Revision 1 · Nov 21, 2022 12:20am · View this (the most recent) version (v2)

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# True Controversial Ideas

*Thanks to Logan Chipkin who contributed to this list.*

- When you first hear an idea you think can't possibly be true (factually or morally), that should give you pause. It's not a reason to dismiss the idea out of hand. Instead, ask questions, discuss, and remember that you might be wrong. Keep that in mind as you read this list!
- Most people outwardly despise violence because they know they're supposed to, but secretly they like it to some degree, and they think some minimum of it is required for society to work. Some of them can get very mad when you take freedom seriously
- Capitalism is good
- Communism is evil
- Taxation is theft
- Forcefully extracting money from roughly everyone, meaning from the community, can’t be good for the community. Yet those arguing in favor of taxation claim it's "for the good of the community"
- Neither equality of outcome nor equality of opportunity nor the newly used "equity" are desirable. Any attempts to achieve them must be totalitarian and anti-human since humans naturally have different interests, competences, and develop differently, in unpredictable ways. This is human nature and totally fine
- Ancient cultures aren't as mysteriously amazing as most people think, and they're not deserving of praise. The West is by far the best culture that has ever existed
- Animals are not conscious, nor can they suffer
- Even the most sophisticated animals are actually quite dumb
- Most meat eaters think animals *are* conscious and *can* suffer, so they should also think that they're complicit in murder every time they eat meat and in rape when they drink milk. Most of them think this view is ridiculous. But they also think it's ridiculous to claim that animals can't suffer. So their view on animals is hopelessly inconsistent
- The earth is not something to be preserved but to be used by people to make their lives better
- If the oceans were private property, it would help clean them up
- We should go out and colonize the universe as soon as possible
- Aging and death are not desirable. They're calamities that we can get rid of
- Contrary to what most believe, [people *can* travel at the speed of light](https://www.windowonintelligence.com/)
- [There is no limit to human progress if we keep going](https://www.thebeginningofinfinity.com/)
- The response to climate change has been way more destructive than climate change itself
- People should be allowed to own guns
- What holds society together isn't government but [the mutual need to solve problems](http://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/objectivism-vs-the-myth-of-the-framework)
- America is the greatest country on earth
- America is not a racist country
- It is right to defend people in other countries against dictators *if they ask for help and if Americans aren't forced to pay for it*
- The brain is a computer
- [Programming and philosophy are the same thing](https://www.windowonintelligence.com/)
- [Induction and empiricism are false](https://www.amazon.com/Objective-Knowledge-Evolutionary-Karl-Popper/dp/0198750242)
- [The mind contains a pool of evolving, self-replicating ideas](http://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/the-neo-darwinian-theory-of-the-mind)
- People are not mindless automata
- People have free will
- It's wrong to coerce people aggressively. ["You cannot coerce your way to a better world."](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/three-revolutionary-ideas)
- [Lockdowns are evil](http://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/lockdowns-science-vs-morals)
- Scientism is evil. Science isn't the only factor to consider in decision-making. There are also moral, aesthetic, and other considerations
- [Altruism is evil](https://www.amazon.com/Fountainhead-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191153)
- [Need is not a claim](https://youtu.be/15_D29tM43A?t=160)
- Schools are evil. They're part-time indoctrination prisons. [The purpose of schools is for children to learn to systematically neglect their own preferences and prioritize others' ideas.](http://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/the-true-purpose-of-schools) School is the root cause of altruism
- There is no wonder in intentionally leaving things unexplained. Wonder comes from discovery
- Women would benefit from spending less time trying to look "cute" and more time improving their lives; men should pay less attention to women who try to look "cute" and more to those who improve their lives
- Women are essentially forced to lie systematically about their appearance by putting on makeup, dying their hair, wearing high heels, etc.
- Most family members in most families treat each other awfully
- Ideas should be taken seriously
- Children should be taken seriously
- Karl Popper is one of the greatest philosophers to ever live
- Nobody owes you anything unless they took something from you against your will or they agreed to owe you something
- [Problems are soluble](https://www.thebeginningofinfinity.com/)
- Problems are soluble without government
- Yes, problems really are soluble without government
- AI "alignment" ideas are a slaveholder's wet dream
- [The road to hell is paved with good intentions](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/how-do-some-peaceful-ideas-result-in-violent-pro)
- Woke ideology is dumb at best, evil at worst
- Quotas (e.g. for female board members) are not only undesirable but also [mathematically inconsistent](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/balinski-and-young-beyond-elections)
- Self-coercion ("no pain no gain" etc.) is morally reprehensible
- Academia is greatly overrated
- [People should write clearly and to solve problems, not precisely and with fancy words to impress others](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgeMEr16yYk)
- Social-security numbers are cattle brand
- Governments are parasitic and [involuntary](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/governments-are-involuntary) in nature
- Every field of study that isn't epistemology is downstream of epistemology
- Abortions are fine if done early enough
- Being a libertarian when it comes to society but not when it comes to parenting is inconsistent because there are a lot of parallels between authoritarian governments and authoritarian parents
- Contrary to what many libertarians think, it is not desirable or even possible to [get rid of the government overnight](https://mises.org/library/do-you-hate-state)
- The left misunderstand islamism because they don't take islamists seriously. The left think everything can be reduced to geopolitics, when in reality, [islamists have identified that as a leftist "propaganda tool", and have explained why they hate us](http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2016/07/31/isis-why-we-hate-you-why-we-fight-you/)
- When islamists kill for drawing Muhammed, -everyone+[everyone should draw -Muhammed+Muhammed](/posts/in-solidarity-with-salman-rushdie)
- European countries are ruining themselves by enabling too much immigration from non-Western countries
- [Black Lives Matter is an anti-American, anti-freedom, socialist movement disguised as a good cause](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/what-to-do-in-the-face-of-corporate-wokeism)

