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Desrtopa comments on The Sin of Persuasion - Less Wrong Discussion

27 Post author: Desrtopa 27 November 2010 09:44PM

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Comment author: Desrtopa 28 November 2010 03:05:45PM 3 points [-]

That doesn't sound to me like a very viable arrangement. People control the direction of the country on the basis of their political beliefs (their religious beliefs too, to an extent.) I think that would make them top priorities for making them things that are rationally discussed. It might be difficult to train people to discuss them rationally, but the payoff is high.

Comment author: shokwave 28 November 2010 03:48:22PM 9 points [-]

If political persuasion heads the way of religious tolerance, I sincerely hope it is after we find a better model for running nations than politics.

Comment author: Emile 28 November 2010 05:31:33PM 2 points [-]

That doesn't sound to me like a very viable arrangement. People control the direction of the country on the basis of their political beliefs (their religious beliefs too, to an extent.)

Not in China they don't. And this last decade, the Chinese government seems to have been doing a better job than say the government of Greece.

Comment author: Desrtopa 28 November 2010 06:34:48PM *  2 points [-]

The country is doing better, but many of the government's policies are comparably unsustainable. In theory you might be able to restrict all political decisions to a class who actually know how to work things out in a rational manner and run things properly, but I would not regard China as a good example of this.

Don't forget that some people in China are still controlling the country on the basis of their political beliefs, the majority of the country simply has no power and thus little incentive to be politically active.