Suzanimal
06-06-2017, 09:51 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNhony_Xl4U
Hot Fuzz spoilers
...
It's easy to see the absurdity of murdering people in the name of the greater good in a movie like Hot Fuzz because the framing is ridiculous.
But the truth is, people have rationalized all kinds of insane things for the same reasons forever.
And I'm not just talking about the sort of universally horrifying examples like what you see in communist countries where the government strips away people's property or forces them into labor camps all for the supposed benefit of "society."
There are actually plenty of major examples in the US, like the early Progressive support for eugenics and forced sterilization or the Conservative backlash against interracial and gay marriage.
And going back farther, most of the worst parts of our history – slavery and segregation, the Trail of Tears, Japanese Internment during WWII – all came with the same justification.
More often than not, the "greater good" is a reflection of what's only best for those in power.
And there's a ton of laws still on the books, designed to shape society for the “greater good.”
Public dress codes, free speech zones, the FCC's censorship of TV and Radio, the Washington Wives, prostitution laws, restrictions on homeschooling and private schools, the war on drugs, eminent domain, civil asset forfeiture… Even the stuff most people think is not that bad, like occupational licensing, zoning restrictions, or anti-smoking laws are based in the same kind of technocratic utilitarian thinking.
At the core of all of this is the idea that individual people's interests and values just aren't that important.
What we should learn from this is that as positive and well-meaning as the whole thing seems, more often than not the "greater good" isn't a reflection of what's best for everyone, but of what's best for the people in power.
And as long as people don't think about it too much or fight back, it all kind of works out... But it breaks down pretty quickly when someone challenges the status quo.
No society is going to be perfect and of course different communities will probably always set some rules on what people can do. But perhaps we should at least start with the presumption that everyone should be free to live their lives however they want instead of forcing society to fit our own personal preferences.
A single "greater good" for everyone might be a myth, but the good for individual people that comes from tolerating a diverse society where everyone can pursue their own interests without fear of fines, jail, or being killed?
That isn’t.
https://fee.org/articles/the-dangerous-idea-of-the-greater-good/
Hot Fuzz spoilers
...
It's easy to see the absurdity of murdering people in the name of the greater good in a movie like Hot Fuzz because the framing is ridiculous.
But the truth is, people have rationalized all kinds of insane things for the same reasons forever.
And I'm not just talking about the sort of universally horrifying examples like what you see in communist countries where the government strips away people's property or forces them into labor camps all for the supposed benefit of "society."
There are actually plenty of major examples in the US, like the early Progressive support for eugenics and forced sterilization or the Conservative backlash against interracial and gay marriage.
And going back farther, most of the worst parts of our history – slavery and segregation, the Trail of Tears, Japanese Internment during WWII – all came with the same justification.
More often than not, the "greater good" is a reflection of what's only best for those in power.
And there's a ton of laws still on the books, designed to shape society for the “greater good.”
Public dress codes, free speech zones, the FCC's censorship of TV and Radio, the Washington Wives, prostitution laws, restrictions on homeschooling and private schools, the war on drugs, eminent domain, civil asset forfeiture… Even the stuff most people think is not that bad, like occupational licensing, zoning restrictions, or anti-smoking laws are based in the same kind of technocratic utilitarian thinking.
At the core of all of this is the idea that individual people's interests and values just aren't that important.
What we should learn from this is that as positive and well-meaning as the whole thing seems, more often than not the "greater good" isn't a reflection of what's best for everyone, but of what's best for the people in power.
And as long as people don't think about it too much or fight back, it all kind of works out... But it breaks down pretty quickly when someone challenges the status quo.
No society is going to be perfect and of course different communities will probably always set some rules on what people can do. But perhaps we should at least start with the presumption that everyone should be free to live their lives however they want instead of forcing society to fit our own personal preferences.
A single "greater good" for everyone might be a myth, but the good for individual people that comes from tolerating a diverse society where everyone can pursue their own interests without fear of fines, jail, or being killed?
That isn’t.
https://fee.org/articles/the-dangerous-idea-of-the-greater-good/