--- On Tue, 3/24/09, Jordan Hayes <jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com> wrote:
>
> C'mon, fess up: you don't even know what it would mean to
> implement what Sweden did, let alone what the mechanics
> would look like in the US at this time.
>
> Right?
>
[WS:] Wrong. You sound like arrogant technocrat who is "in the know" and does not even bother to speak to ignorant proles. Fuck that nonsense, Jordan. It is my impression that nobody really knows what the solution is, be it experts or lay folk. There are only conjecturing what may or may not work, and some of those conjectures are more infused with jargon and elite arrogance than other. If nobody could predict future market behavior during "normal times" (and those who claimed they could turned out to be ordinary charlatans) - what on earth make anyone think that it is possible to predict it during "abnormal times?" Where is this heroic knowledge supposed to come from? I am all ears.
In the world of conjectures and educated (or not so educated) guesses, anyone guess is good as anyone else's. None can be proved or disproved in a rational sense of the world. Every single one hinges on the authority of the speaker, hence the speakers try to create an illusion of authority. Consequently, people who call themselves government proclaim with authority what is and what is not on the table without bothering to explain why (as there is no rational explanation), while assorted bloggers and self-styled experts act arrogantly toward their interlocutors.
It reminds me of the plague in medieval Europe. Everyone run scared and every medical professional had an opinion what to do about it, but none had actual knowledge of the disease, let alone effective treatment methods.
In the absence of actual knowledge, myth ceremony and power are key factors that decide what course of action a society takes to tackle a social problem. It has typically been this way in virtually every known human society. Are are you trying to tell me that Amrika is an exception?
Wojtek