"Mr. Political Science Major" says: Moral liberalism = self-centeredness. And self-centeredness...

[bbernardini]

...leads to amorality. Discuss. :)

The original "Mr. Political Science Major" post is here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=5843826

[bbernardini]

1. He's also been on a "more realism, less idealism" kick lately. nt

[bbernardini]

11. More of his idealism thoughts:

"Radical idealism amounts to the denial of reality and the failure to examine history or the larger picture. Evil is frequently wrought by good intentions."

[Swamp Rat]

13. That perfectly describes the neocons (aka neoliberals) and their philosophy

[Bobbie Jo]

2. Moral Conservatism = I got mine = self-centeredness, etc...

case closed.

Of course I just minored in Poli Sci....so what do I know? :eyes:

[bbernardini]

5. Well, there you go...

He MAJORED in Poli Sci, so he knows more than any of us (quite possibly even combined).

[mitchum]

3. Randian projector

[bbernardini]

6. James or Ayn?

;)

[mitchum]

9. Why, James...

the talented one :)

[Mist]

4. But don't conservatives think self-centeredness is just dandy? Or do they mean only for them? nt

[Taitertots]

7. Conservatism = immorality

Their whole platform is contrary to established moral principles.

50 million people get no health care
Millions die in wars for hegemony
Economic disaster ruined millions of lives


Mr Political Science should know that ideological pedantry doesn't mean shit when your system has failed. Conservatism has failed. By any metric, conservatism has shown it doesn't benefit the people.

[crazy_vanilla]

8. how delusional

The me me me me me right crowd is the self-centered one!

[Odin2005]

10. Conservatism = I've got mine, FUCK YOU!!!

There is nothing moral about conservatism.

[BlooInBloo]

12. I bet $20 he's getting laid something fierce because of how "he stood up to the President"...

So his ego will only get larger, and his intellect, even smaller.

[Ikonoklast]

14. Oh to be young and naive about the ways of the world again.

Conservatives and amorality go hand-in-hand; they have it down to a fine art.

[handmade34]

15. what is the basis for the equation? just his opinion?

My BS is Social Science (economics/polysci/soc) with time spent as a MDIV student. I can't imagine he has any solid research or study to back his "opinions", and the truth is that you can not reason with the irrational mind. There is absolutely no basis for moral liberalism being equated with self-centeredness or amorality. You cannot argue opinions. ...more information please.

note you do not need a degree to be studied and wise

[bbernardini]

16. He doesn't explain it at all.

I'm tempted to ask him about his "logic". On the other hand, I'm not in the mood to be talked down to, even if I know his equation is absurd.

[handmade34]

17. I have had years of practice

My Mother is a fundamentalist Christian and I know first hand the impossibility of a rational discussion with some people. Know that there is a parallel universe that others dwell in, his statements appear to be illogical- and do not let him talk down to you. Best practice is always to keep your senses. ...remember the southern bible belt states have the highest divorce rates and most time spent looking at porn.

[LostInAnomie]

18. What he has is a bunch of disjointed and undefined terms thrown together...

... in an attempt to sound smart. He doesn't explain what he means by "moral", "liberalism", or "moral liberalism". He also doesn't explain how it equates to "self-centeredness" which could mean about anything. Then, he doesn't go on to explain how "self-centeredness" leads to "amorality" which I'm guessing was meant to be "immorality" but he's too stupid to know the terms aren't interchangeable.

So, removing all his non-sense, my guess is he's saying "Liberal bad!"

[Hippo_Tron]

19. As someone who will likely go for a PhD in political science

I can say that political science and politics are two entirely different things. If one adheres to these sorts of immature ideological constraints that this person does, one will be a shitty political scientist. My advisor is an excellent political scientist and extremely knowledgeable about politics and he almost didn't vote in the last election because he simply doesn't care who wins.

I'm not saying you have to take it to that extreme to be a good political scientist, but you have to put your ideology aside and approach things objectively. For example, I've had to get over the fact that some of the crucial scholars in my field work for the Hoover Institution. I've also had to get over the fact that as much as I dislike Milton Friedman personally and the ideology of him and his followers, he contributed a lot of important analytical theories and methods to economics and we borrow many of them in political science.