Inspiration for this post:
Bobbin Singh, founder and executive director of the Oregon Justice Resource Center, said attempting to find a middle ground on policing…ignores the racism that’s baked into the justice system and the Police Bureau. “The question before us is not that complex. It’s binary. Either you support racial justice or you don’t,” Singh said. “You don’t find compromise with those structures; you dismantle those structures.” - Black councilman nudges Portland center on post-protest path. By Gillian Flaccus/AP News December 9, 2021
To appreciate scarcity is to understand that you can’t have everything you want. An appreciation of scarcity forces people and governments to prioritize goals and find ways to stretch resources - resources such as time, money, labor, and the goodwill of others (including voters). Some people have a greater appreciation of scarcity than others. They want their leaders and decision-makers to be mindful of budgets and trade-offs and to prioritize goals, action plans and spending accordingly. They instinctively mistrust politicians who promise lots of goodies at little cost. Or who minimize trade-offs, as if pursuing one policy goal will have no significant effect on other policy goals.
Those who dismiss the concept of scarcity often embrace an attitude of “if there’s a will, there’s a way”. Americans are steeped in this way of thinking: You can do it! Don’t let the doubters hold you back! A useful mindset in some circumstances, but disastrous in others.
Moral outrage is a hot emotion that combines tunnel vision with an urge to punish and make things right (Kahneman). Put that on the backburner for a while and with some people you end up with an ever-vigilant, us-versus-them mindset. To such a mindset, if you’re not on my side, you’re one of them, an adversary with whom no compromise is possible. To such a mindset, appeals to complexity are just an subterfuge to conceal the truth. Which is binary.
In the political sphere, the morally outraged tend not to value discussion, debate or the democratic process. To them, the issues are simple and it’s clear what needs to be done. They just want to impose their will to make the world the way it ought to be. Give them the reins of government…and then watch out.
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Note: This post borrows liberally from a previous post, The Politics of Scarcity.
Reference:
Daniel Kahneman, "Indignation: Psychology, Politics, Law" (University of Chicago Public Law & Legal Theory Working Paper No. 171, 2007). https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/public_law_and_legal_theory/151/