Quote:
Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm
LIncoln was a proto-progressive, a very early version of it. the guy was a statist.
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You are way too quick to apply labels without even defining them.
The word "statist" is meaningless. Everyone since Plato has believed in the necessity of a "state" or government of some kind, however small or limited. Unless, of course, you are an anarchist. So when you call someone a "statist" - all you really are saying is that person is not an anarchist. Which doesn't tell us much. So let's just abolish the term.
Lincoln saved the Union. Our federal system. E pluribus unum. We didn't split into two nations. To call him a "statist" means nothing. Everyone who fought on either side in the Civil War was a statist.
Now get back on topic.