tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315024531213408708.post8390829684799499858..comments2023-10-20T09:27:13.001-07:00Comments on To My Parents, Ayn Rand, and God: Notes Further Toward a New Political TaxonomyIsabel Archerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338591033415985750noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315024531213408708.post-16468045719437621882010-04-27T08:34:47.187-07:002010-04-27T08:34:47.187-07:00First, sorry if I've inadvertently caused you ...First, sorry if I've inadvertently caused you heartburn by mischaracterizing your views on any of the above points. I could try to edit the original post, but it probably makes the most sense just to let your comments stand.<br /><br />Re: political ignorance, that is fair. I may be confusing your views somewhat with Thomas Sowell or even Hayek. Both of them argue for limited government on grounds similar to yours, yet both of them are much more pessimistic than I (or, apparently, you) would be about individual capacities.<br /><br />I didn't flesh out my views on Millman's #2 because, as I said above, that axis is the easy one for me. I'm not actually sure that you should count as left-wing along that axis. I had a few friends and acquaintances in college who are easy left wing cases on that axis. We'd be sitting in a coffee shop doing homework, and some girls carrying Prada handbags would walk in. I'd be all like, "Ooooh, shiny object!" or alternatively, "Not my thing, even if I actually had the $900 to spend on one." They, on the other hand, found it an affront to their sensibilities that such objects existed and that people bought them. They'd see Prada Handbag Girl as some sort of walking insult to their value system that made them want to impose vast inheritance taxes on people or ban sororities or things. Me, not so much.<br /><br />There are people on the political right who do this, too. There are the Sarah Palin populist types, and there are also the deeply Christian religious types. C.f. also Ross Douthat's memoir, which I believe that Millman mentioned, much of which kept returning to the point that there were eating clubs full of rich people at Harvard that didn't want him and how this made him mad. (It's on the bookcase upstairs in my office if you haven't read it, I think.)Isabel Archerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12338591033415985750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315024531213408708.post-12247600009744465462010-04-26T23:59:45.742-07:002010-04-26T23:59:45.742-07:00One other thing: My work about political ignorance...One other thing: My work about political ignorance is in a way about "sticking up for plucky little guys against the system." I want more decisions to be made by individuals controlling their own lives (where they generally have good incentives to be rational and well-informed) than by large groups voting in elections where they make choices for everyone (and where most of the voters have poor incentives and know very little). <br /><br />I think I actually differ from you somewhat on Millman's point 2. I favor strict limits on government power primarily because it's good for those he defines as "losers" (meaning mainly the poor and politically weak), and much less because it helps "winners." Certain types of winners (especially winners of political competitions), I tend to dislike.Pninnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7315024531213408708.post-38175849447546181942010-04-26T23:24:29.603-07:002010-04-26T23:24:29.603-07:00I would say that my work on political ignorance is...I would say that my work on political ignorance is less about limited capacity than limited incentive to use that capacity to acquire political information and analyze it rationally. I don't doubt that most people have the ability to learn basic political knowledge if they put in the time.<br /><br />But I think you capture most of the rest of our differences accurately.<br /><br />PninPninnoreply@blogger.com