Assignment 2 Due September 22

On May 23, 1857, in a letter to an American friend, Lord Thomas MacCauley wrote:
A democracy cannot survive as a permanent form of government. It can last only until its citizens discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority (who vote) will vote for those candidates promising the greatest benefits from the public purse, with the result that a democracy will always collapse from loose fiscal policies, always followed by a dictatorship.The average age of the world's greatest democratic nations has been 200 years.Each has been through the following sequence:From bondage to spiritual faith. From faith to great courage. From courage to liberty. From liberty to abundance. From abundance to complacency. From complacency to selfishness. From selfishness to apathy. From apathy to dependency. And from dependency back again into bondage.

Where are we on this continuum?

Can we escape this fate?

How?

Assignment 1: Political Compass

PART TWO POSTED AT THE END OF BLOG RESPONSES! READ AND RESPOND BY THURSDAY 9-18

Take the survey at Political Compass (http://www.politicalcompass.org/index)and post your results (you can copy/paste the chart). Briefly discuss your reaction to the questions posed and your placement on the scale. Check out your classmates results and postings and add at least one comment.

Welcome Class of 2009!

Looking forward to seeing you in September!