/politics/

Definitely hasn't flown under the radar, but "Politics and the English Language" is my favorite piece Orwell ever wrote, and I don't say that lightly. Required reading.... 3w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 8.0 8.0 0.5 0.5

Definitely hasn't fl (view hidden) log in to judge received 8.0 8.0 0.5 0.5

At different points in life, these made a lasting impact on me, but I rarely see them mentioned:... 3d ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 3.7 3.7

At different points (view hidden) log in to judge received 3.7 3.7

Broader Western aesthetic decline is an separate question.... 4w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 15.0 15.0

Broader Western aest (view hidden) log in to judge received 15.0 15.0

I've been enjoying the "greco futurism" work from Peniche. He should post more of that here. It's high tech, humanistic, warm, aspirational, luxury, grand, western, traditional, archeofuturistic. I agree we've got to kill cyberpunk. It's just dystopian and... 3w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 14.6 14.6

I've been enjoying t (view hidden) log in to judge received 14.6 14.6

One thing that would help a lot: stop using shitty concrete for sidewalks. Tile it because plain concrete has the form and feeling of mud huts, only gray. Or polish it, like Costco flooring. Add some trees.... 3d ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 3.9 3.9

One thing that would (view hidden) log in to judge received 3.9 3.9

For better or worse, that kind of energy has faded from the Earth and it's not coming back. I might even go so far as to say that the "Revolutionary Man" or the "masculine totalitarian" no longer exists as a biological archetype. The Interwar years were, a... 4d ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 7.6 7.6

For better or worse, (view hidden) log in to judge received 7.6 7.6

I think this is the most relevant conversation to be had and it's what gets missed among those waiting for Caesar. The same way the archetypal soylennial we know and cherish is an uncommon specimen circa 1920, professional revolutionaries and scarred Junke... 4d ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 5.0 5.0

I think this is the (view hidden) log in to judge received 5.0 5.0

Maybe I was too flippant in my first post. My point is this: there’s extreme population density across the Global South, to an extent that most in the US and EU have no intuition for. There are at least 40 cities in India that you’ve never heard of but... 2w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 7.6 7.6 0.9 0.9

Maybe I was too flip (view hidden) log in to judge received 7.6 7.6 0.9 0.9

What I'm wondering is where do these people go after graduating? Avoid getting deported? Low-wage fast-food? 4 people in a room? Nepo hired into companies? People tell me they exist at these degree mills, but what happens afterwards is anyone's guess.... 1w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 1.0 1.0

What I'm wondering i (view hidden) log in to judge received 1.0 1.0

Urbit is a prime illustration of the limits of the theorycel.... 1mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 18.7 18.7

Urbit is a prime ill (view hidden) log in to judge received 18.7 18.7

I could absolutely imagine this being something real, but as others have pointed out in the Urbit case, architecture astronautics like implementing a Yggdrasil style overlay network must absolutely be entirely abstracted away from the people actually using... 1mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 12.9 12.9

I could absolutely i (view hidden) log in to judge received 12.9 12.9

This describes almost exactly what is explored in this: https://thebutlerian.com/posts/a_case_study.html... 2w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 3.5 3.5

This describes almos (view hidden) log in to judge received 3.5 3.5

You cannot profess a heresy without upsetting the believers. There is no clever phrasing where you deny their tenets but disclaim it in a way that makes them feel fine.... 4w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 13.3 13.3

You cannot profess a (view hidden) log in to judge received 13.3 13.3

Yeah if we're doing politics, we're going to need a good and honest party line. What's the party line on race relations? I dunno let's figure it out here.... 4w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 15.0 15.0

Yeah if we're doing (view hidden) log in to judge received 15.0 15.0

Yeah I know what Nietzsche tried to claim all this stuff was real, but he was wrong. Ultimately slave morality and master morality are just ideologies. Any other explanation of them isn't compatible with actual observation. 4w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 3.8 3.8

Yeah I know what Nie (view hidden) log in to judge received 3.8 3.8

I was too unserious in this post and unfortunately that killed its legitimacy. I was reminded of it by >>3722. There remains a big question at the center of any of our serious political thought, one which Nick Land loosely gestures at in the analysis above... 1mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 9.2 9.2

I was too unserious (view hidden) log in to judge received 9.2 9.2

I mostly don't disagree but this kind of thinking in particular is the "prussian insanity" referred to by >>3896 that caused NS to lose. We've have discussions before about how they had no external legitimacy even if it was internally coherent, because the... 4w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 7.1 7.1

I mostly don't disag (view hidden) log in to judge received 7.1 7.1

I suppose the irony is intentional—a nakedly sentimental appeal against sentimentalism. So, maybe Wang Xiaodong, writing in 2011, realized the coming importance of affective governance 情感治理 (qínggǎn 情感, here, and the qínghuái 情怀 for t... 4w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 1.4 1.4

