Ideological Frameworks are Obsolete

Avraam J. Dectis

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Jul 27, 2021

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Whenever you hear someone associate an idea or approach with a framework you should be wary, because it suggests that they have merely associated their idea with one of their idols — and not thoroughly thought through the idea or have had their options limited by existing ideological choices.

For example, if you hear “Conservative”, “Liberal”, “Progressive”, “Founding Fathers”, “Jeffersonian” and so forth, you should be very wary.

Existing ideological frameworks can constrain you away from the correct yet not popularly enumerated , or even enumerated at all, option.

Existing ideological frameworks can also become obsolete because we live in a rapidly evolving world with rapidly evolving economic systems and technologies. Strict adherence to existing frameworks can prevent necessary evolution.

Failure to accomplish necessary evolution can result in being out-competed and diminished quality of life for the citizens.

Excessive idolatry of long dead leaders can also be sub-optimal, not least because centuries of really good public relations may not be a good reflection of their actual attributes. Even if they were, the times they lived in were very different and if they lived today they may have chosen different approaches.

But all of the above suggests that people look for guides when suggesting policy.

The best guide should merely be “what maximises the well-being of the most people?”.

For the argumentative reader looking for loop holes, that guide can be more thoroughly phrased as “What, within the constraints of a principled civilised society, maximises the well-being of the most people?”.