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roachboy · 09-24-2004, 06:05 AM

the analogy is faulty---the legal system is set up to replace the victim of a crime by the state, which prosecutes as injured party--and it is set up with the assumption that the degree of guilt is adequately represented in a sentence passed. the social/legal expiation process is the serving of a sentence. after that sentence, the account should be wiped clean.
responsibility is accepted and acted upon by the serving of a sentence.
that's it--all she wrote on the matter.

it is the basic principle of the existing justice system.

this has nothing to do with the contracting of a disease. the analogy is false.

this process was set up explicitly against the notions of:
endless guilt like those outlined in cyn's post (and he is not alone, simply the most explicit);
against notions like heriditary guilt (so dear to athenian tragedy);
and, as an aside, the translation of state for victim and time/money for criminal act was set up early on to shortcircuit what was a logic of feud. the logic comes from lombard law, and has become basic to every modern judicial system.

you would think this stuff would be basic, would not be still up for debate.

what is also not really up for debate is that herbert spenser was a complete crackpot, that there is nothing descriptively or normatively functional about social darwinism---- this despite the absurd conflation of it with the mythology of "Free markets"---it is a rationalization for social barbarism.

the conflation of the social world with a version of nature, rewritten around the logic of the market, is also absurd, despite the efforts of years of right ideology to claim otherwise.

as a political ideology, it has not been functional since the earliest period of capitalist development--from the first limitations on the length of the work day onward, law has functioned to inflect the "law of the jungle" and capitalist bararity, however rationalized, has been understood as self-defeating in practice.
it is not functional now.
it will never be functional.

but then there are people who confuse ayn rand with a philosopher, george w bush with a competent president and fox with a news outlet.

go figure.

09-24-2004, 06:05 AM	#93 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	the analogy is faulty---the legal system is set up to replace the victim of a crime by the state, which prosecutes as injured party--and it is set up with the assumption that the degree of guilt is adequately represented in a sentence passed. the social/legal expiation process is the serving of a sentence. after that sentence, the account should be wiped clean. responsibility is accepted and acted upon by the serving of a sentence. that's it--all she wrote on the matter. it is the basic principle of the existing justice system. this has nothing to do with the contracting of a disease. the analogy is false. this process was set up explicitly against the notions of: endless guilt like those outlined in cyn's post (and he is not alone, simply the most explicit); against notions like heriditary guilt (so dear to athenian tragedy); and, as an aside, the translation of state for victim and time/money for criminal act was set up early on to shortcircuit what was a logic of feud. the logic comes from lombard law, and has become basic to every modern judicial system. you would think this stuff would be basic, would not be still up for debate. what is also not really up for debate is that herbert spenser was a complete crackpot, that there is nothing descriptively or normatively functional about social darwinism---- this despite the absurd conflation of it with the mythology of "Free markets"---it is a rationalization for social barbarism. the conflation of the social world with a version of nature, rewritten around the logic of the market, is also absurd, despite the efforts of years of right ideology to claim otherwise. as a political ideology, it has not been functional since the earliest period of capitalist development--from the first limitations on the length of the work day onward, law has functioned to inflect the "law of the jungle" and capitalist bararity, however rationalized, has been understood as self-defeating in practice. it is not functional now. it will never be functional. but then there are people who confuse ayn rand with a philosopher, george w bush with a competent president and fox with a news outlet. go figure. __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite Last edited by roachboy; 09-24-2004 at 06:08 AM..