Antiwar Criticism and the Formation of Collective Opinion

There are themes in the West that are difficult to question without running the risk of receiving sharp criticism. For the following themes, for example, there is a position considered "correct" by Western collective opinion: "Welfare State," "climate policy," "multicultural society," or "covid-19 vaccination."

Critique of the Antiwar Position

• As far as Russia is concerned, the "correct" attitude to have in the West is an absolute condemnation of that country
• Support for Ukraine must be comprehensive and can receive social confirmation by a small blue and yellow flag on Facebook
• Unconditional support for the economic war waged by Western leaders against Russia is also socially required for Europeans
• The Amnesty International report of August 4, 2022 confirmed that "Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas" became a media bomb in Ukraine and the West
• Western media did not react when the Ukrainian government published a black list of Western politicians and intellectuals who, according to Kiev, "promote Russian propaganda"

The Formation of the Collective Opinion

• Society depends on collective opinion for its social cohesion, but paradoxically it also depends for its well-being on views that run counter to this majority opinion.
• Just as natural science progresses only through the sometimes tortuous but generally respectful process of peer review, society also needs minority opinions and dissident voices to curb the permanent search for consensus.

Libertarianism Is the Only Solution

• One of the strengths of libertarianism is precisely the importance it places on the cultural and intellectual plurality of a free society.
• The present moment in history represents a particular threat to freedom, because the ruling globalist elites now have an unprecedented opportunity to shape the attitudes and opinions of their societies, in their own twisted interests.
• Western voices of freedom must continue to present libertarianism, not only for its economic benefits but also as a means of liberating Western peoples from the chains of directed collective opinion.

https://mises.org/wire/antiwar-criticism-and-formation-collective-opinion