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Smart people can lead us astray. Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity. But that’s astrophysics. Moral relativism is no way to foster ethics.
Sigmund Freud invented the idea of unconscious motives. But that’s psychology. Suggesting that people do not really make their own choices is no way to foster accountability.
Karl Marx championed the idea that if we subordinate the rights of the individual to the common good, the government would wither away. Malarkey; it’s just the opposite.
These were unusually smart people, but their ideas, sometimes misunderstood, have contributed to our inability to hold society to the ethical standards needed for long-term success. The usefulness of an idea for one purpose doesn’t mean you can run a railroad with it.
Lloyd Lim
Makiki
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