I suppose the irony (view hidden) log in to judge received 1.4 1.4

Absolute truke. Seems like fundamentally the same idea as amphetaminutes and cybernetic lock-in from >>3695. There is something to this idea that certain drugs make people more productive and overall well-suited to 'modern life', which under a Landian fram... 1mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 13.8 13.8

Absolute truke. Seem (view hidden) log in to judge received 13.8 13.8

I don't get why people don't take psychedelics when they're in shitty psychological straits that seem to be persistent for an indefinite amount of time. I knew a lot of people in basically clinical or subclinical levels of depression throughout my life, an... 4w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 4.6 4.6

I don't get why peop (view hidden) log in to judge received 4.6 4.6

Extropianism is hopelessly mired in bad 1990s scifi transhumanist ideology. But "extropy" itself appears to be just a somewhat laden synonym for negative entropy, which according to its creator (schrodinger) is just intended to be a more open-ended and les... 4w ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 3.5 3.5

Extropianism is hope (view hidden) log in to judge received 3.5 3.5

We've had two years of intellectual development since the inception of this thread by the monosyllabic-nym old ones, so I want to pose a central question I had while reading. Cognitive separatism is necessary, we are actively doing it, it is starting to wo... 1mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 11.8 11.8

We've had two years (view hidden) log in to judge received 11.8 11.8

Is this just wishful thinking? Can we do some historical analysis and verify that the just falling out reliably happens? And if so, over what timescale? How long must we trust the plan?... 1mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 4.5 4.5

Is this just wishful (view hidden) log in to judge received 4.5 4.5

Disagree with this. Many men have achieved impact from appointed office without ever winning an election, often exceeding that of the people who put them there (not to mention outlasting them). Robert Moses is a famous example. And the Chris Rufos of the w... 3mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 11.3 11.3

Disagree with this. (view hidden) log in to judge received 11.3 11.3

If I could redirect energy of 10 men ....... 1mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 0.2 0.2

If I could redirect (view hidden) log in to judge received 0.2 0.2

Lee Kuan Yew Thought overlaps with BAP Thought but is more effective in key ways. First, the above--he is not an online edgelord posting about Tibetan supremacy but rather a pragmatic statesman.... 2mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 12.9 12.9

Lee Kuan Yew Thought (view hidden) log in to judge received 12.9 12.9

We know what BAP means by "the right of the stronger and better" just like we know what Sam Hyde means by "real Americans", but that doesn't make it coherent. I'll apply that same distinction I used in >>3385 between the truth and the political formulas he... 2mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 16.0 16.0

We know what BAP mea (view hidden) log in to judge received 16.0 16.0

“And guess what, the US/WEF consensus generally regards him as a hero. This is completely load-bearing--it's why Singapore is well integrated into the Western world, which is the only way for a modern small state to be prosperous and reasonably sovereign... 2mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 2.9 2.9

“And guess what, the (view hidden) log in to judge received 2.9 2.9

Careful lionizing the majority of shonen-slop anime. Any true student of anime knows the japs have fallen off and have gotten increasingly tied up in uncreative repetition of dumb tropes much as our own "extended marvel cinematic universe" has taken to sim... 2mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 5.5 5.5

Careful lionizing th (view hidden) log in to judge received 5.5 5.5

This is degrowth.... 2mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 10.5 10.5

This is degrowth.... (view hidden) log in to judge received 10.5 10.5

My understanding is that the biggest cities have always been fertility-negative on average for as long as we've had cities. But you are right that the most civilized types of men are the result of city-related selection. So what's going on? Would first of ... 2mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 2.9 2.9

My understanding is (view hidden) log in to judge received 2.9 2.9

The elimination of the upper class as a self-conscious, self-contained entity is definitely part of it, both in Europe and in certain parts of America. You did have the transition from an aristocracy based on the ownership of productive land towards a more... 3mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 7.5 7.5

The elimination of t (view hidden) log in to judge received 7.5 7.5

To answer the question directly: no. Three arguments: the historical roots of the west in Christianity, the racial character of Islam, and the untruth of the magical claims in the Mosaic religions make it inappropriate as the religion of the restored west.... 3mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 6.4 6.4

To answer the questi (view hidden) log in to judge received 6.4 6.4

This will become especially true if we do end up with low-grade speciation from either some kind of genetic tampering or selective breeding between the elite. Already, you could argue that selection mechanisms in the West have led to a sort of situation li... 3mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 4.5 4.5

This will become esp (view hidden) log in to judge received 4.5 4.5

Mostly agreed but I think this goes beyond an academic exercise. I think there are universal structures that one can discover in history, and this applies to the concept of civilization (which I tried to draw out explicitly and implicitly), which can then ... 3mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 6.9 6.9

