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I agree that these folks are probably acting with good intentions. And that can actually make the situation worse. This CS Lewis quote comes to mind: "Of all ty

I agree that these folks are probably acting with good intentions. And that can actually make the situation worse. This CS Lewis quote comes to mind: "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

watwut 7y ago
But CS Lewis was wrong as history of genocides and purges show. None of them started for the good of victims and they were definitely in the category of worst oppression.
- gwd 7y ago
  I think Lewis had in more in mind something like what happens to Winston in George Orwell's 1984, where it wasn't enough for the Party for him to obey them but not agree with them; it wasn't enough for the Party to discover that he didn't agree with them and kill him; they were only satisfied once they'd tortured him into agreeing with them as well. I'd much rather be under killed for disagreeing than tortured until my captors are satisfied that I really agree with them.
  - watwut 7y ago
    Afaik, all genocides involved a lot of torture - both of targets and of those who refused to cooperate or talked against it. Sometimes it was to gain information, force agreement, force compliance etc. It also involved quite a lot of petty rule making to keep those who were being oppressed in line. And quite a lot of it was basically for fun or hate. -------------- Besides original quote is about motivation. People who organized genocides were fully ok with their own conscience. They were in fact proud over their own good work. And as fun it sounds and as easy it is to use against certain disliked people, it is not true in the sense of how world really works when things go bad.

watwut 7y ago

But CS Lewis was wrong as history of genocides and purges show. None of them started for the good of victims and they were definitely in the category of worst oppression.

gwd 7y ago
I think Lewis had in more in mind something like what happens to Winston in George Orwell's 1984, where it wasn't enough for the Party for him to obey them but not agree with them; it wasn't enough for the Party to discover that he didn't agree with them and kill him; they were only satisfied once they'd tortured him into agreeing with them as well. I'd much rather be under killed for disagreeing than tortured until my captors are satisfied that I really agree with them.
- watwut 7y ago
  Afaik, all genocides involved a lot of torture - both of targets and of those who refused to cooperate or talked against it. Sometimes it was to gain information, force agreement, force compliance etc. It also involved quite a lot of petty rule making to keep those who were being oppressed in line. And quite a lot of it was basically for fun or hate. -------------- Besides original quote is about motivation. People who organized genocides were fully ok with their own conscience. They were in fact proud over their own good work. And as fun it sounds and as easy it is to use against certain disliked people, it is not true in the sense of how world really works when things go bad.