Kevin Duffy on two worldviews: order vs. chaos

How do you view the world, chaos or order?  The former sees confusion as the natural state.  Civilization comes from taming disorder from the top-down, i.e. central planning, providing the perfect rationalization for state intervention.  The latter worldview sees a natural order, recognizing complex adaptive systems, not least of which is the economy.  Decision making is bottom-up, i.e. individuals acting to remove discomfort.  Through the order lens, attempts to impose centralized decision-making lead to less than optimal outcomes at best and societal breakdown if the puppeteers really apply themselves. 

In a planned system, rewards accrue to an army of “experts,” as long as they conform to the chaos worldview and assure the state’s survival.  In a market system, rewards accrue to entrepreneurs, regardless of whether they understand the workings of the free market or their own critical role (not to mention the role of profit!). 

Most people hold both worldviews simultaneously (Orwell’s “doublethink”), though one typically crowds out the other.  The dominant ideology today is that the world is a chaotic place and authorities are required to protect us from the big bad wolf: viruses, recessions, stock market downturns, terrorists, foreign competitors, discrimination, and even ourselves.  As Tom Woods says, “The model of society that we learn in school is that somebody with a bullhorn has to be barking out orders and then everybody obeys.”  This explains why the central state holds a central role in society: culture over conspiracy.  The image of Dr. Evil scheming in his cave to run our lives is less plausible than 95% of the population thinking a certain way and agreeing at least in principle.

~ Kevin Duffy, "The Covid-19 Vaccine Fraud," The Coffee Can Portfolio, December 17, 2021