tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post6394395530044165625..comments2024-03-28T13:23:50.623-05:00Comments on Alexander Pruss's Blog: The value of communitiesAlexander R Prusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-78967660091672046502016-06-03T20:58:54.626-05:002016-06-03T20:58:54.626-05:00One of the things I had in mind as I was writing t...One of the things I had in mind as I was writing this is that there are political contexts where units of different sizes that are at the same level have the same representation. E.g., countries at the UN. And there are cases where something in between proportional and equal representation of regions is found, trying to do justice to both lines of thought. One talks of "regional interests" in such cases. E.g., the two houses of Canadian Parliament.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-85277188506319676292016-06-03T20:52:17.771-05:002016-06-03T20:52:17.771-05:00I think that's right. That's because the s...I think that's right. That's because the soccer team has a lot more of good (c). But it need not have more of good (b). (It may have more of (b), not because of the greater numbers, but there is more complex in-game cooperation on a soccer team than on, say, an equestrian, climbing or fencing team where one's teammates during a game can only cheer and pray. (That might in particular cases be compensated for, however, by the particulars of the out-of-game cooperation within the team--the camaraderie during practices, etc.))Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-88222714761946042982016-06-02T22:32:06.269-05:002016-06-02T22:32:06.269-05:00I'm not sure I agree.
If a poor village had...I'm not sure I agree. <br /><br />If a poor village had enough money to sponsor one sport, and their choices were a soccer team that would have 25 players or an equestrian team that would have 2, I think they would be wise to take the soccer team. And if a cosmic supervillain were to give us a choice between him destroying Albania and destroying China, it seems we should preserve China. Or maybe he gives us the choice between destroying Albanian polity, memory, and culture, versus the same for China. I still think we preserve China. In all cases, precisely because of the numbers involved.<br /><br />Like you, I have the intuition that a lacrosse team is not intrinsically better than a basketball team but I think that is because I am thinking of both qua team, rather than qua aggregates of individuals. That is, each team might have all the virtues of a team, equally excellently. But when I try to operationalize claims about "the value of a team," I find myself asking which would you pay more for, or which would you choose if you could only have one, or similar choices, and then the numbers count.Heath Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13535886546816778688noreply@blogger.com