“In 1959, the BBC asked [Bertrand] Russell, [public intellectual, historian, social critic, political activist and Nobel laureate] what advice he would give future generations. He answered: ‘When you are studying any matter or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted either by what you wish to believe or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed, but look only and solely at the facts.”
Ideology is not a bad thing. It’s of value, very important really. Each of us as individuals should have a fact-based and justice-seeking worldview that guides us as we go through life, day by day. But when that worldview doesn’t fit with the facts, as history and our lives develop, it’s time to make some practical and ideological adjustments, look at things more closely. Ideology grounded in facts, not blind ideology, is what we must strive for.
olddogthoughts 