[nota_bene]

> If some choose not to apply guilt or blame to others, well, then that was also in the cards.

Correct. Like this discussion and everything logically was also "in the cards". So, yes, in a sense "it does not matter", while it still does.

> If there is free will, then there is a distinct advantage to understanding and believing that fact.

The issue is that you see an "advantage" in free will. I suppose you mean that free will would make you more powerful because you would not believe that you "can't change things", etc. This belief however is false. It's not logical. Even if we understand that there is no free will, we are still going to make "our own decisions" based on all the variables in our lives. The vastness of the variables in our networks is such that it can never be measured and modeled entirely. It is simply too complex for us to understand, which means that it will never feel like a network of causes and effects. So our choices will always feel like our own, and that is good enough for us, it seems. For example, I'm still going to try to create useful products and believe I can become successful, because that's what motivates me, that's part of my "variables".

[lost_my_pwd]

The advantage is that one does not come to the conclusion that there's no point in assigning guilt/blame and merit to an individual's actions.

At the very least there's no harm in assuming free will and it is a much less depressing outlook on life and the nature of existence.