Comments by "Dan" (@Dan-ud8hz) on "Academy of Ideas"
channel.
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“Thus, it is a political axiom that power follows property. But it is now a historical fact that the means of production are fast becoming the monopolistic property of Big Business and Big Government. Therefore, if you believe in democracy, make arrangements to distribute property as widely as possible. Or take the right to vote. In principle, it is a great privilege. In practice, as recent history has repeatedly shown, the right to vote, by itself, is no guarantee of liberty. Therefore, if you want to avoid dictatorship by referendum, break up modern society's merely functional collectives into self-governing, voluntarily co-operating groups, capable of functioning outside the bureaucratic systems of Big Business and Big Government.”
― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited
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Considering that the Trump-cult's slogan, "Make America Great Again", is referring to a time when America was a democratic-socialist nation, undoubtedly.
Democratic socialism was used to pull the US out of the Great Depression with FDR's New Deal and worked exceedingly well up until 1980, when Reagan's economics started to reduce and eventually lower the life expectancy of the average American.
"Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred, the US was mired in a 40-year population health crisis. Since 1980, life expectancy in the US has increasingly fallen behind that of peer countries, culminating in an unprecedented decline in longevity since 2014."
doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.26339
The Preamble to the US Constitution is a leftist manifesto that we've yet to live up to:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
"Technological fixes are not always undesirable or inadequate, but there is a danger that what is addressed is not the real problem but the problem in as far as it is amendable to technical solutions."
Engineering and the Problem of Moral Overload
doi: 10.1007/s11948-011-9277-z
"I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals."
Albert Einstein, Why Socialism?
"Above all, we should bear in mind that our liberty is not an end in itself; it is a means to win respect for human dignity for all classes of our society.”
Admiral H.G. Rickover, Father of the US Nuclear Navy
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@TouringWolf42 You only think it's hypothetical because you're not aware of the actual history of its effectiveness. An uninformed opinion is an irrelevant opinion.
The Trump-cult's slogan, "Make America Great Again", is referring to a time when America was a democratic-socialist nation. Democratic socialism was used to pull the US out of the Great Depression with FDR's New Deal and worked exceedingly well up until 1980, when Reagan's economics started to reduce and eventually lower the life expectancy of the average American.
"Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred, the US was mired in a 40-year population health crisis. Since 1980, life expectancy in the US has increasingly fallen behind that of peer countries, culminating in an unprecedented decline in longevity since 2014."
doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.26339
The Preamble to the US Constitution is a leftist manifesto that we've yet to live up to:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
"Technological fixes are not always undesirable or inadequate, but there is a danger that what is addressed is not the real problem but the problem in as far as it is amendable to technical solutions."
Engineering and the Problem of Moral Overload
doi: 10.1007/s11948-011-9277-z
(Why do scientists tend to have liberal (progressive) views?):
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-scientists-tend-to-have-liberal-progressive-views/answer/Bryer-Sophia-Gardener
(Lost Einsteins: The US may have missed out on millions of inventors)
https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/lost-einsteins-us-may-have-missed-out-millions-inventors
"The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness."
Niels Bohr
"I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals."
Albert Einstein, Why Socialism?
"Above all, we should bear in mind that our liberty is not an end in itself; it is a means to win respect for human dignity for all classes of our society.”
