Monopoly and common sense

Monopoly and common sense

Mental activities, like physical activities, attempt to achieve high values. The best way to achieve high valuation is monopoly. In the old time, this is mainly achieved through monotheism. As science gains more prestige in the modern time, social theories gain high valuation by appearing “scientific”. A “scientific” theory preclude opposing theories because scientific theory is correct. Hence a “scientific” theory is easy to achieve monopoly and high valuation. Spinosa, Kant, Marx and others become prominent not because they made great discoveries, but because they made sacred myths look logically and scientifically rigorous. In other words, they make untruth look truth.

In the old time, monopoly by monotheism is often achieved through miracles, which are often against common sense. Parting the Red Sea, virgin birth and other miracles are against common sense. In modern day, the study of history and nature made progress mainly by appealing to common sense. But common sense is largely abandoned at a later stage.

According to Einstein, common sense is the prejudices collected by the age of eighteen. Because of the dominance of such idea, modern research is full of prominent theories devoid of common sense, such as multiverse theory, theory of everything, theory of relativity and most of the dominant social theories.

Galbraith once made the following statement related to common sense.

The country has thus dredged an unbridgeable division between its leadership and the larger population, to the extent that the latter consists of ordinary thoughtful people with common sense, curiosity and some understanding of basic physics, such as can be grasped by firing a rifle.  As a condition of entry to the elite, one must commit to propositions that no careful person can believe. National leadership must, and does, exclude anyone unwilling to keep quiet on such matters. And it is also, therefore, in elite interest to reduce traits of common sense, curiosity and physical reality in the active population.

Which statement about common sense makes more sense?