Every time someone tries this, it leads to some sort of inhumane dystopia (french revolution, communism). Nationalism is flawed, but imposing one set of values

Every time someone tries this, it leads to some sort of inhumane dystopia (french revolution, communism). Nationalism is flawed, but imposing one set of values from the international order will stifle cultural and legal competition, and thereby progress. Religion is flawed, but it causes people to form tight-knit communities, gives them psychological comfort, and moves them to act morally (see: http://jacobexmachina.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-atheists-misunderstand-religion.html http://jacobexmachina.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-atheists-misu...). Just because something is not true does not mean it is not useful. You might be comfortable living as a hyper-rationalist. But most people get joy from celebrations, myths, and community. You ever wonder why harvest festivals and winter solstice festivals are so widespread in disparate cultures? It serves a deep psychological human need. A rationalist sees a tradition and thinks "this is irrational, abolish it!". The conservative sees a tradition and thinks "people must have put this in place for a reason, let's try to figure out what that is". Hyper rationalist visions of human progress start with rejecting humanity, which is why they usually turn out so bad.