tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5669238942080921290.post7523687016995288593..comments2024-01-03T03:14:58.642-08:00Comments on Short Shots: Serene BarbarityCase Wagenvoordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10598177456573356261noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5669238942080921290.post-86125517752375189142009-03-24T03:53:00.000-07:002009-03-24T03:53:00.000-07:00One of the qualities of Orwell's "newspeak" was th...One of the qualities of Orwell's "newspeak" was that it shrank our vocabulary by expanding the meaning of a given word to incorporate its antonym,thus eliminating the need for said antonym. <BR/><BR/>Thus irrational is subsumed under the meaning of rational.Case Wagenvoordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10598177456573356261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5669238942080921290.post-34220262997112537732009-03-23T17:27:00.000-07:002009-03-23T17:27:00.000-07:00I suppose it may come down - as it often does - to...I suppose it may come down - as it often does - to semantics. "Rational", as Adam Smith would define it, is the result of men maximizing their best interests. Today, when men clearly do not maximize their best interests, we still call it rational. And it ain't rational to work against your own best interests.<BR/><BR/>Love the letters, a great read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com