- We know that money doesn’t buy happiness. So why do we assume that increasing the income of poor people will make them happier?
- We know that if someone doesn’t want to learn, it’s impossible to teach them anything – and that if someone does want to learn, it’s impossible to stop them. So why do so many believe that we can improve education by improving schools rather than motivating students?
- We know that one of the very few ways to enjoy life is to work hard and well on things we value. So why do so many spend their careers at jobs they hate in the hopes of gaining happiness later when they stop working?
- We know that it is difficult to get homeless people off the streets. Providing shelters doesn’t seem to help. Neither do incentive systems. Is it possible that they are on the streets because they want to be?
- We know that there has never been a Communist state in modern history that has improved the lives of its citizens. In fact, they have all resulted in stagnant or collapsing economies and the abridgment of freedoms. So why do so many (nearly 50%) of our college students believe that Communism is a viable economic and political system?
- We know that war is fundamentally reductive. By its very nature, it is designed to reduce populations (particularly of young people), destroy infrastructure, cripple industry, and disrupt political, social, and economic institutions. Whatever its purported goals are, the end result is always less of everything. So why do so many believe it is a smart solution to political, social, and economic problems?
- We know that ideology makes sense only in the abstract and that real-life advancements are made by pragmatism. So why would anyone want to be an ideologue?
From My Work-in-Progress Basket