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It is trivial to view the process of rejecting the scourge of slavery as binary, and reject the 1787 Constitution for its disgusting 3/5ths compromise. And yet
by smitty1e 5y ago
It is trivial to view the process of rejecting the scourge of slavery as binary, and reject the 1787 Constitution for its disgusting 3/5ths compromise.
And yet: what if the course of history as it unfolded was roughly optimal?
- kadoban 5y ago> And yet: what if the course of history as it unfolded was roughly optimal? Sure, but what if it wasn't? It seems like there's a bias to viewing history where we judge _our_ outcome as the best one even if it had huge downsides. I don't see why we should assume the outcome we have is any better than average or why those decisions generally judged to be "necessary evil"s actually were necessary. They were only necessary to get exactly our outcome, there's nothing saying that it was actually good.
- smitty1e 5y agoLook at any large-scale, peacetime organizational change. It ain't beanbag, even before beong as fraught as abolition. Those tearing down the Founders (looking at you, 1619 Project) need to have done more than point fingers and cast stones before being regarded seriously.
- smitty1e 5y ago'even before being'