Comments on: Brutal honesty lets us affirm that the correlation between what is good and what sounds good is quite low https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Thu, 21 May 2026 16:19:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758236 Jim Wed, 21 May 2025 07:58:03 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758236 Or: “Every man is most free-market about what costs him least.”

Or: “Every man is most free-market about what impacts him least.”

]]> By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758230 Jim Wed, 21 May 2025 07:08:42 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758230 I only ever see “free market” used to justify the status quo. As soon as any real free-market-dom erupts begin shrieks from all corners of the land. Silicon Valley Bank is a fair recent example. The automaker bailouts are a more distant example. The concept of “wage inflation” (whereby employee purchasing power dares to increase) is a perennial one. Perhaps we can formulate a kind of inverse Conquest’s First Law: “Every man is most free-market about what he owns least.”

]]> By: David Whitewolf https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758208 David Whitewolf Wed, 21 May 2025 01:05:53 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758208 I never played Tropico, but one of my old favorites, Hidden Agenda from 1988, has a similar (but I suspect more sophisticated?) dynamic. Basically you’re running a fictional version of 1980s El Salvador or Nicaragua. The fun part for me is that your policy choices for actions each round are limited by who you choose to interact with. The rural doctor isn’t going to suggest helicoptering people, for example.

You can play thru a browser via links at the Wikipedia article on the game. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Agenda_(1988_video_game)

]]> By: T. Beholder https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758207 T. Beholder Tue, 20 May 2025 21:57:18 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758207 Jim says:

Even if “free markets” were desirable, (only rarely)

Free(-ish) market is mostly an optimization mechanism for usage of resources. For which it’s wise to optimize in some contexts, but not all. Much like production of paperclips, etc.

Free market also has a fun little paradox living in it. As one character in “Babylon” (by Pelevin) noted: a truly free market, by definition, allows for services of limiting the market’s freedom (in that case, protection racket).

]]> By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758165 Jim Sun, 18 May 2025 23:42:47 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758165 Beautiful, Gaikokumaniakku, simply beautiful!

]]> By: Gaikokumaniakku https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758157 Gaikokumaniakku Sun, 18 May 2025 05:58:27 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758157 If you feel you were born to be a warrior-king, or perhaps to trample the jeweled thrones of civilization beneath your sandalled feet, just remember:

Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
— H.L. Mencken

]]> By: Gaikokumaniakku https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758156 Gaikokumaniakku Sun, 18 May 2025 05:47:49 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758156 What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie?
I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky.
The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing;
Rush in and die, dogs—I was a man before I was a king.
— Robert E. Howard

]]> By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758152 Jim Sun, 18 May 2025 00:39:16 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758152 Please consult the old social contract:

https://i.ibb.co/d4yDgmSL/old-social-contract.jpg

And with the seriousness of a heart attack, please consult the new social contract:

https://i.ibb.co/1G9Kj99d/new-social-contract.jpg

Bonus:

https://i.ibb.co/8npv84FZ/new-social-contract-bonus.jpg

]]> By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758151 Jim Sat, 17 May 2025 23:14:27 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758151 Jim was born to be a warrior-king.

]]> By: Faze https://www.isegoria.net/2025/05/brutal-honesty-lets-us-affirm-that-the-correlation-between-what-is-good-and-what-sounds-good-is-quite-low/comment-page-1/#comment-3758150 Faze Sat, 17 May 2025 20:53:20 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=52987#comment-3758150 Jim is lazy.

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