The tricky thing about beliefs is that they are so often instrumental to authoritarian uses. Altermeyer's _The Authoritarians_[0] documents some of the mentalit

The tricky thing about beliefs is that they are so often instrumental to authoritarian uses. Altermeyer's _The Authoritarians_[0] documents some of the mentalities that take hold - although it's primarily focused on the "right wing" of authoritarianism, it also describes how a "left wing authoritarian" also exists but is less prevalent. For my part, I've realized that at any moment of my life I will have some limited view of the world as a belief structure. I can intentionally cultivate beliefs that seem more logical(e.g. by writing down and rehearsing proverbs) but this ultimately just moves around the lens with which I view things; it doesn't "progress" my thinking to a higher state, because there isn't one. The worst thing that could happen is not believing "wrong things," but getting stuck in a state in which I can't move around my lens any more. If my lens is not moving, then it's like I am no longer politically alive, I am a rock that someone else throws. [0] http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/TheAuthoritarians.pdf http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/TheAuthoritarians...