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5 Comments

  1. Daft Durden
    October 4, 2018 @ 2:47 am

    Great post. It would seem that Statists often build their moral framework upon the laws in their government. It appears that many do not have a moral compass of their own and choose to rely on the laws to layout the path of righteousness in the eyes of the gov.

    The famous Milgram Experiments, testing obedience and whether someone would inflict lethal electrical shocks to another person because they were instructed to do so, gives a glimpse of how calibrated many of the moral compasses are/aren’t.

    The NAP, Non-Aggression Principle, is certainly a great place to start reconstructing flawed morality. It is a shame many/most people are unfamiliar with this concept.

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    • logitarian
      October 4, 2018 @ 2:56 am

      One interesting takeaway from the Milgram Experiments is the ease and willingness with which people justified their actions by blaming others. Here’s actual text from the experiment notes: “Some obedient participants gave up responsibility for their actions, blaming the experimenter. If anything had happened to the learner, they reasoned, it would have been the experimenter’s fault. Others had transferred the blame to the learner: “He was so stupid and stubborn he deserved to be shocked.”

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      • Daft Durden
        October 4, 2018 @ 3:17 am

        Ayn Rand, in her book Atlas Shrugged, really pushed this issue, passing the blame/responsibility on to someone else, into the spotlight. Her story demonstrated how a society could fail due to large numbers of individuals continuously positioning themselves to be blameless of any responsibility/decision. This is truly a tragic game of hot potato.

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        • logitarian
          October 4, 2018 @ 12:40 pm

          Yes, having a scapegoat is generally far easier than stepping back and looking at the big picture. Quick blame is far more convenient, requiring no reflection or closer examination.

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    • logitarian
      October 4, 2018 @ 2:50 am

      Glad you mentioned the NAP. There’s more information on that here: https://www.logicalhumanitarian.com/dont-confuse-legality-with-morality/

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