relativism? - Reader comments at The New York Sun

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Between Liberalism and Leftism

Submitted by matt r, Dec 23, 2007 22:49

I'm perplexed by the move from "there are no objective standards by which we can judge other cultures" to "the only valid criticism of a culture can come from within." Why can't we explain, in our own terms, why we think a given practice or belief of another culture is wrong, or bad? Why can't we hope that the way we live will be an example, and a compelling reason to believe/act as we do. And then wouldn't that motivate us to do some immanent criticism of those alternative cultures in their own languages?

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Comment	By	Date
A good essay. I like the clear explanations of the terms used in the original. I especially like the use... [MORE]	pat	Jan 28, 2008 01:58
I'm perplexed by the move from "there are no objective standards by which we can judge other cultures" to "the...	matt r	Dec 23, 2007 22:49
Liberalism and socialism are incompatible. They are polar opposites. [MORE]	Robert Lynn	Dec 16, 2007 20:26
According to Mr. Kirsch, "Mr. Walzer takes for granted that the way to remedy the injustice of exclusion is an... [MORE]	Dan	Dec 14, 2007 17:56
mr. waltzer wrote a very interesting, if elliptical, account of the emergence of the parliamentary mentality and its agent, the... [MORE]	dano	Dec 17, 2007 13:54
Mr Kirsch sets up a false dichotomy when he says it is either to sit in peace under one's own... [MORE]	Steve Meikle	Dec 14, 2007 14:17

Reader comment on:Between Liberalism and Leftism

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Between Liberalism and Leftism