Democracy and the problem of certainty
Today’s post, courtesy of Culturico!
The power of certainty is easy to underestimate. And when it comes to both aspiring and established democracies, that underestimation can be downright dangerous. Certainty makes it possible to kill in the name of righteousness, to tear down in the name of virtue, and to demonize and dismiss people who simply disagree.
The collateral damage that certainty creates has been hiding in plain sight for years. It is the practically unavoidable consequence of the way it drives contempt—an accelerant for culture wars and political polarization. When it comes to heated issues, certainty leads us to view our ideological opponents as, at best, ignorant and, at worst, subhuman.