blind faith deserves respect

The trouble with land rent is that it requires a little thought. I've been listening to George W. Bush talking about Iraq and new Orleans, and I have to hand it to the man, he is an expert at blind faith. He makes everything sound noble and optimistic and rosy. He says "forget the facts, just trust me" and part of me wants to. So he lied about WMD? So he cut spending on levees? So things have got worse when he promised they would get better? Never mind, he will fix it this time. He is very convincing if you open your heart and shut your mind.

Faith beats thought nearly every time. I have seen this even on the Georgist message board over at progress.org. While they have no time for Bush, most of the Georgists there (or at least the active ones) base their beliefs on blind faith. That is, God gave the land to everyone equally, and everything else follows. That theory, like Bush's "trust me" message, is intellectually bankrupt, but it is very powerful. In contrast, actually thinking through the complex reality is just tiring. Much as I dislike blind faith, I have to respect its greater power over the human mind.