3 ms·
Intent is not magical, and does not make things retroactively okay. If one can look at the results, see the net effects, and then not do anything to fix it, on
by mfringel 9y ago
Intent is not magical, and does not make things retroactively okay.
If one can look at the results, see the net effects, and then not do anything to fix it, one's intent doesn't matter.
- jerf 9y agoMy best interpretation of your message is that you think I'm trying to defend someone (probably "racists") by assuming some beneficial intention in the regulation I cited. I have no idea what innocent intention you think I had in mind, though. Certainly none of the ones I mentioned seem like a good idea to me.
- Kalium 9y agoYou're absolutely right. Intent is in no way, shape, or manner magical. In a very real sense, it doesn't matter why a policy with racist outcomes exists. It needs to not exist. It was at no point OK. I believe jerf's point is that motivations do matter, at least a bit, in understanding how a state of affairs came to be. If it's racism, then we might be able to dismantle it and let it be. If it's about keeping out competition, then taking away barriers is very likely to provoke a backlash as the people whose incomes drop look for a way to avoid that. Again, you're 100% correct. Intent is not magical. It's just that motivations matter at least a little bit for predicting human behavior.