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Let’s begin with some political theory. Aristotle, in his great treatise, the Politics, concluded that there are, basically, only two different kinds of governments in terms of the outcomes for a society — those that serve the common good, or the public interest, and those that have been co-opted to serve the self-interests of the people who hold political power. 

The Iranian “Spring”:  Will We Ever Learn? Once again, we are witnessing the ancient truth (going back to Plato).  It seems that humankind is doomed endlessly to re-live an age-old story and then promptly forget it.  The root cause of the Arab Spring was desperation, coupled with a failure of leadership.  Iran represents only a variation on this common theme.Every organized society is, in effect, a “collective survival enterprise.”  Our basic needs lie at the heart of our implicit social contract. Any regime that does not understand this biologically-based “common good” and act accordingly is ultimately doomed.