I agree with all of that. The context for my comment is discussions involving good-faith arguments intended to change hearts and minds (more or less object-level or simulacra level 1 arguments).
The parent commenter wrote that "good-faith arguments don't scale". I don't agree with that, because good-faith arguments do scale with social capital. People often run afoul of several problems that make it seem like they don't:
- Their reach exceeds their grasp: they want to persuade strangers, but don't have enough social capital to pull it off.
- They think they're involved in a good-faith discussion or argument, but the other participants are competing for status or trying to entertain themselves (or others).
In other words, I don't think good-faith arguments are the only way to persuade people, but if that's your preferred technique, you have to develop credibility, respect, and trust - on top of building an audience, which is a whole different matter.
The parent commenter wrote that "good-faith arguments don't scale". I don't agree with that, because good-faith arguments do scale with social capital. People often run afoul of several problems that make it seem like they don't:
- Their reach exceeds their grasp: they want to persuade strangers, but don't have enough social capital to pull it off.
- They think they're involved in a good-faith discussion or argument, but the other participants are competing for status or trying to entertain themselves (or others).
In other words, I don't think good-faith arguments are the only way to persuade people, but if that's your preferred technique, you have to develop credibility, respect, and trust - on top of building an audience, which is a whole different matter.