British commentators seem to downplay the other roots of the American Civil War, and concentrate on the slavery aspect. Mind you, they aren't alone, as this famous scene from The Simpsons illustrates (Apu, the illegal immigrant convenience store owner with a PhD is applying for American citizenship):
Proctor: All right, here's your last question. What was the cause of the Civil War? Apu: Actually, there were numerous causes. Aside from the obvious schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists, there were economic factors, both domestic and inter... Proctor: Wait, wait - just say slavery. Apu: Slavery it is, sir.
I haven't read that article, but I have seen similar libertarian arguments about Firefly. For example, Joss Whedon won a Prometheus Award (libertarian SF award) for Serenity. Surely the fact that there is no suggestion in Firefly that the Independents kept slaves means that it's ok to see them as heroes doesn't it? If you read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, you're clearly meant to see Aslan as a hero. But we know that Aslan is allegorically meant to be a christian allegory, and didn't nasty christians start the Crusades? Well maybe, but in the book, Aslan's followers don't do anything bad, and in Firefly, the Independents don't keep slaves. If they had, it would be a different matter.
Incidentally, I don't think libertarians tend to go for heroes. We're too free-thinking for that for the most part. It's the authoritarians and statists who go around wearing Che Guevara t-shirts, attending Nuremberg rallies and reading Polly Toynbee.
no subject
Proctor: All right, here's your last question. What was the cause of the Civil War?
Apu: Actually, there were numerous causes. Aside from the obvious schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists, there were economic factors, both domestic and inter...
Proctor: Wait, wait - just say slavery.
Apu: Slavery it is, sir.
I haven't read that article, but I have seen similar libertarian arguments about Firefly. For example, Joss Whedon won a Prometheus Award (libertarian SF award) for Serenity. Surely the fact that there is no suggestion in Firefly that the Independents kept slaves means that it's ok to see them as heroes doesn't it? If you read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, you're clearly meant to see Aslan as a hero. But we know that Aslan is allegorically meant to be a christian allegory, and didn't nasty christians start the Crusades? Well maybe, but in the book, Aslan's followers don't do anything bad, and in Firefly, the Independents don't keep slaves. If they had, it would be a different matter.
Incidentally, I don't think libertarians tend to go for heroes. We're too free-thinking for that for the most part. It's the authoritarians and statists who go around wearing Che Guevara t-shirts, attending Nuremberg rallies and reading Polly Toynbee.