I think I'm a bit confused by the fact that when I was younger my conclusion was that everyone is smart, they just need access to information, but that wasn't true. They need to be taught to process information first. What we have instead is everyone in their own little virtual reality where facts are estimated based on what feels best, because too few people understand the value and necessity of critical thinking and instead apply religious reasoning and whatnot.
It's a bit deeper than that, though you're close! What actually is going on is that people license themselves to believe that which benefits them is good, effective, etc. Education is critical, yes, but people's receptiveness to new ideas depends on their material conditions.
I see what you're saying. It's how people like Trump can convince them he's after their best interests; from the things he says to what the news reports, they're conditioned to not be concerned with data points that are "true", so much as which data points work for them emotionally because the consequences are intangible and modern life is so automatic. Idiocracy, basically. Kinda funny that people always boogieman with slippery slope fallacy of "the end result of socialism is communism" while we watch the end result of this capitalist society become some mutation of idiocracy and authoritarianism.
They are correct in saying that the end result of socialism is communism, though they imagine that's a bad thing. Communism is the result of socialism working out its various contradictions, just like socialism comes as a result of capitalism's contradictions. Capitalist decay is built into it as a system, but this very same decay is what prepares the ground for socialism.
I think you're right.
I think I'm a bit confused by the fact that when I was younger my conclusion was that everyone is smart, they just need access to information, but that wasn't true. They need to be taught to process information first. What we have instead is everyone in their own little virtual reality where facts are estimated based on what feels best, because too few people understand the value and necessity of critical thinking and instead apply religious reasoning and whatnot.
It's a bit deeper than that, though you're close! What actually is going on is that people license themselves to believe that which benefits them is good, effective, etc. Education is critical, yes, but people's receptiveness to new ideas depends on their material conditions.
I see what you're saying. It's how people like Trump can convince them he's after their best interests; from the things he says to what the news reports, they're conditioned to not be concerned with data points that are "true", so much as which data points work for them emotionally because the consequences are intangible and modern life is so automatic. Idiocracy, basically. Kinda funny that people always boogieman with slippery slope fallacy of "the end result of socialism is communism" while we watch the end result of this capitalist society become some mutation of idiocracy and authoritarianism.
They are correct in saying that the end result of socialism is communism, though they imagine that's a bad thing. Communism is the result of socialism working out its various contradictions, just like socialism comes as a result of capitalism's contradictions. Capitalist decay is built into it as a system, but this very same decay is what prepares the ground for socialism.
If you're interested, I made an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list, feel free to give it a look.
I will, thank you!
No problem!