Psychology of the Quantum Wrongness Field (Glen Allport)

Glen Allport says we must disconnect our desire for compassion from the violence and corruption of the state:

In Marooned in the Quantum Wrongness Field (April 2007), I took a humorous look at a serious subject: the wrong-headed common beliefs underpinning much of the violence, injustice, and misery in this world.

Some believe that no actual "quantum field of wrongness" exists, but in fact the entire universe – from electric charge to light and from space to time – exists in the form of quanta; therefore Wrongness must also. Q.E.D.

Like the universe itself, the Quantum Wrongness Field is essentially infinite in scope, leading Einstein to quip that "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." Actually, the particular stupidity prompting that famous quote was the use of atomic weapons against Japan – a reminder that Wrongness is not only a major annoyance but can have epic and deadly consequences.

In fact, extreme and widespread Wrongness has been an ongoing horror for mankind throughout history. As we move from the early atomic age into the great unknown of the fast-approaching technological singularity, widespread human Wrongness may literally put an end to the human race. Twenty-first century hyper-tech combined with The Two Great Evils of pandemic Statism and emotional damage (the major causes of Wrongness) may be more than we can survive as a species.

That's not exactly funny, and I will dispense with attempts at humor for the remainder of this essay. Below, I dissect a particularly harmful element of Wrongness and show why love and freedom are both critically necessary yet must be handled very differently in political terms.

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