The prisoner in every man

"It is generally thought that common-sense is practical. It is practical only in a short-term view. Common-sense declares that it is foolish to bite the hand that feeds you. But it is foolish only up to the moment when you realize that you might be fed very much better. In the long-term view common-sense is passive because it is based on the acceptance of an outdated view of the possible. The body of common0sense has to accrue too slowly. All its propositions have to be proved so many times before they can become unquestionable, i.e. traditional. When they become traditional they gain oracular authority. Hence the strong element of superstition always evident in 'practical' common-sense.

"Common-sense is part of the home-made ideology of those who have been deprived of fundamental learning, of those who have been kept ignorant. This ideology is compounded from different sources: items that have survived from religion, items of empirical knowledge, items of protective skepticism, items culled for comfort from the superficial learning that is* supplied. But the point is that common-sense can never teach itself, can never advance beyond its own limits, for as soon as the lack of fundamental learning has been made good, all items become questionable and the whole function of common-sense is destroyed. Common-sense can only exist as a category insofar as it can be distinguished from the spirit of enquiry, from philosophy.

"Common-sense is essentially static. It belongs to the ideology, of those who are socially passive, never understanding what or who has made their situation as it is. But it represents only a part--and often a small part--of their character. These same poeple say or do many things which are an affront to their own common-sense. And whent hey justify something by saying 'It's only common-sense', this is frequently an apology for denying or betraying some of their deepest feelings or instincts...

"There is another reason why they sense that Sassall's way of thinking is a privilege, but as a reason it is less rational. Once it might have been considered magical. He confesses to fear without fear. He finds all impulses natural--or understandable. He remembers what it is like to be a child. He has no respect for any title as such. He can enter into other people's dreams or nightmares. He can lose his temper and then talk about the true reasons, as opposed to the excuse, for why he did so. His ability to do such things connect him with aspects of experience which have to do be either ignored or denied by common-sense. Thus his 'license ' challenges the prisoner in every one of his listeners."

From John Berger, "A Fortunate Man"