Some of these ideas are implied by each other. You probably disagree with at least some of them. Maybe they even angered you. Or maybe you'd like to add to the list. Discuss and feel free to let off steam in the comments below, just remember the human please!

Original · Sep 14, 2022 5:38pm · View this version (v1)

# True Controversial Ideas

*Thanks to Logan Chipkin who contributed to this list.*

- When you first hear an idea you think can't possibly be true (factually or morally), that should give you pause. It's not a reason to dismiss the idea out of hand. Instead, ask questions, discuss, and remember that you might be wrong. Keep that in mind as you read this list!
- Most people outwardly despise violence because they know they're supposed to, but secretly they like it to some degree, and they think some minimum of it is required for society to work. Some of them can get very mad when you take freedom seriously
- Capitalism is good
- Communism is evil
- Taxation is theft
- Forcefully extracting money from roughly everyone, meaning from the community, can’t be good for the community. Yet those arguing in favor of taxation claim it's "for the good of the community"
- Neither equality of outcome nor equality of opportunity nor the newly used "equity" are desirable. Any attempts to achieve them must be totalitarian and anti-human since humans naturally have different interests, competences, and develop differently, in unpredictable ways. This is human nature and totally fine
- Ancient cultures aren't as mysteriously amazing as most people think, and they're not deserving of praise. The West is by far the best culture that has ever existed
- Animals are not conscious, nor can they suffer
- Even the most sophisticated animals are actually quite dumb
- Most meat eaters think animals *are* conscious and *can* suffer, so they should also think that they're complicit in murder every time they eat meat and in rape when they drink milk. Most of them think this view is ridiculous. But they also think it's ridiculous to claim that animals can't suffer. So their view on animals is hopelessly inconsistent
- The earth is not something to be preserved but to be used by people to make their lives better
- If the oceans were private property, it would help clean them up
- We should go out and colonize the universe as soon as possible
- Aging and death are not desirable. They're calamities that we can get rid of
- Contrary to what most believe, [people *can* travel at the speed of light](https://www.windowonintelligence.com/)
- [There is no limit to human progress if we keep going](https://www.thebeginningofinfinity.com/)
- The response to climate change has been way more destructive than climate change itself
- People should be allowed to own guns
- What holds society together isn't government but [the mutual need to solve problems](http://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/objectivism-vs-the-myth-of-the-framework)
- America is the greatest country on earth
- America is not a racist country
- It is right to defend people in other countries against dictators *if they ask for help and if Americans aren't forced to pay for it*
- The brain is a computer
- [Programming and philosophy are the same thing](https://www.windowonintelligence.com/)
- [Induction and empiricism are false](https://www.amazon.com/Objective-Knowledge-Evolutionary-Karl-Popper/dp/0198750242)
- [The mind contains a pool of evolving, self-replicating ideas](http://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/the-neo-darwinian-theory-of-the-mind)
- People are not mindless automata
- People have free will
- It's wrong to coerce people aggressively. ["You cannot coerce your way to a better world."](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/three-revolutionary-ideas)
- [Lockdowns are evil](http://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/lockdowns-science-vs-morals)
