Manipulative non-bastards

I think Alasdair McIntyre's single most brilliant observation was that emotivism obliterates the difference between manipulative and non-manipulative social relationships. Emotivism is the moral philosophy that says that moral statements are just statements of personal preference. One person who self-declaredly holds this view is Matthew Yglesias who has compared moral beliefs to liking chocolate ice cream more than vanilla.

I mention this because I have found yet another stunning example of how this philosophical position plays out in Yglesias's moral behaviour:

..I would further strongly urge Democrats who don't believe marriage is between a man and a woman but who feel they ought to pretend to believe this in order to win elections (a plausible position) need to do a better job of pretending. I've heard a shockingly large number of politicians say things, in rooms where journalists are present, that make it perfectly clear that they think gay marriage is just fine but that the voters aren't ready for it. That's a sensible thing to believe, but you can't go around saying it if you're trying to win votes. If you're going to lie, then lie -- and lie convincingly!

Let's read the key line in the above again: "That's a sensible thing to believe, but you can't go around saying it if you're trying to win votes."

I found that quote here (it's #27 0n the list). Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the original post seems to have disappeared.