Ideologies like social Darwinism and scientism that build thick dogmas on the backs of thin truths.
Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. A gluttonous person will indulge his liking for a good thing - like food - and consume it to excess.
A gluttonous ideologue will take an idea or method - that may be useful in certain circumstances – and build a monstrous worldview upon it.
It will probably contain enough truth to make it half-plausible but not enough truth to make it serve the common good.
Scientism and Social Darwinism are two examples of gluttonous ideologies.
Scientism
Scientific research usually yields socially and economically beneficial progress... but not always. Some scientific discoveries – that, for example, threaten to produce human clones or terrible new weaponry – are regressive.
Scientism is intolerant of any opposition to the scientific method. Scientism argues that science alone can explain the world and the reason for human existence. Scientism is a jealous ideology and will attack religion or other philosophies that posit alternative understandings of human well-being.
Social Darwinism
The ‘survival of the fittest’ thinking of Social Darwinism is examined in a little more detail here.
It is essentially an ideology that takes the necessary insight that progress depends upon the vigorous virtues and concludes that anyone unable to be sufficiently vigorous should not survive.
Conservatism and gluttonous ideologies
Political conservatives are instinctively sceptical of gluttonous ideologies although some post-Thatcherite Tories have been in danger of excess consumption of laissez-faire economics.
True conservatives will hold very strong beliefs - in the sanctity of human life and the importance of national sovereignty - but they will usually want to restrain any political ideologues that put unbalanced faith in government, free trade, science or charity to solve a nation’s problems.
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