Epistemology 131experience of potato farms, then the laws which he passes will lack
common sense—because he does not know that much about potatoes.
Second,
Perceiver facts
which the minister
does happen to
know about
potatoes will be
low in confidence,
because they have
not been subjected
to emotional
pressure. When all
of the special
interest groups
representing
various potato farming organizations begin to exert emotional pressure
upon the poor minister of potato farms, any Perceiver system of belief
which he has constructed will be unable to withstand this emotional
barrage. The result is that laws about potato farms will be driven by
subjective feelings of interest groups—exactly the opposite of what
conflict-of-interest guidelines are supposed to achieve.
Third, building facts apart from feelings creates apathy. The minister of
potatoes will not care about potatoes, because they have nothing to do with
his personal feelings. If he has no experience with potatoes, and has never
been a potato farmer, then obviously he will not be interested in potatoes.
What would he find exciting? His primary occupation of politics. He will
enjoy the politics behind potatoes. He will get a thrill out of playing one
special interest group against another.
The result is a politician who floats spinelessly in a sea of popularity,
drifting from one opinion poll to the next. Meanwhile, the poor potatoes
find themselves in worse shape than they were before government
intervened on their behalf. And who pays the bill for all of this? You and I.
On the other hand, suppose that politicians were chosen on the basis of
personal success and invited to govern in these areas. Suppose that the
privilege of forming laws was given to those whose beliefs had survived
the fire of emotional testing. The result would be a government which
governed effectively, because legislators would have acquired knowledge
and not just learned it. They would have confidence in the facts and be able
to handle the pressure exerted by special interest groups.A
A Do conflict-of-interest guidelines address a legitimate need? Yes. It is
hard to think rationally when personal feelings are involved. But,
separating facts from feelings does not solve the problem.