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How do Governments Align?
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<blockquote data-quote="zabom" data-source="post: 6789933" data-attributes="member: 6807118"><p>Standard alignments are designed to reflect the philosophies/actions of individuals. I don't believe they can apply to any collective since motivations of a collective are many. You cannot say a government is specifically good or evil without defining the motivations of those that rule it. Since viewpoints will always be contested there is no way to judge the group as a whole. For example let's look at guns. Those that fear guns will call them evil, so any government that allows citizens to own them would be, by their definition, evil. However those that are in favor of guns see disarming of citizens as evil and a precursor to tyranny. To them a government that would take away the right to own a gun is evil. What truly determines whether that government is good or evil is the reason for the decision to disarm. If it is to save lives the government would be doing it for what they considered good reasons. If on the other hand they did it to leave the citizens defenseless against their rule, they are now most likely evil. Now consider that any such law created would be supported by both good and evil people.</p><p></p><p>Chaotic and lawful also fall short when applied to collectives since one can follow the laws of the land or the laws of morality. The question of whether the letter of the law or the intent of the law is more important once again becomes unanswerable when looking at a group as opposed to an individual. An individual can understand the intent of a law, but a group will offer different translations based on their own motives, requiring a strict adherence to the letter of the law. </p><p></p><p>My conclusion is that an entirely different system must be applied to governments.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="zabom, post: 6789933, member: 6807118"] Standard alignments are designed to reflect the philosophies/actions of individuals. I don't believe they can apply to any collective since motivations of a collective are many. You cannot say a government is specifically good or evil without defining the motivations of those that rule it. Since viewpoints will always be contested there is no way to judge the group as a whole. For example let's look at guns. Those that fear guns will call them evil, so any government that allows citizens to own them would be, by their definition, evil. However those that are in favor of guns see disarming of citizens as evil and a precursor to tyranny. To them a government that would take away the right to own a gun is evil. What truly determines whether that government is good or evil is the reason for the decision to disarm. If it is to save lives the government would be doing it for what they considered good reasons. If on the other hand they did it to leave the citizens defenseless against their rule, they are now most likely evil. Now consider that any such law created would be supported by both good and evil people. Chaotic and lawful also fall short when applied to collectives since one can follow the laws of the land or the laws of morality. The question of whether the letter of the law or the intent of the law is more important once again becomes unanswerable when looking at a group as opposed to an individual. An individual can understand the intent of a law, but a group will offer different translations based on their own motives, requiring a strict adherence to the letter of the law. My conclusion is that an entirely different system must be applied to governments. [/QUOTE]
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How do Governments Align?
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