Wealth and Liberalism

I think we had some good discussions this week. I enjoyed the topic of liberalism, mostly because I feel like I can identify with it more than with realism. In my opinion, people are capable of being rational and I find it hard to believe that people want to go to war and conquer more territory. Maybe it's cliche but I think everyone really just wants to "get along". We can all agree that when people cooperate and work together the overall outcome is better (remember the Prisoner's Dilema?). I liked reading the article which highlighted the three types of liberalism. I agree that democracy is the best form of government we've been able to develop and that citizens of a free nation will not attack other free nations. Any logical person would not vote for a war that would endanger their lives and the lives of loved ones unless they felt genuinely threatend.

We also spent a good amount of class time this week focused on the necessity of wealth to a state. While I think it is good to consider, I don't think we needed to spend so much time on the issue. I am not saying that wealth is not an important issue, I just think that each country has it's own needs and there is no "right answer" for everyone. Both the United States and Denmark are wealthy and prosperous, however they have drastically different social and economic policies. I guess I would say that wealth tends to ensure power (or at least a say in what goes on), but that it's not the only way to gain respect and security. Ultimately it is the conduct of the individual state. I also think that it is possible for a state to have "enough". Enough money to provide services to it's citizens and protect itself in times of trouble. Although there is definately competition in the world I do think human's are internally driven by money in the sense that once they have some they need more.