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They Love the World … Except for All the People
Since personal liberty is so important to conservatives, we tend to be more tolerant of those with whom we disagree. We understand that we must tolerate the idiosyncrasies of others if we expect others to tolerate our own idiosyncrasies. When you presume that you will get along with everyone you meet, it changes how you look at them. Whenever I meet someone, I look for something about them that I like. And I nearly always find something – something that we can build a friendship on. Or at least a working relationship. And thus, I get along well with nearly everybody.
Leftists and socialists hope to build a Utopia here on earth and, as such, they are very intolerant of the flaws of others, which might get in the way of building a perfect world. Thus, many of my liberal friends meet people and look for something about them that they don’t like. And they nearly always find something – something that can place that person in a group of which my liberal friend does not approve. And since conservatism is evil, and leftism is good, then tolerance is not an admirable quality. Again, Utopians are not a tolerant group. Just ask a dead Russian from 1918. Or a dead Jew from 1944. Or a dead Cambodian from 1976. Those who seek to cure the flaws of society via revolution to build a Utopia – such people see no virtue in tolerance.
I think this is one reason that leftists are so miserable all the time. They don’t like anybody. And after some years of disliking everyone they meet, they begin to dislike themselves. I think that a lot of what is described as ‘virtue-signaling’ is not necessarily an effort to convince others that one is a decent human being. I think they’re trying to convince themselves that they’re better than everybody else. Because everybody else is awful.
I think this is one reason that conservatives have such difficulty understanding leftists. Conservatives look at what the Democratic Party has done to America since Trump left office. Catastrophic inflation. Exploding energy prices. A European war. Supply chain problems and shortages. All the suffering – none of this had to happen – why?
But it makes more sense if you really don’t like people.
It is true that humans are capable of tremendous evil. But we are also capable of tremendous good.
So, on a macro level, the idea is to build a society that encourages the good, while discouraging the bad.
On a micro level, the idea is to look for the good in every person. There may be a lot of bad in that person, but there is probably good in there too. So you should look for the good. Because if you don’t actively look for it, it can be easy to overlook. And if you overlook the good in people, then personal liberty and other conservative concepts make no sense whatsoever.
A society of evil people can be nothing but a prison camp. Which is why we put those who do evil into prisons. They need totalitarian control not just to protect society from them, but also to protect them from themselves and from one another.
But a society of good people – even fairly good people, or moderately good people, or even somewhat good people like me – in that society, liberty can flourish. And that liberty, combined with the goodness and virtue in each one of us – that liberty can create happiness, prosperity, and security. But only if we acknowledge the good in each of us, and seek to encourage its expression in various ways.
So many leftists just can’t see the good in people. They hate me because of my big car. Or the straw I put in my drink. Or the mask I don’t wear on my face.
I feel bad for my leftist friends. They’re always unhappy. And I can understand why. They’re surrounded by awful people. I’d like to help them, since I’m surrounded by good people. I’d like to point out to them that my good people are the same people as their awful people. But they won’t listen to me, because they don’t like me nearly as much as I like them.
As I said, conservatives struggle to understand leftists.
But leftists have no idea at all what motivates conservatives.
I explain to leftists that I’m a bleeding-heart conservative. I’m a conservative because I find leftism to be heartless.
Good leftism is heartless like the DMV. The workers behind the counter will get to you when they can, but they really don’t care about the people standing in line. Which is heartless.
Bad leftism is like Russia under Stalin. If the government suspects that you don’t support it, the government will kill you. Which is heartless.
Obviously different degrees, but with both good leftism and bad leftism, leftism is heartless.
I’m not heartless. So I’m conservative.
When everything is based on the good of the collective, it matters less if you break a few eggs along the way. Which is fine. Unless you happen to be an egg. Which you are. So there you go.
While my daughter was attending a very elite college, a friend stopped her in the hall and whispered, “Are you conservative?” My daughter was understandably horrified, and asked why her friend would think such a thing about her. Her friend explained that since she was always nice to everybody, he couldn’t help but wonder. He meant no offense, and would keep her secret to himself. She still didn’t admit it, but he knew.
I think in general, leftists know. They know that there is a difference between a Tea Party rally that leaves a park cleaner than when they arrived, and a Black Lives Matter riot that destroys part of a city overnight.
So if leftists know that conservatives are happy and nice, then why aren’t they conservatives too?
Because they don’t like people.
I guess.
If anyone has a better theory, I’m all ears…
NOTE: The title of this post is a quote from the Men at Work song, “Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Jive”.
