The long-run impact upon our feelings of the ideas we embrace consciously is often underestimated. For example, many people express support for the idea that the demands of the state (sometimes euphemistically called "social order") must take precedence "when necessary" over the good of the individual. We shall call this idea statism in this course. Precise limits to such state power need not be defined, statists believe, because the natural benevolent feelings of human beings toward one another will prevent this idea from being carried "to extremes." (Regarding the notion of "moderation" as a guiding principle, cf. pp. 1.3:32-5.) Yet when we remember that the Nazi Holocaust and the purges of Stalin were met only with a shrug of the shoulders by most of the populace, we must conclude that the statist principle cannot be upheld over a period of years without transforming the emotional sensitivities of those who subscribe to it. Although in the short run a person's conscious philosophy may conflict with his or her emotional responses, the latter are inevitably affected by one's thoughts and value judgments over an extended period.