this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
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Reading theory ≠ being highly competent, though. Dunning Kruger states that people with low competence (in specific areas) overestimate themselves, and highly competent people underestimate themselves.
Reading doesnt necessarily make you better at things (though obviously it can help). A community organizer that's been feeding the hungry for 40 years but has never read a political book will be more competent than someone who's read hundreds of books but never gone out and done stuff.
Food pantries and soup kitckens have been feeding the hungry for more than 40 years and yet none of those places brought about political revolution. This is why theory is not negligible. If you wanna simply help the poor then a soup kitchen is fine, if you want a revolution you're going to need more than that.
Both will be less effective than someone that balances both. It isn't either-or, but both/and.