What are some big things you’ve changed your mind about?

• I used to think that for social sanctions (e.g., removing people from social spaces or “canceling them,” all the way up to more serious social consequences like official reprimands on the job), due process is not necessary for allegations of sexual misconduct, and that false allegations were unbelievably rare. I’ve changed my mind now, and think due process is necessary (although sexual harassment is common and efforts to reduce it are also very important). 
  
• I had a brief period where I thought European countries, as well as many Asian countries, were sensible to ban hate speech. I now think the US system, with First Amendment-level protections, is ideal, and should be implemented across the rest of the world. 
  
• I’ve become a decent bit more “tough-on-crime.” I always used to support efforts to hire police officers, but I now think there’s a reasonable case for higher sentences for violent crimes in countries with relatively low sentences (although with substantial investments aimed at making prison a less shitty place) and substantial investments in the police. That said, I still lean progressive on criminal justice issues (e.g., support significant police reform and banning police unions in most countries, support substantially shorter sentences or no sentences at all for nonviolent crimes). 
  
• I used to think all drugs should be legalized. I now think drug use should be decriminalized, but the sale and production of hard drugs should be illegal. 
  
• I used to be heavily non-interventionist with foreign policy, broadly being anti-war, and in particular, opposing many Western/NATO efforts to get involved in international armed conflicts (such as the War on Terror and the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan). More broadly, I used to think U.S. hegemony was unnecessary. I’m now pretty convinced that U.S. hegemony is good, that the U.S. should maintain current levels of military spending, a strong NATO alliance is good, aggressive counterterrorism operations like drone strikes are probably net beneficial, and while, in general, intervention aimed at regime change seems like a bad idea, it was justified in the 2001 case in Afghanistan (despite the Taliban taking back power in 2021).
  
• While I remain very wary about the geopolitical implications of the rise of China (and support efforts to contain its rise in the technology and defense-adjacent sectors specifically, such as semiconductor export controls), I’m happy the rise of China has led to increased foreign aid spending by both the West and China, as well as domestic economic growth that’s lifted millions out of poverty in China itself, and I think a lot of concerns like “debt trap diplomacy” are wrong/exaggerated (although I do think China’s spending abroad has often facilitated White Elephants, like the SGR in Kenya). 
  
• I was pretty convinced that the Washington Consensus was good, and that neoliberalism, broadly construed, was the path for developing countries to go from poverty to prosperity. I’ve become much more well-versed in the literature now, and while I think the Washington Consensus was likely (with high uncertainty) preferable to the alternative of import substitution industrialization, pure free markets and trade don’t cut it -- some degree of industrial policy, specifically export promotion, is often necessary for developing countries to grow, especially through manufacturing. 
  
• That said, in the past few months, I’ve become a bit more pessimistic about the prospects for growth driven by manufacturing exports and infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa. This piece by David Ndii offers a compelling argument that the export- and infrastructure-led approach has failed throughout the continent, and the focus should be boosting agricultural productivity. (However, here’s a counterargument by Noah Smith, if you’re interested.) 
  

• But if we widen the parameters over several years (a couple of decades even,) I can tell you that I went from, ideologically, a Libertarian minarchist to an Anarchist/AnarchoCapitalist. My subscription to anarchism hasn't changed much over the last 20+ years.
  
• I used to be "Pro-Life," but it presented a contradiction with my subscription to individualist philosophy. So I'm Pro-Choice.
  
• I believe cartels for labor like the Teamsters, American Medical Association, etc. should be abolished.
  
• The United Nations as well as the Council of Foreign Relations should be abolished.
  
• I once "flirted" with Atheism until I realized it didn't make me "smarter."
  
• The CIA program known as "Project MK Ultra" was never discontinued.
  
• I believe, for lack of a better term, the "Elite" are a group of Kabbalists, Wiccan, NeoPagan, Druid, Saturnian, Masonic, Satanist, Luciferian Pansexuals who have carefully placed their ranks in positions of influence from the Papacy, to the Presidency of the United States, to Hollywood executives, even to your local doctor who you may have noticed has the caduceus staff monogrammed on his/her lab coat for no explicable reason. The "Illuminati" is merely a smokescreen.
  

The biggest thing I changed my mind about was that either American political party uniquely stands for any issue. I now realize both parties at different times will endorse or deny the same policies, meaning they are essentially a unified party playing good cop bad cop on the American public.

2.) Stopped believing the market we see is determined by productivity and started believing in an international cabal of war mongers operating a loosely associated machine made of large corporations that use government force to stay on top and governments that use these large corporations to steer public opinion and economics, i.e. the deep state AKA the military industrial complex AKA the original gangsta fascist economic theory

• I’ve become a decent bit more “tough-on-crime.” I always used to support efforts to hire police officers, but I now think there’s a reasonable case for higher sentences for violent crimes in countries with relatively low sentences (although with substantial investments aimed at making prison a less shitty place) and substantial investments in the police. That said, I still lean progressive on criminal justice issues (e.g., support significant police reform and banning police unions in most countries, support substantially shorter sentences or no sentences at all for nonviolent crimes). 
  

That climate change needs to be acknowledged and addressed in earnest by the global community. After hearing that a global shutdown from COVID barely made a dent in climate change, it made me seriously question what would mitigate it? Now, it seems as though attempts at a “cure” are as bad or worse than the disease itself. Much of the green movement seems like mere virtue signaling or a sort of secular religion or a gateway towards socialism. We humans are much better at adaptation than prevention realistically.