An obvious incapacity

An obvious incapacity for abstract conceptions made him peculiarly susceptible to the magic of generalization, and one felt he would have been at the mercy of any Cause that spelled itself with a capital letter.

Edith Wharton - Crucial Instances (1901)


It isn’t only the magic of causes or even Causes. An incapacity for abstract conceptions divides people, as does a susceptibility to the magic of generalisation. Compare the two as Wharton did and perhaps we have a major political divide because the political classes love the magic of generalisation. So do I because that’s a generalisation too, but easily observed.

It is another aspect of the magic of simplicity versus the effort of nuance and complexity. Take the Russell Brand case as an example. Swamping the abstract conception of innocent until proven guilty, we had the immediate magic of generalisation - a rampant libido casting the shadow of guilt. So powerful is it that innocent until proven guilty seems like a legalistic quibble.

We see another example with climate change where the magical generalisation of “almost all scientists agree” outweighs the scientific method, the abstract conception which brought us here. The generalisation isn’t even sound, but it doesn’t have to be because the magic also dispenses with the need to check. Again it’s the magic of simplicity versus the effort of tackling nuance and complexity.

Or take this example where the Labour party has stated its intention to extract more money from private education.

Last night, reports emerged that Labour has U-turned on its plans to remove the charitable status of private schools.

However, it has now emerged that, while Labour still plans to force independent schools to pay VAT, it will no longer remove their charitable status.

A party spokesperson said: "Our policy remains. We will remove the unfair tax breaks that private schools benefit from, to fund desperately needed teachers and mental health counselling in every secondary school.

The supposed need for mental health counselling in every secondary school is one of those magical generalisations, aligned in this case with long-standing political spite. The far more complex and politically difficult question of why the counselling is needed in every school is evaded by the generalisation. 

Wave the magic wand of generalisation and another can is kicked down the road.