Freakonomics

I’ve been reading Freakonomics by Steven Levitt over the last few weeks, and I must admit, I loved the motif of this book; that the world is not what it seems…that those who pretend to be experts are often no more than lobbyists…that the truth is more complicated than we would like it to be. I’ve perceived conventional wisdom to often be wrong, but couldn’t really prove it. I’ve thought for years that experts use their expertise to distort reality to their own advantage, and have grown increasingly frustrated by the ever increasing method of sensationalist journalism which rolls out experts to nail down often ludicrous and banal theories. So upon reading Freakonomics, I’ve found a kindred spirit and an advocate for my theories, and a partner to help make the confusing world I inhabit a little less complicated.

 After reading the chapter on the Klu Klux Klan, I had a number of questions. Firstly, how can those who seem to trumpet the values of ‘America as a Christian nation’ to bolster moral crusades, find support for wars and finance for politicians, so quickly forget that this evil sprung up among those who claimed to be Christ followers? How is it that those who seem to associate themselves with the religion of Christianity always seem to smear the name of Jesus with bigotry and injustice? Levitt claims that the power of the Klu Klux Klan was their ability to hoard information, just like real estate agents do. They were experts in their own little domains and used their secret information to terrify and victimize thousands of undeserving people. Just like real estate agents?

I guess this is part of what I find repulsing about academic Christianity; it’s not that I’m anti-intellectual. I know we need people who are smart enough to read ancient Hebrew and sort through the thousands of theological works that Christ-followers have produced over the years. My issue comes when those people use their expertise to hold people to a moral code or political philosophy. We rage against the religious environs of places like Iran and North Korea, where experts still use their superior knowledge of philosophy to enslave the masses to an ideology; but we don’t seem to bat an eyelid when the moral majority, or university presidents, do the very same thing. Levitt talks about how the role of a real estate agent seems to be to convince buyers and sellers to settle for less than they would otherwise be entitled too; I can’t help but wonder if that’s what many of our leaders have chosen to do with their expertise as well?

One of the most disturbing revelation of this chapter was where Levitt recounts a favourite pastime of clan leaders; the public disparaging of anyone who wasn’t a conservative white Christian. Why would anyone in his or her right mind want to be associated with anything like that? I have the words of Jesus ringing in my own ears: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

This whole conversation reveals while the recent movie Michael Clayton held so much sway; it tapped into that sense of injustice regarding those who use the power of information to sway public opinion and legal process to their own advantage. I now understand the connection between expertise and power; experts being able to hoard information that the general population are unable to either access or understand. That’s why they get paid so much. While the information in and of itself may be morally neutral, the people who aspire to master it are not; and they often leverage it their own advantage. I guess my last question upon reading this section, which I came to after the rage had subsided, was how can we use information, or our spiritual beliefs to liberate and bless people, rather than enslave and exploit them? I am making a point of trying as hard as I can to never appear as an expert for the rest of my life.

I guess this is the intersection of character and power. Those with humility rarely think to use their knowledge as leverage for shaming others into their worldview. They take a posture of humility that invites others to explore their worldview and make up their own mind.