Thought Experiment

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Foseti offers up this thought experiment:

Imagine that you lived in a modern version of a country that had clung to a now-extinct ideology. For example, imagine yourself in still-Soviet[/Communist] Russia, still-Maoist[/Communist] China, or still-Japanese Japan.

Question: What would you believe about your country’s history?

Answer: You’d believe a lot of stuff that you currently believe to be wrong.

If the Germans and/or Japanese had won WWII, history would be very different.

If the Soviets had won the Cold War, history would be very different.

At least the official versions of history.

Even the official story of the Civil War changed dramatically during the 20th Century.

Now imagine you live in modern America. Keep in mind that perhaps no ideology has been more successful at extinguishing or assimilating its enemies than the ideology that governs modern America.

What should this chain of thoughts lead you to believe about modern, mainstream American history?

I think it would be surprising — very very surprising — if you were to conclude that modern American history is not full of lies. The official stories are — after all — part of the ideology’s success.

I love the understated reference to still-Japanese Japan.

Now, Foseti presents this as a libertarian turned to the Dark Side, as a neo-reactionary, but I’m sure those on the Left would completely agree — that The Man is keeping The Truth from The People. We must wake the sheeple from their false consciousness!

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