Rationality Quotes December 2013

Cyan

Rationality Quotes December 2013 — LessWrong

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I think this quote is sentimentally motivated inaccuracy. It relies upon the romantic notion that if the docile masses were to arise that they would be morally superior to those that do already choose to lead men. I think this thought of Bernanos does not arise from any sort of evidence at all, and that if there is any evidence about what happens when previously docile men rise to power it is that they behave very much like men in power have always behaved in the past, that there is no particularly great wisdom they bring with them on rising. I am thinking in particular of the rise of the communists in Russia and China and more recently the governments that have arisen in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt.

Lumifer13y00

It relies upon the romantic notion that if the docile masses were to arise that they would be morally superior to those that do already choose to lead men.

Interesting. I read no such implication in this quote. I see it as a lament that "rebels, insubordinate, untamable men" are basically bred out of the population that becomes more and more sheeple. And the "docile masses" will not revolt opening the way for highly repressive societies.

0DeevGrape13y

Hmm, that's a good point. I can see how this might seem like a romantic/Marxist/anti-elite sentiment. When I read it, I was thinking almost exclusively in terms of existential risk, the connection being that the end of the world (by, for instance, Unfriendly AI) won't be brought about by a cruel mad scientist, but more likely by normal people trying to make economic and scientific advances without concern for the potential consequences. Sorry if the quote doesn't communicate that very clearly.

0Nornagest13y

That might say more about how populist movements tend to work than about the character of the docile masses, to use your phrase, when raised to power. It's rather uncommon for first-generation revolutionary leaders to come from the lower social classes: Stalin is an exception, but he's the only one I can think of among famous communists, and in any case he arguably belonged to the second generation of his revolution. Lenin, Trotsky, and Mao all emerged from upper middle-class backgrounds, roughly speaking, although their exact circumstances differed. Fidel Castro came from an upper-class family.

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Rationality Quotes December 2013

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Rationality Quotes December 2013

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