Philosophy Spotlight: Z-Virus

“The virus was created to suppress dissent when our Parliament feared revolts. We were told to create an invisible poison that could inhibit humanity’s aggressive instincts, so we designed a virus that seemed to make our test subjects more agreeable. After we unleashed the virus on the public, its effect changed - inhibitions eroded and victims began uncritically attacking their neighbors. The symptoms continually get worse with no cure in sight.”

-Unknown Chemist

Inspiration: Paternalism, Propaganda

The Z Virus backstory is a metaphor for propaganda from the perspective of those who use it. It is easy to understand how propaganda can serve their self-interest, deceiving others in a way that benefits them, but the more interesting mindset occurs when those in power use propaganda for the benefit of the people being deceived. Although self-interest is a powerful bias, people are complicated and it is likely that world leaders envision how their ideals would create a better society despite what others think.

The paternalistic mindset here is naturally off-putting. It is arrogant to tell others that I know what is good for them better than they do. Propaganda has to be nuanced to be effective, so that it convinces people that the leader’s cause aligns with what they already believe. The extent that the truth differs from the projection determines how paternalistic the leader has to be to feel motivated by anything other than self-interest.

At a meta level, propaganda is a destructive force that stalls humanity’s collective progress. It’s impossible to know how much knowledge is prevented, or creativity stunted, due to the false worldviews it spreads. Like the virus, the more effective it is at its original goals, the more damaging it is.