Abusive Neighbor

[Thomas Kirby]

It was a lot harder to believe that it was hypothetical after Ku said that he had had the police out and they wouldn't do anything about it.

[YT2095]

I treated that as a Metaphore, I don`t know about anyone else here?

[danny8522003]

I think he was trying to throw us off track so we could make conclusions based upon familes rather than nations.

[Kingpin1989]

Why stop at government to citizens? If you want to upscale it the same situation could be drawn from two warring countries and their subsidiaries, and a whole bunch of new factors enters the equation: Strategy, Military Status, Citezen population, etc. I'll admit there would be still some complications in converting the problem from one scale to another and factoring in all the new twists. I mean, seeing as how each problem only gets bigger as you work your way up the scale.

[Thomas Kirby]

A government is a good analogy to an abusive father who doesn't care if his kids live or die as long as he has enough of them to work the fields and mines.

[-Demosthenes-]

My point is that the relationship between parent and child is virtually identical to the relationship between government and citizen.

 

I think it's a poor comparison. Most of these sorts of "analogies" are. It is a problem when someone over-simplifies a system as vast and complex as a society and government into something small and simple. Parents have more control over their children then do governments (most) and Parents and families are under higher authorities in law when they do things wrong. There are many more problems with the comparison. It just doesn't work. You can easily compare the government and its citizens to a family, or for that matter anything you want to prove any point you want.

 

Analogies seem to be ways people manipulate a situation into another which will more easily cast in their view of things in the world as positive.

[Pangloss]

Well put.

[MetaFrizzics]

A government is a good analogy to an abusive father who doesn't care if his kids live or die as long as he has enough of them to work the fields and mines.

Except most real fathers or step-fathers don't act like that, warts and all.