[lbo-talk] Dustup - final installment

[Miles Jackson]

shag wrote:
> but man, that was a satisfying, tight set of arguments where you creamed 
> him with your command of data. i know, i know: not many people are going 
> to be swayed by 'just the facts,' but that was still some mighty fine 
> stuff.
> 
> speaking of which, i know julio wanted out but i had a q about that 
> debate y'all had.
> 
> what's at stake in that debate over whether ideas change first or not? i 
> mean, what's at stake for you if people disagree and hold another 
> position and, thus, do not join you in advancing the proposition that 
> the path to social change is "minds changing minds"?
> 
> don't mean that to sound hostile. i'm curious.

Is this directed at Doug?  I can offer two reasons I participated in 
that thread.

1. At every opportunity, I trumpet social research that contradicts 
common sense.  There is a huge archive of social psychological research 
that documents how changes in social context precede changes in popular 
attitudes.  Call me an Enlightenment dreamer, but I think reasoning 
guided by evidence rather than dogma is a beautiful thing.

2. I've been in enough "diversity training" in my college gigs to know 
that persuasion is an ineffective strategy for social transformation. 
The more time people spend trying to change individual minds, the less 
time they have to engage in effective political action that leads to 
social transformations that eventually lead to changes in popular 
opinion.  So it's a strategic concern: let's focus on political 
strategies that work rather than waste our time trying to change 
individual attitudes.

Miles