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Originally Posted by PARAGON
Don't let selfishness be a substitute for ignorance. In contrast, it's usually the opposite. Ignorance is usually a fertile breeding ground for selfless devotion to ideals that are full of bigotry and intolerance.
One should truly fear the slightly intelligent whose selfishness drives them to promote their convenience at the expense of others. They are usually the start of the cancer that infects the ignorant.
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I agree, though I'm increasingly of the opinon that intelligence and emotional competence are completely unrelated. I think idealists are ignorant inasmuch as they skip the second of the two basic steps in analyzing things: (1) identifying an applicable theory; and (2) assessing its value by applying it pragmatically to real circumstances. For idealists (often liberals), the theory is the end unto itself. They completely skip any rigorous application of step 2. How many times in college did I hear the mindless regurgitation of such preposterous statements as (1) "In theory, communism is the ideal governmental system"; and (2) "It is better that 10,000 criminals go free than one innocent person be imprisoned." Number 1 is wrong, because the theory only works with machine-like being who do not have emotions or the need to continuing economic incentives. It does not, however, work with human beings. A social theory that does not work with humans has no value at all. Number 2 is ridiculous because 10,000 violent criminals going free would cause suffering and death by innocent people on a scale incomparable to one innocent person's regretable loss of freedom.