Black Lives Don’t Matter

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

I was listening to EconTalk yesterday: prize-winning philosopher Agnes Callard was speaking on "Philosophy, Progress, and Wisdom." She commented that the reductionist philosophy, "most good to the most people," is impossible to counteract without indoctrination in school because humans naturally tend toward egalitarianism, especially in a democracy.

It is the implied false choice.

Same reason utilitarianism or consequentialism are attractive.

[Martin Hash]

I was listening to EconTalk yesterday: prize-winning philosopher Agnes Callard was speaking on "Philosophy, Progress, and Wisdom." She commented that the reductionist philosophy, "most good to the most people," is impossible to counteract without indoctrination in school because humans naturally tend toward egalitarianism, especially in a democracy.

It is the implied false choice.

Same reason utilitarianism or consequentialism are attractive.

Communists are much worse than Socialists who might consider inequality leading to the most good to the most people.

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

Getting stock options as part of your compensation package is Socialist. Nothing wrong with that.

[Martin Hash]

Getting stock options as part of your compensation package is Socialist. Nothing wrong with that.

Government should be most good to the most people.

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

Getting stock options as part of your compensation package is Socialist. Nothing wrong with that.

Government should be most good to the most people.

That is the sort of result-oriented thinking that is very difficult to argue against because, again, of the implied false choice.

[Martin Hash]

Dude, the fallacy is that “good” is subjective.

[Martin Hash]

A Liberty society provides the foundation and support for individuals to define “good.” Socialists want The State to decide.

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

Dude, the fallacy is that “good” is subjective.

I disagree. You could replace "good" with any number of measurable metrics, but the reasoning would still be false.

[Martin Hash]

Tell me the logical error of my motto: most liberty to most people.

[Hanarchy Montanarchy]

Tell me the logical error of my motto: most liberty to most people.

Based on other posts, you seem to view liberty as the process that maximizes good. If that is true, I don't see the same logical error.

I still think there is an implied false choice, where if you and I are disagreeing about something you can say "most liberty to the most people" and it suggests my disagreement with you is a rejection of liberty as a value.

We've had that exact exchange, in fact - so I think that sort of implied Manichean framework is unhelpful most of the time.

I would add that "liberty" is, like "good," fairly abstract, which goes to the point that the "good" part of most good to the most people isn't really the problem.