Here’s a letter to DC news-radio station WTOP:
In this morning’s 6 am hour, your Capitol Hill reporter, Dave McConnell, excused Sen. Robert Byrd’s long-ago active membership in the KKK as simply being “something that had to be done in West Virginia back then to get ahead in politics.”
No doubt. But what does it say about Mr. Byrd that he willingly championed reprehensible ideals just “to get ahead in politics”? And what does it say about politics that it attracts men and women, such as Mr. Byrd, who will sell their soul to the devil in exchange for the tawdry glory of winning elected office?
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Apropos is this fabulously funny and spot-on spoof of the typical politician.
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The myth of collective decision-making.
Going East is smart for some.
Going West is smart for others.
Forcing everyone to go West is probably just plain stupid.
“intellectual polite society”
Prof. B IS intellectual polite society. His work risks getting him banished from an intellectual society that actively and openly lusts for state violence. I wouldn't call that “polite”.
I think we should be highly suspicious of this claim that Byrd joined the Klan “just to get ahead politically”.
His wikipedia profile suggests he won his Senate seat by defeating an incumbent Republican by making an issue of the Republican's support for civil rights. The Republican Senator was obviously able to “get ahead politically” (as far as Byrd ever did, anyway) despite not being an avowed racist … at least until the likes of Byrd came along.
Worse than that. Voters aren't just irrational. They are self-centered, greedy, and unethical. They happily support taking from one group to get more for themselves and fail to realize that they may later fall prey to a different group of takers. Voters blithely surrender freedoms for false promises of more safety and security, and they welcome the welfare state and the nanny state.
No, most individuals are stupid. And, as people form groups, the intelligence of the group drops to that of its stupidest member. (Similarly, the effectiveness of a committee is inversely proportional to the number of members.)
Representative government does not mean poll-based government. A representative should strive to be the exemplar of a community, not a puppet to mob rule. Robert Byrd was a typical member of his West Virginia white community: small minded, racist, and greedy. He kept his seat by reflecting the views of the mob and by getting the federal government to put tens of billions of dollars of pork into West Virginia. Supporting Byrd is like supporting a hick cop who hassles blacks daily and who funds the village government by slapping heavy fines on outsider travelers who go 2 mph over the speed limit.
“the effectiveness of a committee is inversely proportional to the number of members”
…and inversely proportional to the committees need to force its dictates.
Dear Mr. Tired, may I humbly suggest you read this and consider “The Psychopathological Troll” portion of Mr.Reed's helpful post: http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Reed/Please....
Maybe try your hand at your own blog like Muirgeo. I am mostly an eclectic and plagaristic offender, but have mastered the first step at TA which is to admit…
No, most individuals are stupid.
By what definition?
In my lexicon stupidity means that someone does not learn.
A wise person learns from the mistakes of others, a smart person learns from their own mistakes, and a stupid person does not learn.
By that measure I would say most individuals are smart. On average. There are wise individuals and stupid individuals, but I would say the majority is smart.
But when you gather people into groups the voices of the smart ones, the ones who say “I tried that and it didn't work”, get drowned out. When “it” doesn't work nothing is learned. “It” is tried again with more force and more money. Stupidity becomes the rule.
No, I do not hold the individual in contempt. It is people I hold in contempt.
Groups aren't always stupid – haven't you heard of the wisdom of crowds? What about markets? Markets are usually pretty large groups. And how about projects like sending a man to the moon? There's no way that could have been accomplished by an individual or even a small group.
Think of the classic “I Pencil” essay. Or for a modern example, think of the prediction power of Intrade.
I think most problems are caused when individuals or small groups (politicians) try to substitute their judgment for big groups.
Did Byrd change? I doubt it. All I know is that he ended up supporting Leftist policies that, in the words of Walter Williams, could have have been better planned by the Klan to oppress blacks in this country.
Just read a piece my Michael Barone which indicates that while filibustered the Civil Rights bill of 1964, the other WV senator at the time voted for it. It seems there are multiple indications Byrd was more of a racist than was strictly necessary for political success.
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