19 March 2013
What People Should Think About
When Adlai Stevenson told a supporter that you win an election only with a majority of the votes, not with those of “thinking people” alone, he was really prescribing what thinking people should be thinking about. How do you get unthinking people to act in their own self-interest?
Most people do not listen to reasoned argument. They continually put themselves in a worse situation. Moreover, they are easily persuaded to do what brings benefit to the other guy at their own expense. It’s hard to convince them that something can be done that will benefit both the other guy and them. The outcome of any game that isn’t zero-sum seems unnatural. We all benefit when we all pitch in; this principle is equally true when it comes to tax policy, affirmative action, immigration, international trade, vaccinations, etc.
Occasionally, Americans wake up to this truth; but inevitably we revert to the law of the jungle that has maintained the status quo (or lost ground to environmental degradation) for millennia. It’s time for the hidden techniques of persuasion and for social networking tools to be used to mobilize public sentiment to accomplish the task of improving the human condition.
When Adlai Stevenson told a supporter that you win an election only with a majority of the votes, not with those of “thinking people” alone, he was really prescribing what thinking people should be thinking about. How do you get unthinking people to act in their own self-interest?
Most people do not listen to reasoned argument. They continually put themselves in a worse situation. Moreover, they are easily persuaded to do what brings benefit to the other guy at their own expense. It’s hard to convince them that something can be done that will benefit both the other guy and them. The outcome of any game that isn’t zero-sum seems unnatural. We all benefit when we all pitch in; this principle is equally true when it comes to tax policy, affirmative action, immigration, international trade, vaccinations, etc.
Occasionally, Americans wake up to this truth; but inevitably we revert to the law of the jungle that has maintained the status quo (or lost ground to environmental degradation) for millennia. It’s time for the hidden techniques of persuasion and for social networking tools to be used to mobilize public sentiment to accomplish the task of improving the human condition.
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