Published in General
Putting people in power that hate you is insane.
Utopia is in the eye of the beholder. For those schooled in the Scottish Enlightenment, utopia was a society where people could fulfill God’s plan for themselves to contribute to the betterment of society. Utopia (happiness) is not about things you have, but what you create/make/give to others.
Fair enough. Your point is reasonable.
Sounds like my benighted mother, since Jesus was the first socialist, you know.
If they think climate change is going to kill everyone, and that’s what they want, why not just let climate change do it?
Should probably add, nobody owes you the utopia that you seek for yourself.
Because they want the power now!
Yep, I’ve used that one before too.
But my mother is so benighted, she doesn’t understand it.
Leaving it cleaner references the old order, and all the supremicist ideas that values stability over equity. A riot that destroys homes and businesses – even if it is affordable housing, and the businesses are owned by immigrants – is useful for birthing the post-capitalist order.
As long as it happens in someone else’s neighborhood.
So they know, yes; they prefer their homes not to be burned or their neighborhoods trashed. If other locales suffer, it’s a price they’re willing to pay. If it gets out of hand, they can armor up with ideological certainties about systemic systems and isms. They can get prissy and pissy about people who clean up their messes, because they want the wrong things, and insane to valorize the kid who has a tidy room and wants to be a Marine when you should celebrate the kid with problems who lives in disorder and wants to, you know, change things.
Yep, like I memed on another post:
@jameslileks
With all the predictions of a red wave this November, do you see anything like that on the horizon for the Twin Cities?
I have been getting into watching Dr. Yuri Maltsev videos. He says this and it’s even worse than that. The incentives are all wrong and people don’t want to work, so they point a gun at you to work. Once you start trying socialism you start doing everything at gunpoint, effectively.
I’m not sure I’ve seen a good general video from him yet, but he has really good and unique ways of explaining these types of things.
I love this.
This isn’t really my bag, but the culture was dominated by protestant farmers and protestant small businessmen. Everything South of the border was dominated by slavery and extraction. I forget what dominated in other areas, but from what I understand this is a big deal and it’s why we have a better constitution, but it was also a superior culture to pass down.
Maybe its just assumed here, but so important we need to be explicit.– Individualism has little meaning in top down societies which is what the world has always been. Greece was an exception, showed us how and also showed us how to end it. Great human diversity doesn’t mean as much in bottom up world because folks can keep the company they want, live where and how they want given their income and talents. We’re so big and so diverse, it’s harder, but top down is absolutely inconsistent with representative government, probably impossible.
What an interesting perspective in this post! Your theory of leftists hating people because people are not perfect explains a lot about the World. I put an entry about this in the encyclopedia in my head.
I thought the same thing about Covid.
This is a key point that I haven’t yet seen expounded on. @drbastiat‘s initial observation about how we view our fellow humans in society doesn’t come from a vacuum, but is intimately tied to our views on human nature.
Leftists have bought into Rousseau’s ideas of the noble savage, the goodness of nature, and that humans are born as a blank state. The consequence of these philosophical positions is that evil men must be produced by society, and when surrounded by “evil” people, that society must be evil indeed. And the sources of the corruption of the members of society must be rooted out, by force if necessary, so that everyone can grow to maturity in their “natural” goodness.
Conservatives acknowledge, whether through secular or religious reasoning, that savages are not noble, nature is red in tooth and claw, and humans are both naturally flawed and endowed with varying inborn talents. Conservatives believe we must be raised to be good, and that society must do this or collapse.
So when a leftist looks around, they see imperfect people and declare them collaborators in the evils of society. When conservatives look around and see imperfect people, we see varying reflections of ourselves, and rejoice that we are among fellow humans.
I think an argument could be made that the first Christians experimented with socialism. Didn’t work out so well for Ananias and Sapphira, so the survivors gave up on it. Turns out you have to account for self-interest in human nature to live in a decent society.
And, they have to save Obama’s beachfront property.
The coasts are worth saving right?
Well the peninsula definitely is o.o I could be biased.
NNnnnnnnoooope. At least not in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis is 80% Democrat.
HHH would be a right-winger these days.
You can’t do much about Minneapolis except on the edges in statewide elections. I always think it’s dumb when Republicans argue otherwise.
Well….. The most devout Greenies do believe that 75% of the people on the planet need to die to create the utopia they want…..
It’s odd that they never volunteer to make it happen.
Just out of curiosity, what exactly does not tolerating the gay couple who own the house three doors down actually look like in practice?