Monday, February 7, 2011

Lincoln's Interpretation of Democracy

Lincoln sees himself as continuing the democratic ideals of the founding fathers, as do our current presidents and politicians. The interpretation of those ideas has evolved significantly over time and varies greatly from person to person. If "all men are created equal," does "men" include women? Does "equal" mean equal incomes? Equal votes? Marx values economic equality; libertarians value equal rights. Even though so many claim to follow the same basic ideas, wars have been fought over how shape the ideals into a political system.
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1 comment:

  1. L. DeAne LagerquistFebruary 8, 2011 at 6:05 AM

    Erik,
    Precisely the sorts of careful distinctions that will move our conversation forward. They will also help Liza's frustration to huge, vague concepts and Jake's with over-generalization.
    LDL

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