Covid Was Liberalism’s Endgame
Covid Was Liberalism’s Endgame
Section titled “Covid Was Liberalism’s Endgame”
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”- Author: Matthew Crawford
- Full Title: Covid Was Liberalism’s Endgame
- Category: #articles
- URL: https://unherd.com/?mc_cid=66ad652a7b&mc_eid=de177bfcbe&p=430832%3Ftl_inbound%3D1&tl_groups%5B0%5D=18743&tl_period_type=3
Highlights
Section titled “Highlights”- The Nineties saw the rise of new currents in the social sciences that emphasise the cognitive incompetence of human beings, deposing the “rational actor” model of human behaviour. This gave us nudge theory , a way to alter people’s behaviour without having to persuade them of anything. It would be hard to overstate the degree to which this approach has been institutionalised, on both sides of the Atlantic. The innovation achieved here is in the way government conceives its subjects: not as citizens whose considered consent must be secured, but as particles to be steered through a science of behaviour management that relies on our pre-reflective cognitive biases.
- Tags: #favorite
- Note: Much overlap with Adam Curtis. “Human beings” are incompetent, but (somehow) those who govern aren’t.