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PAP stands for politics, art and philosophy. Art and philosophy are discussed to the extent that they are political. Politics, in turn, is limited to issues of human rights and democracy, which is wide enough to encompass most if not all important politic
Recent Posts Tagged With 'politics'
Human Rights Story (6): Shylock
(source) From Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Shylock’s Speech to Antonio (I’ve added a “translation” into present-day English): Signior Antonio, many a time and of...
Waterboarding
More on waterboarding....
Stop the Bullets, Kill the Gun
More on the arms trade....
Human Rights Quote (86): Human Rights and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
(source) Classic economic theory, based as it is on an inadequate theory of human motivation, could be revolutionized by accepting the reality of higher human needs, including the impulse to self a...
Human Rights Quote (85): Prejudice and Allport’s Scale
(source) People who are aware of, and ashamed of, their prejudices are well on the road to eliminating them. Gordon Allport Gordon Allport, a psychologist, created Allport’s Scale in 1954. It...
Human Rights Poem (52): The Laws of God, the Laws of Man
(source) The laws of God, the laws of man, A.E. Housman The laws of God, the laws of man, He may keep that will and can; Not I: let God and man decree Laws for themselves and not for me; And if my way...
Human Rights Cartoon (98): Overlegislation and the Big State
(source, Pavel Constantin) I agree that a complex contemporary society needs a complex system of law, and I’m the last one to adopt a libertarian philosophy in which the state is evil (necessar...
Human Rights Poem (51): Grenadier
(source) Grenadier, A.E Housman The Queen she sent to look for me, The sergeant he did say, `Young man, a soldier will you be For thirteen pence a day?’ For thirteen pence a day di...
Human Rights Facts (55): China, Confucianism and Authoritarianism
Confucianism, the traditional Chinese ethical and philosophical system based on the teachings of Confucius (551 BCE - 479 BCE), is often blamed for the lack of freedom and the authoritarian and anti-d...
Human Rights Facts (54): The Indian Caste System
(source) In India, a caste is a hereditary group in a traditionally and rigidly stratified society. People belong to a caste because they are born into one, because their parents belong to one. Mobili...
What is Democracy? (24): Vote Buying
(source) Or, rather, what it should not be. Vote buying is a perversion of democracy. It is a system in which groups of citizens try to force the government to take decisions that correspond to their ...
Human Rights Quote (84): Libertarianism
(source, source) Why is avoiding coercion a supreme end that dominates all other ends? What makes noncoercion superior to justice, equality, freedom, security, happiness, and other values? If any of t...
Human Rights Quote (83): What To Do With the Intolerant?
(source) The liberties of the intolerant may persuade them to a belief in freedom. This persuasion works on the psychological principle that those whose liberties are protected by and who benefit from...
What is Democracy? (23): A Way of Life
(source) He who is without a city is either a poor sort of being, or a being higher than man. The man who is isolated, who is unable to share in the benefits of political association, or has no need t...
Human Rights Facts (53): Good Governance
(source) Bad governance is a cause of underdevelopment, poverty, war and human rights violations. Major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and loans on t...
What is Democracy? (22): Independent Political Parties
Disadvantages of private funding for political parties: (source) What is necessary is that political parties be autonomous with respect to private demands, that is, demands not expressed in the pub...
Human Rights Facts (52): The War on Terror
The War on Terror, started by the US government as a response to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and later joined by other governments, has had and continues to have grave consequences for the h...
Human Rights Cartoon (97): Corruption
(source) Forms of corruption Corruption can take on many forms: From limited competition when awarding government contracts to the setting up of wasteful mega-projects designed specifically for the c...
Human Rights Facts (51): Apostasy
Apostasy (from the Greek word for defection) is the explicit and formal abandonment or renunciation of one’s religion. The word has a pejorative connotation and is mostly used by the adherents o...