Sam--

The answer to your first question is "yes."  To my eye, the question you pose is a false dichotomy.  We have good reason to worry about both.  It does take citizens of good character and right disposition to sustain a democracy.  And the propensity of power to corrupt is real, and must be guarded against.

A large question posed by this conversation is, "does there exist any good reason to engage in public historic preservation of *any* kind?"

And an even larger one is "does there exist any good reason to study history, other than personal entertainment?"

I would submit that there does exist a strong rationale to answer both questions, but that it is not a libertarian one.  From the perspective of Free Market Libertarianism, I think the answer to both questions is "no."

All best,
Kevin

---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:56:57 -0500
>From: Sam Treynor <[log in to unmask]>  
>Subject: Re: Ft Monroe & public funds  
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>Kevin -
>
>Who should we worry about, those ordinary people who, given liberty, might
>not do what is best, or those hungry for power, who given coercive
>authority, might use it to oppress?  
Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D.
Department of History
James Madison University

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