Mostly agreed but I (view hidden) log in to judge received 6.9 6.9

I don't think that I am missing the point nor do I disagree with you. It is necessary both to be abstract and concrete. You see pundits talking about high minded ideals like "defending Western civilization", making sure "Civilization doesn't collapse", pre... 3mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 3.7 3.7

I don't think that I (view hidden) log in to judge received 3.7 3.7

Not well-versed in this, but a funny aside: Garry Tan’s TikToks average less than 200 views, and he interacts with anyone who comments or even visits his page (which is effectively no one). Seems like an incredibly easy in for anyone trying to reach out. 3mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 5.2 5.2

Not well-versed in t (view hidden) log in to judge received 5.2 5.2

I think the key problem is that in mr Burja's "empire theory" terminology, you are describing a decentralized declining empire, but what we actually have is a centralized declining empire. In decentralized decline, pieces break off and become free of the f... 4mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 11.0 11.0

I think the key prob (view hidden) log in to judge received 11.0 11.0

We see it already with today's tech companies, to an extent: the US government shuts down nuclear power plants while GOOGL and MSFT plan on building their own nuclear power plants, facilitating their respective AGI plans.... 3mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 3.6 3.6

We see it already wi (view hidden) log in to judge received 3.6 3.6

Sure, sounds worth writing. You should go for it.... 4mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 11.9 11.9

Sure, sounds worth w (view hidden) log in to judge received 11.9 11.9

I want to go on 2 different slightly tangents: (1) on the 'hard' vs 'soft' migration assimilation policies, with a contrast between a muscular assimilationist Singapore and an inclusionary Europe/West of 2015. (2) on the gender / age dynamics of immigratio... 4mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 2.8 2.8

I want to go on 2 di (view hidden) log in to judge received 2.8 2.8

We see this on the street every day. It's obvious the big demographic power of European civilization from the early 20th century is going and gone. Largely this was predictable and predicted a hundred years ago (Stoddard's "Rising Tide" was published 1920)... 4mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 9.2 9.2

We see this on the s (view hidden) log in to judge received 9.2 9.2

I wrote quite a lengthy reply and then accidentally deleted it. FML. I'm not rewriting that at 5 am.... 4mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 4.6 4.6

I wrote quite a leng (view hidden) log in to judge received 4.6 4.6

I have seen intellectuals propose quite a few different galaxy-brain explanations for why a philosopher-king might do something like Trump's tariffs. Each of these explanations is internally coherent, but they're quite different from each other and often c... 5mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 11.3 11.3

I have seen intellec (view hidden) log in to judge received 11.3 11.3

this criticism sounds wise but it has no substance. Who even is invoking global macro doomerism, moral narratives, or the "global trading system"? CTRL-F tells me its only you, anon. The basic subject at hand is the financial unsustainability of a trade de... 5mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 5.9 5.9

this criticism sound (view hidden) log in to judge received 5.9 5.9

Well i agree with most of the OP essay. Its a bit rationalist and striver coded but of course thats where the smarties are. Let me try to give you some more advice not on there that i could have used, or did use to unique effect.... 5mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 9.6 9.6

Well i agree with mo (view hidden) log in to judge received 9.6 9.6

Here's a piece of advice: if you haven't already, drop everything you are doing, fly to Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia or some other hellhole, and spend a month there to take it all in. 5mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.0

Here's a piece of ad (view hidden) log in to judge received 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.0

The Trump administration can complain about the filibuster once they've actually proposed legislation. Any legislation.... 5mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 8.8 8.8

The Trump administra (view hidden) log in to judge received 8.8 8.8

this 1999 stormfront framing of the issue is weak and vulgar. It presumes way too much from grievance group ethics and just tries to get the white man in on the moral patient grift. The real issue here is european civilization as a transcendent higher thin... 5mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 7.7 7.7

this 1999 stormfront (view hidden) log in to judge received 7.7 7.7

Loaded question. Trump is not crashing anything--market participants determine market pricing. Trump's recent policy initiatives have reduced investor confidence, at least over a short or medium-term duration. The markets are fickle, and contain many diffe... 6mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 6.5 6.5

Loaded question. Tru (view hidden) log in to judge received 6.5 6.5

If tariffs were going to cause short term pain but long term gain, then financial markets would be reacting favorably. They're not.... 5mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 9.2 9.2

If tariffs were goin (view hidden) log in to judge received 9.2 9.2

I think even acts of intuitive human intelligence are often difficult to explain to other people; perhaps the metaphor of Cassandra is a good reminder how genius is often recognized far too late:... 6mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 0.8 0.8

