Yes great point. I have experienced this myself in the past and it takes effort not to do this.
> Since we make the effort to communicate, we clearly decided on cooperation instead of conflict.
Yes - I think our first exchange seemed to veer slightly towards conflict (for me anyway), but then it took a turn to a more shared understanding.
> So it's down to everyone to have a honest conversation about how stupid they are on individual questions
Yes agree. Stupidity is dangerous [0] and we need to be better equipped to detect our own stupidity and then self-correct.
That's why I think 2 key things for avoiding spiraling into tyrannical systems are a) fight poverty b) better education systems that teaches more about critical thinking and to recognise the tactics self-serving people use to gain power. Easier said than done of course.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts, which were insightful for my ongoing journey to study this topic. Two resources next on my list are:
1) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17349.The_Demon_Haunted_...
2) https://www.greecepodcast.com/plato-republic-civil-war/
[0] https://sproutsschools.com/bonhoeffers-theory-of-stupidity/