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What makes intelligent people embrace utterly irrational ideas? The answer lies in understanding stupidity—not as a lack of intelligence, but as something far more dangerous: the unwillingness to question one's own beliefs.

Drawing from philosopher Dietrich Bonhoeffer's insights, this episode explores how stupidity functions as a greater societal threat than evil itself. While evil makes perpetrators uncomfortable and carries the seeds of its own destruction, stupidity remains impregnable because it always believes it's on the side of good. This explains how brilliant, educated people can simultaneously hold completely illogical positions—they've closed their minds to contrary evidence and refuse to engage with challenging perspectives.

We examine modern manifestations of mass stupidity across the political spectrum, from gender ideology to climate alarmism to drug prohibition policies. The common thread isn't intelligence level but rather the cultish inability to process opposing viewpoints. When confronted with contradictory evidence, the "stupid" person doesn't engage but retreats to slogans or becomes hostile. This pattern appears regardless of education level or political affiliation.

The solution begins with education reform focused on critical thinking skills and philosophical frameworks like Stoicism that promote courage, wisdom, justice, and moderation. Economic literacy must be prioritized to help citizens understand how systems actually function. Most importantly, we must cultivate the courage to question our own deeply-held beliefs, especially those shared by our social circles and identity groups.

If this resonates with you, check out my book "A Radical Reset," which proposes anti-politism—a merit-based lottery system designed to transform politics from a career path for the ambitious into genuine public service. Let me know your thoughts on whether we can overcome mass stupidity before it further damages our democratic institutions.

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