Re: The "stupid" masses

Alexander 'Sasha' Chislenko (sasha1@netcom.com)
Sat, 28 Dec 1996 20:09:10 -0500


At 05:52 PM 12/28/96 -0600, Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote:

>> > How do you like being part of the "stupid masses"?
>>
>> I'd be delighted...
>
>I mean, how would you like being part of the "stupid masses" WITHOUT
>completely redefining the phrase, and using it with its original
>connotations?

It sure is unpleasant when somebody replaces your point with something
entirely different. However, I didn't do it. At no point I was saying
that I
wanted to control all decisions for everybody, or any decisions for anybody
without their consent. The "original connotations" were that if everybody
would have incentives to figure our for themselves where they are competent
enough to improve the existing solutions, and be prepared to be accountable
for their mistakes.

Still, to answer your question: there was no time in my life where I didn't
have to obey the decisions made by people who had no interest in my opinion,
and there was no moment in my life when I didn't hate it. Many of these
decisions have brought a lot of grief to me and people who were making them.
Surprisingly enough, the very position in the decision-making bodies that
allowed
those people to cause lots of damage, made their personal lives better than
those of the people they harmed. Negative accountability? When it stops,
things may improve. That's what I meant.

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Alexander Chislenko Home page: <http://www.lucifer.com/~sasha/home.html>
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