Technological Disparity?

[Pyrite]

Okay, I forget where I was reading this paper (I believe it was written by George Orwell concerning the atomic bomb, actually) and it basically stated that when the technology used by those who rule, is easily obtainable or duplicatable by the "masses" (we're not really going communist here, just more, libertarian I suppose.) then such a society will be more democratic in nature. The example cited was the easy creation of muskets, and to a lesser extent the artillery used by those in the 17th century which saw a great period of revolt against the autocratic regimes that were in place in that time period. We can observe the opposite of this effect, when weapons and armor in the middle ages were reserved for a landed class, that had to keep and mantain it's own weapons, which were rather difficult to produce in high quality and in large numbers. (therefore, lower class divisions in the armies fought with more makeshift or easier to produce, but inferior weapons.) Or, in the modern age where a citizen could easily obtain a firearm (if legal in one's country) but would have neither the capital or ability to purchase a, for example helicopter or tank that would be necessary for staging armed resistance. The basic treatise is that an individual's liberty is extremely effected by that individuals physical, and mental (Liberty of mind to see past propaganda and cultural norms that impede on one's freedoms, such as love for a king/etc that have been ingrained) ability to defend one's liberties. Do liberties need to be constantly defended to be mantained? If they are not constantly fought for will they slowly become a memory?

I do not believe that liberty must always be mantained with physical struggle (although I do think that the ABILITY to physically struggle with authority certainly helps the individual mantain his/her rights.) but I do think a verbal struggle against those who impede on "civil rights" is certainly necessary, and also the mental capacity to resist in the case of any unwarranted imposition is completely necessary to mantaining one's own freedom. What do you think? To quote a radical distribution, I'd say that the "The republic is defended in three stages, Ballot box, Jury Box, and Cartridge box?" How do you feel about this? Can we trust our rulers? Can we trust ourselves to mantain our freedoms?

 

[Kozmos]

No you cant trust anyone in charge. My family still has a pile of guns buried somewhere in the mountain. Just in case...

 

[Pyrite]

Which would do you absolutely no good against a state armed force. The point was, does state power become more repressive and controlling as the people lose the means to compete effectively in a military fashion against power, ie when muskets were the main combat weapon, which virtually everyone owned, as compared to today when high technology weapons dominate the battlefield.

edit: I realize yr being facetious, but yeah.

 

[Kozmos]

Well as an angry mob once said:

AK47s for everyone!!! *cheers*

 

[eyrei]

It is indeed by George Orwell, and is called "You and the atomic bomb."

Here is a list of many essays by Orwell. Many of them are very interesting.

 

[Norseman2]

Technological disparity doesn't make war impossible, it just changes the nature of the war. Guerrillas would have no problem with tanks or jets, the tanks and jets would never know where they are.