4 ms·
> Just because we're all living in the status quo doesn't mean we can't change because we're all hypocrites for living with the status quo. Aspire to something
by d1zzy 7y ago
> Just because we're all living in the status quo doesn't mean we can't change because we're all hypocrites for living with the status quo. Aspire to something better. Even if you're currently benefitting from or struggling against the status quo.
I'm not convinced by this argument. The status quo may exist because there are fundamental issues with changing it. Those issues don't go away with wishful thinking. Attempting to change things while praiseworthy may end up do more harm than good. At the best, if it doesn't end up changing the status quo, you just wasted energy, and bothered other people. But much more likely seems to me that we are trading some pros/cons for others, it's not a strict improvement or even an overall improvement.
If one tries to analyze attempts at change that failed there are lots of common patterns. One of them is being ignorant of the fundamental reasons why the issue you are trying to change is the way it is. Being ignorant of the reason behind that makes it much more likely you will fail at your task.
- guerrilla 7y ago> I'm not convinced by this argument. The status quo may exist because there are fundamental issues with changing it. Those issues don't go away with wishful thinking. Attempting to change things while praiseworthy may end up do more harm than good. At the best, if it doesn't end up changing the status quo, you just wasted energy, and bothered other people. But much more likely seems to me that we are trading some pros/cons for others, it's not a strict improvement or even an overall improvement. Can you imagine yourself arguing this in feudalism or the USSR?
- drdeca 7y agoWell, what if you were under feudalism or under the USSR, and decided that the problem with the status quo that you should try to solve was not “we don’t have plentiful enough food” but rather “people need food to live at all”. One wouldn’t succeed in changing this. Of course, some conceivable changes to the way things are, are both possible to achieve, and are overall beneficial to make. Some changes are impossible (or effectively impossible) to make, and some are possible but have costs which outweigh the benefits. I suppose the question is determining, or estimating, which is which. (Though, I suppose the question isn’t just “what proportion are you right about as to what category they fall under” but rather, what is the average benefit and cost (and I suppose also the variance and other moments?) of your pursuit of the changes you choose to persue.)
- grotsnot 7y agoThe USSR very much came about due to a bunch of people deciding that the status quo had to go
- guerrilla 7y agoAs did its end.
- gdy 7y ago"Can you imagine yourself arguing this in feudalism or the USSR" You should read about Perestroyka.