It seems that philosophical discussion of assholes has become a thing, just as philosophical discussion of bullshit was big a decade ago.
The problem with the so-called "good assholes" is that they preference their own values over those of society. Yes, some -- like Rosa Parks -- really are good. But for every Rosa Parks there's someone who has decided that a Cabinet member needs to be hounded out of a restaurant because she works for an un-woke President. Or that someone's life needs to be destroyed because he or she committed an indiscretion 40 years ago which is now verboten. (Ex post facto laws are unconstitutional, but there's nothing stopping "good assholes" from committing ex post facto social justice.)
The problem with the so-called "good assholes" is that they preference their own values over those of society. Yes, some -- like Rosa Parks -- really are good. But for every Rosa Parks there's someone who has decided that a Cabinet member needs to be hounded out of a restaurant because she works for an un-woke President. Or that someone's life needs to be destroyed because he or she committed an indiscretion 40 years ago which is now verboten. (Ex post facto laws are unconstitutional, but there's nothing stopping "good assholes" from committing ex post facto social justice.)