Guenter Wildgruber <gwildgru...@ymail.com> wrote:
> Those should be arguments to fundamentally question the ideology of > Libertarianism. > I distrust all ideologies. I believe in pragmatism. We should do what works. As Deng Xiaoping said: "I don't care if it's a white cat or a black cat. It's a good cat as long as it catches mice." I am also conservative. Absent a good reason to change, we should stick with established institutions. Just tweak them as necessary. Prudence dictates "that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes." Ditto universities, units of measure, the shape of your house, and the food you eat. If it is not broken do not fix it. The thing is, you never know the full details as to why our ancestors set up institutions the way they did. If you go rearranging things from scratch, you are likely to make all the mistakes they made over again. A naive young reporter once asked FDR if he was a socialist or capitalist. FDR answered: "I am a Christian and a Democrat, that's all." He was one of the greatest pragmatists in history. I am talking about institutions, culture, and our way of life. The food we eat. The way we bring up children. I do not mean technology, art or science! When it comes to technology such as energy generation or programming language we should be bold and try everything. A scientist should try any experiment her heart desires. Even if there is one chance in a million, it does no harm to try. In experiments or in art, no effort is futile. Even when it fails it was worthwhile. The people who struggled for months to replicate polywater later described it as some of the most exciting research in their careers, even though in the end they concluded it was an experimental error. It was a learning experience. - Jed