I think even acts of (view hidden) log in to judge received 0.8 0.8

Saw this the day it came out and immediately read the whole thing. Thought the interview was great, Yarvin did a fine job of laying out the case for monarchy, debunking a few key Cathedral narratives, as well as shred up many common arguments for democracy... 7mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 6.7 6.7

Saw this the day it (view hidden) log in to judge received 6.7 6.7

Its the election-related preference cascade. With trump winning as hard as he did, the mercenaries realized they would have to work with trump, the left realized they didn’t know how to oppose the right anymore, and the right realized they wouldn't be op... 7mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 6.4 6.4

Its the election-rel (view hidden) log in to judge received 6.4 6.4

All of these companies are highly selective in their hiring. Part of what makes the cult work is the kind of people the employees are in the first place.... 10mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 7.4 7.4

All of these compani (view hidden) log in to judge received 7.4 7.4

This is a good point. Mere selectivity and a particular culture isn't enough to work in the way I'm speculating will become more normal. The key is going to be ability to actually reproduce human capital, not ability to attract and shape. I'll believe Spac... 10mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 5.8 5.8

This is a good point (view hidden) log in to judge received 5.8 5.8

As an example of an institution that is attempting to generate a semblance of autocthonic legitimacy from relatively non-elitist material, see https://www.mcucoop.com/ 12mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 0.8 0.8

As an example of an (view hidden) log in to judge received 0.8 0.8

Some good stuff here on the ideological and intellectual content of Effective Altruism, and how that package fit the zeitgeist. That's half the story.... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 11.2 11.2

Some good stuff here (view hidden) log in to judge received 11.2 11.2

Right, you can't serious probe and weigh these questions without getting into questions of ends that are ultimately not utilitarianism.... 14mo ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 6.2 6.2

Right, you can't ser (view hidden) log in to judge received 6.2 6.2

Here's my honest opinion as someone involved in VC-backed defensetech:... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 9.5 9.5

Here's my honest opi (view hidden) log in to judge received 9.5 9.5

I looked to President Eisenhower in his inaugural address for guidance... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 0.2 0.2

I looked to Presiden (view hidden) log in to judge received 0.2 0.2

1. Urbit is not designed to be uncensorable, nor is it particularly useful for our purposes.... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 5.4 5.4

1. Urbit is not desi (view hidden) log in to judge received 5.4 5.4

Arguably we got mathematical science from the greeks, but I'd love to see a good historical analysis of how that happened. What greek texts were Newton and his predecessors reading? 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 4.1 4.1

Arguably we got math (view hidden) log in to judge received 4.1 4.1

This feels like overthinking. Mathematicians are lefty because mathematicians are academics and academics are lefty. Call it aesthetics or whatever why people are drawn to what are propagandized as beautiful ideas within their formative environments, but I... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 8.0 8.0

This feels like over (view hidden) log in to judge received 8.0 8.0

That is to say, if everyone who can be good is attempting to be good, then we need no other plans. If God is real then He will guide us; if not, then our efforts are already in vain. 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 0.7 0.7

That is to say, if e (view hidden) log in to judge received 0.7 0.7

Foucault can productively be read as a find-grained theorist of power, in its structures and channels.... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 8.9 8.9

Foucault can product (view hidden) log in to judge received 8.9 8.9

I must say, his methods for resisting power are intended for the mentally ill and homosexuals, if those should be separated, but his conceptions of those categories are different from those popularly used at present, and they can still be adapted for other... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 5.6 5.6

I must say, his meth (view hidden) log in to judge received 5.6 5.6

This point is key. For both Plato and Aristotle, a polis needed to be small. In the Laws, Plato puts the ideal number of citizens at 5040. There are good reasons relating to coordination for favoring the small (think of Elon firing 80% of Twitter employees... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 7.7 7.7

This point is key. F (view hidden) log in to judge received 7.7 7.7

Agreed, the cover is what provides security, and provides a barrier to external threats (impeccability). For an internet community, especially considering possible threat models, this sort of barrier is far stronger than material security, say, in the form... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 4.1 4.1

Agreed, the cover is (view hidden) log in to judge received 4.1 4.1

In everyone's favorite family-owned city-state, one sometimes encounters locals with recognizably Portuguese family names such as Pereira, Theseira (Teixeira), Gomes. I only considered the origin of these names much later when exploring the legacy of Roman... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 6.7 6.7

In everyone's favori (view hidden) log in to judge received 6.7 6.7

Indeed. The difference between what seems possible according to the world of ideas and what actually is possible is potentially large and always the essence of the game. This is why I'm not sure we can put too much stock in the "it can't reference or be mi... 1y ago (collapse hidden) log in to judge received 4.1 4.1

Indeed. The differen (view hidden) log in to judge received 4.1 4.1