QOTD: "Political activists are some of the most dishonest people in the world."

Thus spake Michael Huemer in this episode of the "Ideas Having Sex" podcast about his new book Progressive Myths. My review of Progressive Myths will appear in Regulation sometime this year, but by way of preview, it's a very good book by a learned philosopher and dedicated truth-seeker.

Here's a bonus QOTD, from Joseph Schumpeter: "The first thing a man will do for his ideals is lie." Political activists tend to be so convinced of their own righteousness, their own possession of special knowledge of the good, the true, and the beautiful, their own glorious purpose that they aren't bound by bourgeois concepts of morality and propriety--not unlike the "prophetess" Sharon Falconer in Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry.

Is it OK to be less than scrupulously honest sometimes? Yes: it's OK to lie to the Nazis when they show up and ask if anyone is hiding in your attic. The modal (and marginal!) political lie is much less like lying to the Nazis and a lot more like lying to your spouse about your finances when you have a secret maxed out credit card that has destroyed your credit rating.

Lagniappe #1: Huemer's "Hollywood Morality." Han shot first, and he was right to do so.

Lagniappe #2: My review of Bryan Caplan's How Evil Are Politicians?, which collects a lot of his essays that have influenced my thinking on the issue and which you can get here.