Summary

Part IV is entitled “Truth.” Chapter 15, which begins Part IV, is titled “Ignorance,” and subtitled “You Know Less than You Think.” The author begins this chapter with the contention that the liberalism’s beliefs in the ultimate power of the rational mind and of individuality are essentially fallacies. This is because, he says, history shows that humans have tended to react based on emotions, and on deductive reactions based on emotions. He also suggests that another factor defining human choice is shared experiences with groups of like-minded persons, adding that the influence of thinking and reacting as a group tends to overwhelm rational perspectives and thoughts. This leads him to a comment that power, even that of individuals trying to live day-to-day lives, is not interested in genuine knowledge, but is more about “changing reality rather than seeing it for what...