Bryan Caplan: belief

Transcript context

…Given the irrationality and demagoguery in the political system. Why is it the case that the society we live in is relatively free, peaceful, and prosperous? I mean, if the average person is a National Socialist (aka. Nazi)? I said moderate National Socialist Dwarkesh. That's what I said. So there are a few things going on. The first thing is just to remember, “Usually, we don't have this.” The norm is not peaceful and prosperous societies throughout human history. The norm is impoverished and war-prone societies. Always keep that in mind if you're saying, “Well, gee, but things are okay now.” I often think of this as the ‘Look out the window test’ as in, “Hey, Dwarkesh, is it on fire out there? ” We're not going to turn the camera, but I think that listeners will believe that it is not on fire. How else do you think we're getting this nice lighting? [laughs] Yeah, it's not on fire. So there's that, but still, there is the interesting question: what's going on with the exceptions?…

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