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James M.'s avatar

I think that these beliefs don't serve the same function as political ideas for you and me. I guess they do, somewhat, but they're also a way to identify people and signal virtue and gain status.

These CAN'T be serious beliefs because they are never applied personally. If you're white and you believe in white privilege then you should surrender some of your privilege to black people in your life... no? If you believe that carbon emissions are an urgent threat you should not buy many things on Amazon... no? Partly these are public goods problems but the people who believe these things don't do anything in the aggregate either. Their proposals don't make sense.

It's like watching a million people pretend to be religious. It has that same fake and demonstrative quality. Who cares if your beliefs are genuine or not when you don't live them?

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Blair's avatar

I'm always amazed when people think evil is so easily recognizable. You make some great points. You mentioned, "do you think they are just going to come out and say their true intentions?" Of course, not. They will disguise their intentions through deception and put a nice pretty bow on top. I always remember the stories of The Pied Piper, the wolf in sheep's clothing and the fox and the hen house. The people running the show are extremely clever and cunning. It's absolutely stunning that after the past four years, so many people still trust them. Sadly, those who trust them, do so at their own peril.

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