On Ideologies

The Internet is probably the best example of how freedom works and it is probably also the greatest weapon available to those who want to promote freedom. Different theories and ideologies now have a more even battlefield, as anyone can fact-check pretty much anything and alternative views can't be hidden by the gatekeepers in society.

The great debates of the world aren't taking place in the halls of Congress, not the Eduskunta, the House of Lords or any such place. The debaters aren't politicians or other men of great influence. The debates take place on forums, blogs, YouTube, the comments section of reviews on Amazon.com and everywhere else. The debaters are normal people.

No one can escape the influence of a prevailing ideology.
~Ludwig von Mises

At the end of the day what matters is the dominant ideology among the public. At the very least, a state must have the passive support of its people, otherwise it will crumble, no matter what it does. Intellectual leaders promote their ideas, but it is up to the people to choose the ideology they wish to follow. And it doesn't end there; the intellectual battle must not be left to the intellectuals alone. The people themselves must engage in the ideological struggle of the day, unless they wish to see their ideology disappear or become marginalized.

Most people do not consciously do this. They promote their ideology of ignorance through casual conversations, through the votes they cast and their acceptance of the current situation. They do not have any well-defined principles, they often rely on pseudo-scientific utilitarianism, they make excuses for current policies and are anti-radical.

Ideology of ignorance: People don't know society works. Frédéric Bastiat wondered How Paris Gets Fed, and we may ask the same question still today. People know very little about economics, yet they still offer opinions on things that would require economic analysis to understand. As Bryan Caplan has observed, people are biased in their worldviews and do not let their ignorance get in the way.

Principles: The lack of principled stances is best seen in how often people define right and wrong based on lawfulness. Delegating responsibility and critical thinking to the legislative body of the government is the lazy way out of serious issues.

Utilitarianism: Utility is subjective and you can't make interpersonal utility comparisons. People ignore this, because they in fact do not respect the choices others make.

You don't have to smoke. Others can't force you to smoke. So what gives you the right to restrict others from smoking(unless they're on your property)? The answer will of course rely on health(which is "good") and maybe the medical costs("bad") society will have to pay for(you see when the opponents of socialism said that socialized medicine will eventually lead to the socialization of human bodies; they were right). If the purpose of life was to live healthily, then everyone would already do so.

Pseudo-science: Simply watch DiLorenzo's speech. It is possibly the best illustration of what I'm talking about.

No one can find a safe way out for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle. None can stand aside with unconcern; the interests of everyone hang on the result.
~Ludwig von Mises

After all this gloom and doom, you would think that all is lost. The masses do not resist when freedom is being restricted. They do not oppose interventionism and even have a strong anti-market bias. But they also aren't committed ideologues. Their minds can be changed by a vocal minority, even though in the current environment it is unlikely that this will happen. If people weren't ignorant and still held the beliefs they hold, we'd be in much more trouble.

So do not stand aside with unconcern. Many people during the latter half of the 19th century probably did. Classical liberalism was going to produce peace, prosperity and freedom for all. And it would have, had it survived. What followed was a century of nationalism, totalitarianism, socialism, war and democide.

Ideas have consequences.