4 ms·

This is one of those quotes that sounds deep but is obviously untrue if you think about it for a bit. I suspect he would prefer “moral busybodies” to, I dunno,

This is one of those quotes that sounds deep but is obviously untrue if you think about it for a bit. I suspect he would prefer “moral busybodies” to, I dunno, 1930’s Germany.

rglover 3y ago
Substitute "robber baron" with "mid-century gangster" and you'd find it's quite accurate. Mind your own business, keep the peace, and you'll find little trouble. Moral busybodies, by definition, have to constantly meddle in your affairs; it's their sole source of life.
AnimalMuppet 3y ago
If I recall the essay, Lewis definitely believes that this applies to things like Nazi Germany or the USSR. The true believers in Arianism and communism thought they were doing good - they were creating this golden future for their people and/or the workers! So destroying everyone who was in the way was morally right (in their view). It's fair to say that Lewis would prefer moral busybodies in Cornwall with speed cameras to either the KGB or the Gestapo. But he considers the Gestapo (specifically mentioned in the essay) to be the end state of what he's talking about when he made the quote. The source is, IIRC, the essay "A Reply To Professor Haldane", which I found in the book "Of Other Worlds".
- kevinventullo 3y ago
  He specifically says “those who torment us for our own good”. The Nazis believed what they were doing was good for their people, but I don’t think they had any illusions that “destroying everyone…in the way” was good for the people being destroyed.
  - AnimalMuppet 3y ago
    Read the rest of the essay, not just the one paragraph. He means "our" in the sense of "us as a group", which may not translate into good for each individual in the group. (He also talks about using the term "liquidating" instead of "killing" as being a bad sign. "Liquidating" people may be good for the group, but it obviously isn't good for the individual.)

This is one of those quotes that sounds deep but is obviously untrue if you think about it for a bit. I suspect he would prefer “moral busybodies” to, I dunno, 1930’s Germany.

rglover 3y ago

Substitute "robber baron" with "mid-century gangster" and you'd find it's quite accurate. Mind your own business, keep the peace, and you'll find little trouble. Moral busybodies, by definition, have to constantly meddle in your affairs; it's their sole source of life.

AnimalMuppet 3y ago

If I recall the essay, Lewis definitely believes that this applies to things like Nazi Germany or the USSR. The true believers in Arianism and communism thought they were doing good - they were creating this golden future for their people and/or the workers! So destroying everyone who was in the way was morally right (in their view). It's fair to say that Lewis would prefer moral busybodies in Cornwall with speed cameras to either the KGB or the Gestapo. But he considers the Gestapo (specifically mentioned in the essay) to be the end state of what he's talking about when he made the quote. The source is, IIRC, the essay "A Reply To Professor Haldane", which I found in the book "Of Other Worlds".

kevinventullo 3y ago
He specifically says “those who torment us for our own good”. The Nazis believed what they were doing was good for their people, but I don’t think they had any illusions that “destroying everyone…in the way” was good for the people being destroyed.
- AnimalMuppet 3y ago
  Read the rest of the essay, not just the one paragraph. He means "our" in the sense of "us as a group", which may not translate into good for each individual in the group. (He also talks about using the term "liquidating" instead of "killing" as being a bad sign. "Liquidating" people may be good for the group, but it obviously isn't good for the individual.)