tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post114928181134938966..comments2023-10-31T03:18:26.963-07:00Comments on Great Guys Weblog: Culture MattersBrethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-1149980941139851722006-06-10T16:09:00.000-07:002006-06-10T16:09:00.000-07:00Very enlightening essay. You have to conclude that...Very enlightening essay. You have to conclude that one of the biggest mistakes made by Enlightenment thinkers was to believe that people act rationally based on their own self-interest. <BR/><BR/>The problem with this approach is that actors do not have all the information about the tradeoffs of those actions upon which to make the correct decisions. The most rational decision for an unwed mother with no high school education, from her standpoint, is probably to go on welfare. What she doesn't know about is what other options she is losing by following that course of action. <BR/><BR/>The idea that individuals always know what is good for them, or can make the right calculations among the tradeoffs of different courses of actions, is the nub of the problem. Cultures contain more intrinsic wisdom than is made available to its individual members. This realization is the essence of conservatism.Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08852569465893563139noreply@blogger.com