“Only reason can convince us of those three fundamental truths without a recognition of which there can be no effective liberty: that what we believe is not necessarily true; that what we like is not necessarily good; and that all questions are open.”

Right on, Clive!

This is a great quote if you like unsupported universal assertions. If all questions are open we have no criteria to evaluate anything.

Dan, great reasoning.

I like it. As a seeker of truth, I must continue to re-evaluate my position and beliefs. I recognize that there is a great deal I do not know and that even my own sacred cows are not exempt from inspection. The 'truth' -- whatever it may be -- is what it is whether I am aware of it or not, thus the perpetual open questions. Yes, I answer those questions for myself, but there are still more questions -- even questioning the meaning of fundamental words such as 'truth' and 'God' are open questions -- what is 'truth'? what is 'God'? How do we know? Why bother trying to answer perpetual open questions? Answering them often cuts us off from the bigger picture -- what we overlook or miss sometimes changes the whole thing. But the 'unknown' is uncomfortable, so we come up with something/anything that can put our minds at ease and make sense of a world that often appears senseless. ;-)

The necessity and maintenance of a sane life require that we find a sustainable truth, that what we love is what we need, and that at some time and some way we will find the answers. Socialism is the vision of social abilities to create.