An interesting thing happened when I posited a relatively benign assertion on the twitters.

If your beliefs don’t prevail in the marketplace of ideas, the problem isn’t the marketplace, but your beliefs.

I was subtwitting at the time, unbeknownst to many who replied to my twit, as there had been a flurry of people contending that the problem with social justice not being the predominant ideology wasn’t because of a flaw with social justice, but because people were too venal, stupid and evil to recognize it as “truth.”

This came upon a more nefarious observation, that SJW arguments against diversity of thought and free speech were no longer predicated upon mere disagreement in values. No longer were these the ideas supported by conservatives. Nor even the alt-right.

The rhetoric was morphing into the worst, lowest characterization possible: these were the beliefs of Nazis. If you supported diversity of ideas and free speech, it was because you were a Nazi. Poor Mike Godwin. There was nowhere left to go.

The reactions were fascinating, as they didn’t reflect the one minority perspective arguing its cause, but many. The left hated it. The right hated it. The religious hated it. The educated hated it. The ignorant hated it. The one consistent theme of those who informed me I was wrong was that popularity is a poor mechanism to determine “truth.” This is obviously true, and yet the irony was that the attacks on this premise came from all sides, all with their own “truth,” all with “truths” that conflict. They were certain that their truth was truest truth. All of them.

The marketplace doesn’t select for truth or goodness but (at best) a particular sort of utility. So, lol no.

Including “lol” is usually an excellent way to persuade people of the seriousness of your thoughts. Some responses were interesting in their abject failure to grasp the gravamen of the twit:

My beliefs are not determined by market forces.

Of course not. Nor should they be, regardless of whether your beliefs are right or wrong. Beyond one’s right to believe being personal, promoting one’s beliefs is how the marketplace of ideas works. Believe what you want and persuade others that your beliefs are the best beliefs.

Argumentum ad populum fallacy

If the assertion is that something is true because it prevailed in the marketplace, this would apply. Just as the Supreme Court isn’t final because it’s infallible, beliefs that fail to prevail in the marketplace of ideas aren’t false because they aren’t adopted. or adopted yet (another common theme) as it takes time for society to accept new beliefs. Galileo was thrown back at me a few times, but we’ve come to accept that the earth revolves around the sun. His beliefs prevailed.

Slavery? There are disruptions in the marketplace of ideas, usually stemming from our worst angels, rationalizing our use of force to impose our will on others for our own benefit. These are the exceptions that prove the rule, and are cautionary experiences. Mankind experienced slavery for generations, long before America’s “original sin,” and it took a civil war here to end the institution, and we’re still dealing with its casualties. But even though it took millennia to face up to slavery, we’re working toward it.

But the most direct challenge to the notion is “popular is good,” which raises the observe if untrue: is unpopular good?

What’s behind all of this is a notion that is being tacitly attacked. Majority rules. Not because the majority is “right,” to the extent there is any “right” answer. Nor does this mean that the majority is entitled to its tyranny, as imposing a detriment on others out of hatred violates the bastardized Herzberg theory.

The point is that society moves forward whether you agree with its direction or not. And the direction it takes isn’t necessarily “truth,” and certainly not any individual’s flavor of “truth.” As my dear old father used to tell me, “the masses are asses.” I disagree with popular beliefs all the time, but put my efforts into trying to change them rather than denying their existence. I’m disinclined toward fantasy visions of the universe or the people who inhabit it.

So what does it mean to say the problem is with your beliefs? Maybe they’re wrong. Maybe they’re unpalatable to others as they serve your interests but not theirs. Maybe they’re right but society isn’t yet prepared to embrace them. Maybe you’ve done a poor job of explaining or selling your beliefs. The masses are asses, but they’re still the masses and they, like you (and me) get to decide for themselves how their lives are to happen.

To a certain degree, we’re constrained to accept the reality that the masses get to dictate the rules to us. Not because they’re more right, but because they’re more. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t believe as we will, or try to use our good offices to persuade others to see the light. Indeed, that’s what the marketplace is all about, as opposed to the use of force to impose our will on others.

The marketplace of ideas will buy some pretty horrible stuff along the way. Wrong stuff. Bad stuff. When it’s bad enough, we will go to war to change it, but this isn’t the marketplace of ideas, and the assumption that change will make it better, as opposed to a different bad or perhaps even worse, has been proven wrong many times in history.

The concept of majority rules is hated by nearly everyone who thinks, as it never reflects all of our beliefs well. But the alternative is minority rules, that “unpopular is good,” which makes even less sense. There is no true “free marketplace” of ideas, and likely never will be, but to the extent society evolves the marketplace is the only means by which we can try to exert any persuasive influence over the masses.

Much as we may hate the fact that we’re right and society is wrong, the majority gets to pick the world it prefers, even if it’s not the one we’re quite certain is best. If we’re right and the masses are wrong, then put your effort into the marketplace of ideas, hone your beliefs, persuade others to agree with you. Chances aren’t necessarily good that your ideas will prevail, but there aren’t any other viable options than to try. And until your ideas prevail, recognize that the majority gets to decide.

If you can’t accept the marketplace of ideas, the only other option is to go to war and suffer the outcome. Are you prepared to die for your beliefs? Are you prepared to kill for them? If the only way your beliefs can prevail is by use of force, maybe your “truth” isn’t as true as you believe.