This post almost certainly will not be as well-organized as I wish it could be. I feel that the topic is of great importance, but I am unconfident of my ability to organize an argument, and I am painfully aware that I know far less about the topic than I ought to. Consequently, I welcome dismissive comments as well as substantive ones – part of what I need/want to do is learn more about the topic, and I’m having trouble even figuring out where to start. This will all become clear in a bit, I hope.