> belief in the important role of maintaining tradition and hierarchies and belief in equalizing everything and a linear view of history as an inevitable march

> belief in the important role of maintaining tradition and hierarchies and belief in equalizing everything and a linear view of history as an inevitable march to progress Holy False Dichotomy, Batman! I don't believe in an inevitable march, but I'm definitely not enamored of keeping social norms the way they are just because they're social norms. I think society can and should be improved based on sound policy, but my ideas aren't teleological; that is, they don't move towards a specific long-term end goal, just a short- or medium-term goal which is, essentially, a position better than this one, from which we can plot the next improvements. Do I believe in questioning everything? Sure, with the caveat that I'm willing to accept "We don't know how to improve it" or "It isn't something we can improve" as answers. Do I believe in equalizing everything? The question is unanswerable as posed, not least because "equality" means different things in different contexts, and some people have a distressing propensity for equivocation.