Sunday, February 03, 2019

Benefit of the doubt



When I say socialists/statists are stupid, it is my attempt to give them the benefit of the doubt. The unpleasant alternative, which I'm trying to avoid, is that they are evil. I believe evil is worse than being stupid.

Once they've decided it's OK to allow government to commit a "little bit" of theft or aggression (archation) on their behalf-- and if they're not stupid-- they've willingly chosen evil.

Why they did so-- fear, "culture", pragmatism, complications of statism, whatever-- doesn't figure in.

If I believe they are smart and yet they continue to advocate socialism/statism, stupidity is no longer an excuse. That option has been taken off the table. So what is left?

I want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but they make it hard and don't appreciate it anyway.

_______________

Reminder: I could really use some help.
-

Writing is my job.
YOU get to decide if I get paid.

3 comments:

  1. Doublethink is like decaffeinated cognitive dissonance.

    Many "normal" people haven't even gotten to the cognitive dissonance part yet and to twist a Thoreauism are perpetually "swatting at the branches". I'd substitute your term stupid with ignorance, although I feel your pain and sometimes have thought of them as stupid too.

    What brings me down to earth is the realization that I once stood among the ignorant and didn't question things as much as I do now. Sure am glad there's people like you who can articulate concepts well, don't get discouraged. Rome wasn't destroyed in a day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't want to think of them as stupid. But ignorance only works until they've been shown how and why they are wrong.

      Back when I was statist in many areas, the evidence that I was wrong helped me change my mind. Not immediately, but fast enough that I immediately stopped espousing the statist mantra while I considered the new evidence.

      But what I see most often is that in the face of evidence, they get louder and more determined. I'm not sure how to write that off as ignorance-- although it would be nicer of me to do so.

      Delete
    2. (And I realize I have lost a LOT of readers over the years due to my near-inability to excuse statism-- I've seen what they've written about me in comments on other, more "conservative"/statist blogs. So it's probably not a good thing for me, personally.)

      Delete