Re:The Dictatorship of Talent
by robg on Thursday December 06, 2007 @08:39AM
(#86608)
Chomsky once wrote about how the founding conditions of a country determine the eventual outcomes. They're extremely resistant to change because they're so deeply embedded with the fabric of the culture. And that seems especially true of this country with the constant social tension between freedoms and Puritanism.
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Re:The Dictatorship of Talent
by byrneseyeview on Friday December 07, 2007 @10:56AM
(#87021)
The easiest way to illustrate that is to note that our 'founding' conditions probably involved an extended mammoth hunt. At what point is a country 'founded' in Chomsky's model? Is he talking about when a dynasty begins, or when it achieves independence, or when it's first settled, or what? If your American example is from Chomsky, it's hilariously un-Chomskian "Since America began -- by which I mean, when Europeans got there..."