Topic: Max Keiser - "Libertarians are Intellectually Lazy & Idiots" (Read 10377 times)

I think all humans are intellectually lazy and idiots. As a consequence, libertarians are all intellectually lazy and idiots.

max keisers did not mention liberals or conservatives nor compare libertarians to them, just the statement on libertarians

Sorry but no. Anyway you are going to tell me that Libertarians are the intellectually lazy ones and that Republicans and Democrats are the ones who are really intelligent?

Totally fair comment. I guess when people sit down and think about various scenarios, most possibilities that would otherwise be unexpected, are actually predictable to a degree.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on the Libertarians. If there's some kind of super-secret underground resistance with the Libertarians collaborrating with the Military on some kind of massive coup (I'm trying to be open-minded here...), I'm sure we'd hear nothing about it until the day after.

@Topic

How is that not insane? It's a recipe for a totalitarian nightmare!

That's why, in order to change certain things in today's society, and do it right, there has to be a strategy. Some realistic plan that goes step-by-step. Ask yourself, if you're getting a heart transplant, how would you want your doctor to approach the problem? Chop out the old one, kinda hope you don't die, and then speed-dial a new one for delivery?!

Libertarians are the lazy ones?

Haha

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0042366


Note there are different samples for each measurement for some reason (cognitive reflection task = 9,721 participants). The authors also report a significant correlation between cognitive reflection score and need for cognition (r = .3, p <.001).  Talk about sampling to a foregone conclusion... cutoff  pearson's R at .001 for such large samples is like .15. Due to these silly errors in reporting methods and interpreting resutls, I would personally dismiss the paper as not worth studying or quoting further unless you are in the field.

The Need for Cognition scale [64] is a measure of the extent to which people engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activities. People with high need for cognition are more likely to form their attitudes by paying close attention to relevant arguments, whereas people with low need for cognition are more likely to rely on peripheral cues, such as how attractive or credible a speaker is. The measure was completed by 8,035 participants (4,242 men; 5,888 liberals, 760 conservatives, and 657 libertarians).

The scale asks participants to describe the extent to which they agree with each statement using a 9-point scale with the following values:

    +4 = very strong agreement
    +3 = strong agreement
    +2 = moderate agreement
    +1 = slight agreement
      0 = neither agreement nor disagreement
     -1 = slight disagreement
     -2 = moderate disagreement
     -3 = strong disagreement
     -4 = very strong disagreement



1)    I would prefer complex to simple problems.
2)    I like to have the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot of thinking.
3)    Thinking is not my idea of fun.*
4)    I would rather do something that requires little thought than something that is sure to challenge my thinking abilities.*
5)    I try to anticipate and avoid situations where there is likely a chance I will have to think in depth about something.*
6)    I find satisfaction in deliberating hard and for long hours.
7)    I only think as hard as I have to.*
   I prefer to think about small, daily projects to long-term ones.*
9)    I like tasks that require little thought once I’ve learned them.*
10)    The idea of relying on thought to make my way to the top appeals to me.
11)    I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems.
12)    Learning new ways to think doesn’t excite me very much.*
13)    I prefer my life to be filled with puzzles that I must solve.
14)    The notion of thinking abstractly is appealing to me.
15)    I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat important but does not require much thought.
16)    I feel relief rather than satisfaction after completing a task that required a lot of mental effort.*
17)    It’s enough for me that something gets the job done; I don’t care how or why it works.*
18)    I usually end up deliberating about issues even when they do not affect me personally.

* = Reverse Scored

(1) A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost? _____ cents

(2) If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take
100 machines to make 100 widgets? _____ minutes

(3) In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size.
If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it
take for the patch to cover half of the lake? _____ days

The Need for Cognition scale [64] is a measure of the extent to which people engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activities. People with high need for cognition are more likely to form their attitudes by paying close attention to relevant arguments, whereas people with low need for cognition are more likely to rely on peripheral cues, such as how attractive or credible a speaker is. The measure was completed by 8,035 participants (4,242 men; 5,888 liberals, 760 conservatives, and 657 libertarians).
Results.

Table 3 shows that libertarians scored slightly higher than liberals and moderately higher than conservatives on Need for Cognition (also see Figure 4).
Interpretation.

This pattern is consistent with the libertarian valuation of logic and reasoning over emotion. Libertarians may enjoy thinking about complex and abstract systems more than other groups, particularly more than conservatives.

This is simple.  It's obviously not to fund the government.  So the only meaningful aspect of taxation is the fact that taxes are "progressive".  The point is to stimulate constant economic "growth" by preventing anyone from becoming self-sufficient.

Besides, what is the point of taxes in a pure fiat money system?