Source: EconLog
by Kevin Corcoran
“An iconoclast is someone who loudly and boldly takes stances far outside of conventional (expressed) public opinion. Iconoclasts can attract a lot of criticism. On the other hand, in situations where there is widespread preference falsification, the only way to break out of that is for at least some people to be willing to noticeably make their private beliefs publicly known. Each person who does so makes it just a little bit easier for the next person to do so as well. The first people to do so may face heavy criticism — even attempts at cancelation — but iconoclasts often revel in the controversy rather than being deterred by it. There are upsides and downsides to this.” (09/22/25)