ABSTRACT
Hatred injures the hater as well as the hated. Love blesses the lover as well as the loved. This is hard economics as well as good ethics. Language deludes us into thinking that our linguistic categories are more uniform than in fact they are. The great semantic formula, “this is not that” —this trade union is not that trade union, this Jew is not that Jew, this communist is not that communist, this fascist is not that fascist — is a very important litany which can save us very deep and painful misunderstandings if it is practiced carefully. The Second Law of Practically Everything: that all things slide down towards a middle muddle unless somebody does something about it. Burning convictions have often led to the burning of people, the philosophy of mutual toleration seems to have much to recommend it, even if it leads to some loss in intensity.
