Monday Pessimism

And therefore if the more foolish a man is, the more he pleases himself and is admired by others, to what purpose should he beat his brains about true knowledge, which first will cost him dear, and next render him the more troublesome and less confident, and lastly, please only a few?

Desiderius Erasmus - The Praise of Folly (1511)


It’s the age and durability of this problem which is so disconcerting. In a wider sense, we like to think problems of political foolishness can be resolved and the effort to resolve them is worthwhile. Yet we know that many important problems are not resolved until they encounter the brick wall of reality.

People don’t beat their brains about true knowledge if they perceive themselves as the majority within a political debate. As Erasmus said over five centuries ago, they do not need to please the minority. Without the harsh hand of reality, it isn’t a resolvable issue. Net Zero is one of our our latest examples.