''The Basic Laws of Stupidity, as outlined by Italian economist Carlo M. Cipolla in his 1976 essay, are five principles that describe human stupidity and its impact on society. Here they are, translated into Dutch for clarity, with concise explanations:
1. **Altijd en onvermijdelijk onderschat iedereen het aantal domme mensen in omloop.**
(Everyone always and inevitably underestimates the number of stupid people in circulation.)
People tend to assume others are rational, but stupid individuals are more common than expected, and their presence is consistent across all groups.
2. **De kans dat een bepaalde persoon dom is, is onafhankelijk van enige andere eigenschap van die persoon.**
(The probability that a person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.)
Stupidity is not tied to education, status, or profession. A highly educated person can be just as stupid as anyone else.
3. **Een dom persoon is iemand die schade toebrengt aan een ander of een groep zonder daar zelf voordeel uit te halen, of zelfs met schade voor zichzelf.**
(A stupid person is one who causes harm to another person or group without gaining any benefit for themselves, or even causing harm to themselves.)
This is the core definition of stupidity: actions that harm others and provide no personal gain, or even result in self-harm.
4. **Niet-domme mensen onderschatten altijd de schadelijke kracht van domme individuen.**
(Non-stupid people always underestimate the destructive power of stupid individuals.)
Rational people fail to account for the unpredictable and damaging behavior of stupid people, often assuming they can be reasoned with.
5. **Een dom persoon is de meest gevaarlijke persoon die er bestaat.**
(A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.)
Because their actions are irrational and harmful without benefit, stupid people pose a greater threat than malicious or selfish individuals.
Cipolla’s essay uses these laws to argue that stupidity is a universal trait that transcends cultural, social, or economic boundaries, and its impact is often underestimated. He categorizes people into four types—intelligent, helpless, bandits, and stupid—based on their actions’ effects on themselves and others, with stupid people being uniquely destructive.''
