Editing Lefty Enervation Packet (section)

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The '''“Lefty Enervation Packet”''' is a social script that conditions intellectuals, particularly on the American Left and in the academic/expert class, to dismiss potentially important lines of inquiry using safe, standard responses like:

* ''"Correlation does not imply causation."''
* ''"Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence."''
* ''"Data is not the plural of anecdote."''
* ''"What appears to be coordinated is actually emergent."''
* ''"What appears to be a pattern is generally random."''
* ''"What appears to be doable outside of markets isn’t worth attempting because it can’t be coordinated and/or it is against human nature and/or has too many unintended consequences."''

These statements, while seemingly logically sound in moderation, function like ideological guardrails to:

* Protect power structures by discouraging critical investigation into institutional failures or hidden agendas.
* Promote conformity within intellectual circles by penalizing dissent.
* Prevent individuals from using analytical tools (like data or skepticism) against the institutions to which they belong or by which they are employed.

Eric compares levels of understanding to [[Victor-Victoria Problem|layers of counter-intuition]]:
* First-order counter-intuition sees through naive ideas (e.g., mocking flat-Earth beliefs).
* Most stop there, failing to pursue second-order counter-intuition, which could uncover actual conspiracies (e.g., Iran-Contra, Tuskegee, Twitter files).
* The system equates any questioning beyond first-order counter-intuition with "fringe" or "crackpot" thinking, thus socially punishing deeper inquiry.

This mechanism makes it difficult to distinguish between legitimate concerns and illegitimate, ill-founded theories, effectively marginalizing thoughtful inquiry and shielding the status quo.

The use of the term "enervation" in this concept refers to a deliberate draining of intellectual or critical energy—a kind of mental or moral weakening. Thus, the “Lefty Enervation Packet” describes a set of default phrases and ideas that sap the will to question authority or challenge dominant narratives. These ideas give the illusion of intellectual sophistication while actually discouraging deeper inquiry. The result is a compliant expert class that avoids confronting uncomfortable truths, thereby protecting entrenched power structures.