Actually, an exceptional level of congratulations are in order, as this subthread's OP has neglected to actually *read* the page he has linked to. The page at spectacle (http://www.spectacle.org/797/finkel.html) that debrain cites as evidence instead contends that his interpretation is laughably incorrect, and the result of an attempt to turn a Shakespearean frown upside down. If you'll scroll down, the author later contends,
DICK.
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
The audience must have doubled over in laughter at this. Far from "eliminating those who might stand in the way of a contemplated revolution" or portraying lawyers as "guardians of independent thinking", it's offered as the best feature imagined of yet for utopia. It's hilarious. A very rough and simplistic modern translation would be "When I'm the King, there'll be two cars in every garage, and a chicken in every pot" "AND NO LAWYERS". It's a clearly lawyer-bashing joke. Now, I'm all for defending the lawyers and sophisters - I hope to become one, soon enough - but I had to laugh when I realized that debrain's argument of a misquote was "supported" by a misquote of its own.
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The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
The audience must have doubled over in laughter at this. Far from "eliminating those who might stand in the way of a contemplated revolution" or portraying lawyers as "guardians of independent thinking", it's offered as the best feature imagined of yet for utopia. It's hilarious. A very rough and simplistic modern translation would be "When I'm the King, there'll be two cars in every garage, and a chicken in every pot" "AND NO LAWYERS". It's a clearly lawyer-bashing joke. Now, I'm all for defending the lawyers and sophisters - I hope to become one, soon enough - but I had to laugh when I realized that debrain's argument of a misquote was "supported" by a misquote of its own.
Neat, how that works.