What is worse, only being told what you already believe to be true or only being told what someone else believes to be true?
It seems like a completely free media will do the first. People who are not interested in challenging themselves will choose to listen to reports that interpret the facts of a situation in a way that supports their beliefs. Liberals only read the New York Times. Conservatives only listen to Fox News.
What could be done to prevent that from happening? Place some restrictions on the ownership of the media? Consolidate the media into a government owned monopoly? It doesn't seem like any set of rules could eliminate the problems of the first situation without bringing about the problems of the second.
I suppose people who aren't interested in uncovering the truth will always be a problem. There's no reliable way to enforce the Truth because it is difficult to discover what is true in the first place. Does the marketplace of idea encourage people to find the Truth? Or do some people refuse to buy knowledge because they have too low of a demand for it?
Is the Truth always even valuable to have? Rephrasing, is it harmful to not know the Truth? Let's say communism is right. It would be better for everyone to if we were all oraginized under a communist system of production. Thinking about it in a natural selection sense, would a communist survive any better currently? It seems likely that they wouldn't.
Can we advocate a self-less pursuit of the Truth where all people would spend all of their time and energy attempting to figure out the world? Where would we even start- a scientific or religious approach?
Since many of these questions lack universally appealing answers, I think it is impossible to advocate anything but a free exchange of ideas. Even if rhetoric can sway more people than rational argument. Even if the incentive to find the Truth may not always exists in sufficient enough quantities to always find it. We merely must accept the fact that things aren't perfect, but they also can't get better.
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