“I tend to notice the way “I tend to notice the way that the Left switches-between these ideologies in an unprincipled manner which seems impossible to capture in terms of an over-arching unified positive goal. Rather, it looks to me as if the over-arching principle is negative and destructive, and the principles are used or discarded in accordance with this bottom-line nihilism.”
Bruce Charlton is shocked, shocked that human beings don’t act in a consistent manner, that they have certain biases and limitations in knowledge, so that their application of liberal moral principles like harm and fairness is often quite random. But that’s just what humans do. It’s something you’d expect with _any_ moral system.
Where did Charlton say he was shocked? Charlton listed the ways in which his approach to liberalism/Leftism/Progressivism has different emphases than Jim Kalb’s approach. One difference is that he does not see a unifying positive goal, as Kalb does, rather he sees a unifying nihilism. His evidence for this claim is that the various positive statements of liberal/leftist/progressive goals are not consistently followed, but their destructive goals are consistently followed. Where does he say he is “shocked” by this inconsistency? In fact, he is pointing out an underlying consistency – a negative one. Your reply is an attack on a straw man.
“I tend to notice the way
“I tend to notice the way that the Left switches-between these ideologies in an unprincipled manner which seems impossible to capture in terms of an over-arching unified positive goal. Rather, it looks to me as if the over-arching principle is negative and destructive, and the principles are used or discarded in accordance with this bottom-line nihilism.”
Bruce Charlton is shocked, shocked that human beings don’t act in a consistent manner, that they have certain biases and limitations in knowledge, so that their application of liberal moral principles like harm and fairness is often quite random. But that’s just what humans do. It’s something you’d expect with _any_ moral system.
Where did Charlton say he was shocked?
Charlton listed the ways in which his approach to liberalism/Leftism/Progressivism has different emphases than Jim Kalb’s approach. One difference is that he does not see a unifying positive goal, as Kalb does, rather he sees a unifying nihilism. His evidence for this claim is that the various positive statements of liberal/leftist/progressive goals are not consistently followed, but their destructive goals are consistently followed. Where does he say he is “shocked” by this inconsistency? In fact, he is pointing out an underlying consistency – a negative one. Your reply is an attack on a straw man.