The Freedom To Easily Exit From Absurd Traditions

Comment on: Tradition, Authority, and Reason by Adam Gurri

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To be honest, this was the last thing I read before I fell asleep last night and I'm not exactly sure whether or not I unearthed your point.

From my perspective, there's nothing inherently wrong with traditions.  The only issue is how easy it is to exit from nonsensical traditions.  Easy exit facilitates evolution.  Hard exit fosters stagnation.

Adam Smith provides the best example that I can think of...

But if politics had never called in the aid of religion, had the conquering party never adopted the tenets of one sect more than those of another, when it had gained the victory, it would probably have dealt equally and impartially with all the different sects, and have allowed every man to chuse his own priest and his own religion as he thought proper. There would in this case, no doubt, have been a great multitude of religious sects. Almost every different congregation might probably have made a little sect by itself, or have entertained some peculiar tenets of its own. Each teacher would no doubt have felt himself under the necessity of making the utmost exertion, and of using every art both to preserve and to increase the number of his disciples. But as every other teacher would have felt himself under the same necessity, the success of no one teacher, or sect of teachers, could have been very great. The interested and active zeal of religious teachers can be dangerous and troublesome only where there is, either but one sect tolerated in the society, or where the whole of a large society is divided into two or three great sects; the teachers of each acting by concert, and under a regular discipline and subordination. But that zeal must be altogether innocent where the society is divided into two or three hundred, or perhaps into as many thousand small sects, of which no one could be considerable enough to disturb the public tranquillity. The teachers of each sect, seeing themselves surrounded on all sides with more adversaries than friends, would be obliged to learn that candour and moderation which is so seldom to be found among the teachers of those great sects, whose tenets, being supported by the civil magistrate, are held in veneration by almost all the inhabitants of extensive kingdoms and empires, and who therefore see nothing round them but followers, disciples, and humble admirers. The teachers of each little sect, finding themselves almost alone, would be obliged to respect those of almost every other sect, and the concessions which they would mutually find it both convenient and agreeable to make to one another, might in time probably reduce the doctrine of the greater part of them to that pure and rational religion, free from every mixture of absurdity, imposture, and fanaticism, such as wise men have in all ages of the world wished to see established; but such as positive law has perhaps never yet established, and probably never will establish in any country: because, with regard to religion, positive law always has been, and probably always will be, more or less influenced by popular superstition and enthusiasm.

Right now it's "our" tradition to allow representatives to spend our taxes for us.  But I think this tradition is entirely absurd and extremely harmful.  Unfortunately, it's not easy for me, or anyone else, to exit from this absurd tradition.

And maybe I'm not correctly understanding or seeing the true importance of this tradition.  Yes, for sure, this is entirely possible.  But who's going to argue that fallibilism is a one way street?   If we gave people the option to exit from this tradition then we'd see how many other people are in the same boat as me.  If there are only a few other people in the same boat then this theoretically important tradition isn't going to be harmed.  If there are lots of other people in the same boat then the nation would have a vigorous debate about whether this tradition's importance is real or imagined.  Immense amounts of information would be exchanged and, as a result, our citizens would be that much more informed about the importance, or lack thereof, of this prominent tradition.

The fact of the matter is that we don't have impersonal shoppers in the private sector.  Nobody in their right mind is going to voluntarily give their hard-earned money to somebody in exchange for goods or services that really don't match their preferences.  So I'm pretty sure that the only reason that this absurd and detrimental tradition continues to exist in the public sector is because exiting from it isn't easy.