- Scientism is evil. Science isn't the only factor to consider in decision-making. There are also moral, aesthetic, and other considerations
- [Altruism is evil](https://www.amazon.com/Fountainhead-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191153)
- [Need is not a claim](https://youtu.be/15_D29tM43A?t=160)
- Schools are evil. They're part-time indoctrination prisons. [The purpose of schools is for children to learn to systematically neglect their own preferences and prioritize others' ideas.](http://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/the-true-purpose-of-schools) School is the root cause of altruism
- There is no wonder in intentionally leaving things unexplained. Wonder comes from discovery
- Women would benefit from spending less time trying to look "cute" and more time improving their lives; men should pay less attention to women who try to look "cute" and more to those who improve their lives
- Women are essentially forced to lie systematically about their appearance by putting on makeup, dying their hair, wearing high heels, etc.
- Most family members in most families treat each other awfully
- Ideas should be taken seriously
- Children should be taken seriously
- Karl Popper is one of the greatest philosophers to ever live
- Nobody owes you anything unless they took something from you against your will or they agreed to owe you something
- [Problems are soluble](https://www.thebeginningofinfinity.com/)
- Problems are soluble without government
- Yes, problems really are soluble without government
- AI "alignment" ideas are a slaveholder's wet dream
- [The road to hell is paved with good intentions](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/how-do-some-peaceful-ideas-result-in-violent-pro)
- Woke ideology is dumb at best, evil at worst
- Quotas (e.g. for female board members) are not only undesirable but also [mathematically inconsistent](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/balinski-and-young-beyond-elections)
- Self-coercion ("no pain no gain" etc.) is morally reprehensible
- Academia is greatly overrated
- [People should write clearly and to solve problems, not precisely and with fancy words to impress others](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgeMEr16yYk)
- Social-security numbers are cattle brand
- Governments are parasitic and [involuntary](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/governments-are-involuntary) in nature
- Every field of study that isn't epistemology is downstream of epistemology
- Abortions are fine if done early enough
- Being a libertarian when it comes to society but not when it comes to parenting is inconsistent because there are a lot of parallels between authoritarian governments and authoritarian parents
- Contrary to what many libertarians think, it is not desirable or even possible to [get rid of the government overnight](https://mises.org/library/do-you-hate-state)
- The left misunderstand islamism because they don't take islamists seriously. The left think everything can be reduced to geopolitics, when in reality, [islamists have identified that as a leftist "propaganda tool", and have explained why they hate us](http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2016/07/31/isis-why-we-hate-you-why-we-fight-you/)
- When islamists kill for drawing Muhammed, everyone should draw Muhammed
- European countries are ruining themselves by enabling too much immigration from non-Western countries
- [Black Lives Matter is an anti-American, anti-freedom, socialist movement disguised as a good cause](https://blog.dennishackethal.com/posts/what-to-do-in-the-face-of-corporate-wokeism)

Some of these ideas are implied by each other. You probably disagree with at least some of them. Maybe they even angered you. Or maybe you'd like to add to the list. Discuss and feel free to let off steam in the comments below, just remember the human please!