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This text is sometimes presented under the title On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. Its original title is Resistance to Civil Government.

"When a sheep is ailing," said Socrates, "we generally blame the shepherd, and when a horse is vicious, we generally find fault with his rider. In the case of a wife, if she receives instruction in the right way from her husband and yet does badly, perhaps she should bear the blame; but if the husband does not instruct his wife in the right way of doing things, and so finds her ignorant, should he not bear the blame himself? [12] Anyhow, Critobulus, you should tell us the truth, for we are all friends here. Is there anyone to whom you commit more affairs of importance than you commit to your wife?" "There is not." "Is there anyone with whom you talk less?" "There are few or none, I confess." [13] "And you married her when she was a mere child and had seen and heard almost nothing?" "Certainly." "Then it would be far more surprising if she understood what she should say or do than if she made mistakes." [14] "But what of the husbands who, as you say, have good wives, Socrates? Did they train them themselves?" "There's nothing like investigation. I will introduce Aspasia to you, and she will explain the whole matter to you with more knowledge than I possess. [15] I think that the wife who is a good partner in the household contributes just as much as her husband to its good; because the incomings for the most part are the result of the husband's exertions, but the outgoings are controlled mostly by the wife's dispensation. If both do their part well, the estate is increased; if they act incompetently, it is diminished. [16] If you think you want to know about other branches of knowledge, I fancy I can show you people who acquit themselves creditably in any one of them."

cc and the non-commercial, sharing economy.

defining this always seems hard to us at oD

Research suggests that a socialization process occurs that leads young adults to hold onto the party identification and opinions that they developed in their formative years. This is especially true with partisan identification. Party identification is the single strongest predictor of how people vote and tends to stick with individuals once they form an attachment early in their political lives. Even if the Republican Party eventually softens its views on social issues, it won't make much difference once the Millennials have reached age 30 and their party identification has hardened. If Teixeira is right, by the time this process is over an entire cohort of voters will be heavily pro-Democratic for the rest of their lives. As it happens, 2010, like 2002, might not be such a great year to make this prediction: a brutal recession and the usual midterm blues are likely to produce big Republican gains this November. In the long term, though, the longer the Republican Party continues to rely on its intolerant, ultraconservative base for support, the more likely they are to write their own obituary for 2020 and beyond.

The big point Mr Davey makes is that we would all be happier if we lived frugal, natural community-bound lives. I agree that some of us would. But many of us most definitely would not (I for one). Among the types of human being are those with fierce ambition and restless desires. If you stick them in closed communities they will soon organise the village to wage war on the next one. Thus rose the feudal estates and territorial despotisms of old. So, no, I do not believe in the return to Eden. It is one of humanity's oldest myths. But it is just that - a myth. Of course, Mr Davey may prove right that the challenge of replacing fossil fuels is one we are unable to meet. If so, at some point, our civilisation will collapse. It will not be fun. Of that I am sure.

basic magnitudes ... where is the problem?

The controversy is more one of pharmaceutical interests v.s. cures for disease rather than political beliefs and in this case it is a case of what's right and what is terribly wrong with our current government under President Obama.