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Popular trends can mask illogical thinking

Reader comment on item: Welcome, Conservatives, to Pariah Status

Submitted by Dave (United States), Jan 4, 2021 at 20:51

Obviously, we are seeing a major leftward shift in public attitudes, most notably among the more educated classes of people in the West, but aside from sociological explanations, an important question arises: Does this mean an improvement in our lives stemming from better public policies? Will the liberal agenda bring us more prosperity, environmental improvement, more freedom, better health, safer streets and a more peaceful world? Instead, will we have more crime and anarchy, more authoritarian government, more terrorism, more crowding, higher taxes and lower income, will we be in thrall to rogue states?
This seems like a good time to mention a common logical fallacy from the "red herring" category called "argumentum ad populum" (see wikipedia for more details). This involves an appeal to widespread belief, the bandwagon argument, an appeal to the majority, that a proposition is claimed to be true or good solely because a majority or many people believe it to be so. History is replete with this sort of fallacy, from ancient myths to alchemy, crackpot racial theories, and blood libels. Picture those mass Nazi rallies. Even highly intelligent people have been snookered into leaving behind a legacy of bloody foolishness. Humans are part rational beings and part herd animals.
Conservatives, please do not despair that the conventional wisdom is being stolen from you at this point. As the liberal economist J.K. Galbraith once wrote in "The Affluent Society": "The enemy of conventional wisdom is not ideas, but the march of events." We'll just have to be patient and see how things turn out. I just hope we can recover from it in the end and make wisdom the convention again.

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Reader comments (16) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
What is a liberal [49 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Georges DellopoulosJan 15, 2021 12:26262882
Do More Research Please [189 words]Aymenn Jawad Al-TamimiJan 10, 2021 08:10262778
Summers is not a good example [30 words]BorisGJan 8, 2021 01:52262722
4An early victim of cancel culture [132 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
JeffJan 5, 2021 17:49262652
Apostate Conservatism – Adopting the Holier than Thou Attitude [315 words]M ToveyJan 5, 2021 11:50262641
Excellent, even though [274 words]MalcolmJan 5, 2021 09:07262636
Imitation of Democratic Values in a Society that Does Not Mimic Democracy all that Well [126 words]M ToveyJan 5, 2021 17:41262636
1what is a conservative [44 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
gerry rosenbergJan 5, 2021 05:26262630
Issues with Defining Conservatism in Differing Ways [295 words]M ToveyDec 29, 2021 12:43262630
Counterpart to the End of Western Civilization [413 words]M ToveyJan 4, 2021 22:49262622
3There is nothing new under the sun [166 words]Alex BaldorJan 4, 2021 22:11262621
Thanks [44 words]eleanor lindenbaumJan 4, 2021 21:47262620
excellent [14 words]henry salzhauerJan 4, 2021 21:28262617
3Popular trends can mask illogical thinking [276 words]DaveJan 4, 2021 20:51262615
Defending America from Itself [451 words]M ToveyJan 6, 2021 11:20262615
Reimagining An Old Enemy in a New Way [100 words]M ToveyJan 12, 2021 18:25262615

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