Dr. Craig S. Wright’s latest blog post, “Collectivism and Protagoras of Abdera,” touches on a few social-economic situations and debate styles that we often see in society.
“Faith Ridler (2021) managed to capture many of the aspects of intellectual dishonesty and bankruptcy in her article in the Daily Mail titled ‘Father of capitalism’ Adam Smith’s grave is included in Edinburgh council’s ‘ludicrously biased’ dossier of sites linked to slavery and colonialism,” says Dr. Wright at the beginning of his blog post.
“The article records the false accusations made against Adam Smith. In an attempt to tarnish capitalism and promote a socialist and collectivist agenda, Smith is portrayed as supporting slavery and racist practices.”
Dr. Wright goes on to explain that the practices used in the Daily Mail article mentioned above are not new or unique, but stem from techniques used throughout history to sway crowds and change public opinions on a situation. Dr. Wright goes on to tell the audience that Plato’s writings showcased similar tactics.
“Plato employed the figure of Protagoras of Abdera (Cooper, ed., 1997) to demonstrate how truth can be twisted using false logic and appeal to emotion,” says Dr. Wright.
Dr. Wright argues that oftentimes, attempts to shift a crowd’s opinion, like Ridler has attempted to do in her article, can be short-sighted—especially when they disregard elements of the story that have paved the way for a better future or had a significant impact on the future.
“Such changes may seem small. In removing famous figures of the past, it is important to remember the words of Machiavelli (Barnhart, 2013), specifically, ‘One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.’ The article reminds us that we cannot look upon the past in isolation and that if we allow small changes to occur, they lead to further changes,” says Dr. Wright.
“The aim should be to be ‘the one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart’ (Psalm 15:2-3).”
To learn more about social economics, attempting to change public opinion, and how even small changes can have a big impact on the future, you are going to want to read Dr. Craig S. Wright’s latest blog post, “Collectivism and Protagoras of Abdera,” on CraigWright.net.
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