Top

#8 "Nomenklatura is a caste system that applies only to the elite class. Its many levels enjoy varying degrees of privilege according to rank. For Politburo members there is no limit or restriction on privileges. Below this level the grading structure begins. The Central Committee defines the place of anyone eligible for inclusion in the various categories: high party apparatchiki, Cabinet ministers, diplomats or individuals with unusual abilities or exceptional talents such as artists, scientists, Olympic champions and the like. Factory workers, farmers, engineers, lawyers, doctors, store managers and other private citizens are excluded.

Members of the elite have extensive privileges: high salaries, good apartments, dachas, cars with chauffeurs, special railway cars and accommodations, VIP treatment at airports, resorts and hospitals off limits to outsiders, special schools for their children, access to stores selling consumer goods and food at reduced prices. They live far removed from the common man and, indeed, have to go out of their way if they wish to rub elbows with the less exalted. The highest group in the nomenklatura is separated from most citizens by a barrier as psychologically imposing as the Great Wall of China. This class constitutes virtually a state within a state."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960302,00.html#ixzz16yrPz4g8

Posted by Black Charlie Chinemble5313 2010-12-02 13:45|| 2010-12-02 13:45|| Front Page Top

#9 I should mention that Merkel seems to have cooled a bit on global warming.

Posted by European Conservative 2010-12-02 18:44|| 2010-12-02 18:44|| Front Page Top

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