Hi Calvin. Very interesting posts, and I broadly a...

2010-03-07T13:05:31.223Z

Hi Calvin. Very interesting posts, and I broadly agree ;o) The division of left and right in politics seems to be a division between the left which preaches social responsibility, and the right which preaches personal responsibility, although today this division is less obvious. As Christians I believe we should balance personal and social responsibility together - as you say we should be idealists for Christ. This secular division though is quite artificial as both left and right are influenced by Platonism - unsuprising as the Greek Classics are required reading for many of the elite in Eton and Ox-bridge. So politicians of all shades tend to see themselves as philosopher kings with the masses either turned into productive units to pay taxes for social programmes, or to be almost slaves to big business.
Some of the worst aspects of Greek philosophy is that it has less respect for the traditional family unit as understood in the Bible, therefore children are seen as the property of the state, which then demands more control over their lives than their parents. The traditional family unit is broken up, and education for the majority is dumbed down.
The city state of Polis also needs a high class armed force loyal to the rulers i.e. a Polis force.

Gonna cross-post this one.

2010-03-07T10:31:13.594Z

Gonna cross-post this one.

I agree with you. As a Christian (let alone with a...

2010-03-07T08:33:37.729Z

I agree with you. As a Christian (let alone with a political hat on) I cannot identify entirely with one political party.

On the issue of how and why academics lean leftwards, Robert Nozick had a very interesting piece on the subject, here.

And I may as well put my cards on the table, but Hayek had some great things to say about this in 'The Fatal Conceit': basically smart people think they can understand and plan things better, so they will tend towards supporting central planning.

Comments on Calvin L. Smith: The Christian Academy and Christians in Politics

Hi Calvin. Very interesting posts, and I broadly a...

Gonna cross-post this one.

I agree with you. As a Christian (let alone with a...