A Healthy Mistrust

"Mistrust Healthy?" Yes. Not the natural mistrust we easily have for those whose social/political positions we disagree with, but rather a mistrust of our own ideologies that all too often lead us to uncritically believe our own "press releases" and reject out-of-hand the opinion of contrary viewpoints. Nothing illustrates this better than the often onerous debate between economic ideologies. There are those who believe that the free-market system is the best (and perhaps only) system that rewards diligence, creativity, and initiative to produce wealth and a better life-style for everyone. Taken to an unquestioned and unexamined extreme, the "market" becomes "god", needing no regulation and in-and-of-itself, taking necessary self-action to correct imbalances. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the "market" leads to a "social darwinism" of "survival of the fittest" so that those who cannot make their way in the free market system are simply left behind to struggle or (in the attitude of Ebenezer Scrooge) die. In this view, the "market" cannot be trusted to "do the right thing" and needs strong regulation and oversight. If the believers on both sides of such an argument would take some time and make some effort toward a healthy mistrust of their own position, it would lead to a more civil discussion of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in both ideologies.