I agree with a number of the criticisms offered respecting Yascha's article but I think it's worth pausing for a moment to recognize the thanks we all owe him as founder of Persuasion. The comments made in their totality comprise precisely the kind of civilized debate that Persuasion aims at. I could not be more grateful to him.
I agree with a number of the criticisms offered respecting Yascha's article but I think it's worth pausing for a moment to recognize the thanks we all owe him as founder of Persuasion. The comments made in their totality comprise precisely the kind of civilized debate that Persuasion aims at. I could not be more grateful to him.
The problem with the article is not the personality of the author. The problem is that the conclusions (i.e., that CDC sacrificed lives on the altar of diversity) are not justified by facts, as many commenters here (Jeremy and others) persuasively show. CDC was making a difficult decision using their rules and processes. Was it a wrong decision? Maybe. Is it wrong enough for anyone to "lose faith in institutions?" Only if one makes additional assumptions that are not self-evident.
They are justified by facts as the rationale offered by CDC for this proposed policy was on the grounds of "racial equity" and "diversity". They acknowledged that this policy would lead to thousands of additional deaths, but they didn't care. Their ideology was more important to them. It is not this one decision that makes him lose faith in Institutions. I think that was clear from the way he made this argument? The woke ideology and its influence on the functioning of key institutions in USA (media, universities, cultural institutions and sometimes government) makes him lose faith. This CDC decision is a perfect illustration of how woke ideology corrupts public policy.
We didnтАЩt need this snafu to lose faith in the CDC. Already in this pandemic they failed to alert the public to the risk of COVID until it was too late, failed to enact competent policies to arrest the spread of the virus, failed to create a functional test at the most critical stage of the virusтАЩs spread (where countries all over the world succeeded), and recommend AGAINST wearing masks early on (an intentional lie as far as I can tell). And yet they still refer to themselves as the worldтАЩs leading public health agency!
This is just the point the OP was making - here is a forum where you express your disagreement and your reasoning, where people can read and consider your opinion and others, where people can share their own opinions. In other words, a variety of views are presented rationally and in good faith. As Mr. Frank says, this is a public good, and IтАЩm grateful for the effort Yascha Mounk has put into this endeavor.
I agree with a number of the criticisms offered respecting Yascha's article but I think it's worth pausing for a moment to recognize the thanks we all owe him as founder of Persuasion. The comments made in their totality comprise precisely the kind of civilized debate that Persuasion aims at. I could not be more grateful to him.
The problem with the article is not the personality of the author. The problem is that the conclusions (i.e., that CDC sacrificed lives on the altar of diversity) are not justified by facts, as many commenters here (Jeremy and others) persuasively show. CDC was making a difficult decision using their rules and processes. Was it a wrong decision? Maybe. Is it wrong enough for anyone to "lose faith in institutions?" Only if one makes additional assumptions that are not self-evident.
They are justified by facts as the rationale offered by CDC for this proposed policy was on the grounds of "racial equity" and "diversity". They acknowledged that this policy would lead to thousands of additional deaths, but they didn't care. Their ideology was more important to them. It is not this one decision that makes him lose faith in Institutions. I think that was clear from the way he made this argument? The woke ideology and its influence on the functioning of key institutions in USA (media, universities, cultural institutions and sometimes government) makes him lose faith. This CDC decision is a perfect illustration of how woke ideology corrupts public policy.
We didnтАЩt need this snafu to lose faith in the CDC. Already in this pandemic they failed to alert the public to the risk of COVID until it was too late, failed to enact competent policies to arrest the spread of the virus, failed to create a functional test at the most critical stage of the virusтАЩs spread (where countries all over the world succeeded), and recommend AGAINST wearing masks early on (an intentional lie as far as I can tell). And yet they still refer to themselves as the worldтАЩs leading public health agency!
This is just the point the OP was making - here is a forum where you express your disagreement and your reasoning, where people can read and consider your opinion and others, where people can share their own opinions. In other words, a variety of views are presented rationally and in good faith. As Mr. Frank says, this is a public good, and IтАЩm grateful for the effort Yascha Mounk has put into this endeavor.
> Maybe. Is it wrong enough for anyone to "lose faith in institutions?" Only if one makes additional assumptions that are not self-evident.
This itself is an assumption, ironically.