Government by Wishful Thinking

I always knew there was a reason my I’m a materialist.  Steven Den Beste lays out an interesting  comparison on Materialism and Teleology.  Or common sense versus wishful thinking.

Materialists look at history since Marx and point out that socialism has been tried many times, in many nations, in various forms, and it has always failed.

 

So to materialists, it’s apparent that socialism is a nice idea, but one that doesn’t work and shouldn’t be adopted.

 

To teleologists, none of that matters. What matters is the fact that it’s a beautiful idea. It’s how things should be. In a world in which socialism was implemented and which worked the way the teleologists think it should work, you really would have a utopia. The fact that it’s invariably failed when used doesn’t change any of that. …

 

It’s teleologists who drive around with bumper stickers that say, “Imagine world peace.” I can imagine it just fine….

… Teleologists believe that thought directly affects things. The mere act of thinking about something and wanting it a lot directly changes reality, even if the thought doesn’t get translated into action.

Read it all here

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