Admiral H.G. Rickover, Father of the US Nuclear Navy
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
Isaac Newton
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"Political scientists traditionally have analyzed the effect of politics on subjective well-being (SWB) at the collective level, finding that more liberal countries report greater SWB. Conversely, psychologists have focused primarily on SWB at the individual level and shown that being more conservative corresponds in greater SWB. We integrate the theoretical foundations of these two literatures (e.g., livability and system justification theories) to compare and contrast the effects of country- and individual-level political orientation on SWB simultaneously. Using a panel of 16 West European countries representative of 1,134,384 individuals from 1970 to 2002, we demonstrated this SWB political paradox: more liberal countries and more conservative individuals had higher levels of SWB. More importantly, we explored measurement as a moderator of the political orientation-SWB relationship to shed some light on why this paradox exists. When orientation is measured in terms of enacted values (i.e., what the government actually does), liberalism corresponds in higher SWB, but when politics is measured in terms of espoused values (i.e., what individuals believe), greater conservatism (whether at the individual or country level) coincided in higher SWB." (The Subjective Well-Being Political Paradox: Happy Welfare States and Unhappy Liberals ) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263889192_The_Subjective_Well-Being_Political_Paradox_Happy_Welfare_States_and_Unhappy_Liberals
(The traumatic basis for the resurgence of right-wing politics among working Americans): "The embrace, by working Americans, of policies that hurt their own interests can be understood on the basis of Ferenczi’s model of identification with the aggressor. Intrafamilial child abuse is often followed by the abuser’s denial. Children typically comply with abuse, in behavior and by embracing the abuser’s false reality, under threat of emotional abandonment. Similarly in the sociopolitical sphere, increasing threats of cultural and economic dispossession have pressed working Americans to adopt an ideology that misrepresents reality and justifies their oppression. In society as in the family, there can be a compensatory narcissistic reaction to forfeiting one’s rights that, ironically, encourages feelings of power and specialness while facilitating submission." https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/pcs.2015.53
(Low-Effort Thought Promotes Political Conservatism)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0146167212439213
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@Dimitris_Half People who condemn "wokeism" are the especially anti-intellectual type. He's trying to condemn people who are aware of, or awake to - "woke" - socially divisive issues that are broad in scope but arise from the same problems of emotional commitment to ignorance.
Ever hear of the acronym "DARVO" regarding behavior of abusers?
Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim/Offender.
It's also the root of modern "conservative" politics.
"The embrace, by working Americans, of policies that hurt their own interests can be understood on the basis of Ferenczi’s model of identification with the aggressor. Intrafamilial child abuse is often followed by the abuser’s denial. Children typically comply with abuse, in behavior and by embracing the abuser’s false reality, under threat of emotional abandonment. Similarly in the sociopolitical sphere, increasing threats of cultural and economic dispossession have pressed working Americans to adopt an ideology that misrepresents reality and justifies their oppression. In society as in the family, there can be a compensatory narcissistic reaction to forfeiting one’s rights that, ironically, encourages feelings of power and specialness while facilitating submission."
(The traumatic basis for the resurgence of right-wing politics among working Americans)
DOI: 10.1057/pcs.2015.53
"When effortful, deliberate thought is disengaged, endorsement of conservative ideology increases."
(Low-Effort Thought Promotes Political Conservatism)
10.1177/0146167212439213
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@ジョジョさま You betray a completely ridiculous misunderstanding of evolution and the natural world if you think that's so. Fascism is a grand display of weakness:
'In this fascinating look at the "alpha male," primatologist Frans de Waal explores the privileges and costs of power while drawing surprising parallels between how humans and primates choose their leaders. His research reveals some of the unexpected capacities of alpha males -- generosity, empathy, even peacekeeping -- and sheds light on the power struggles of human politicians. "Someone who is big and strong and intimidates and insults everyone is not necessarily an alpha male," de Waal says.' https://www.ted.com/talks/frans_de_waal_the_surprising_science_of_alpha_males
"People unacquainted with Nietzsche’s writings may be inclined to interpret the idea of the will to power rather crudely. But Nietzsche is not thinking only or even primarily of the motivations behind people like Napoleon or Hitler who expressly seek military and political power. In fact, he typically applies the theory quite subtly.
"... Nietzsche argues that we exercise power over other people both by benefiting them and by hurting them. When we hurt them we make them feel our power in a crude way—and also a dangerous way, since they may seek to revenge themselves. Making someone indebted to us is usually a preferable way to feel a sense of our power; we also thereby extend our power, since those we benefit see the advantage of being on our side.
Nietzsche, in fact, argues that causing pain is generally less pleasant than showing kindness and even suggests that cruelty, because it is the inferior option, is a sign that one lacks power." https://www.thoughtco.com/nietzsches-concept-of-the-will-to-power-2670658
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@ジョジョさま Thanks for your emotional ranting. You've provided a direct link between your inability to cope with reality without scapegoating (ressentiment), Nietzsche's "Last Man", and fascist thinking:
(The traumatic basis for the resurgence of right-wing politics among working Americans): "The embrace, by working Americans, of policies that hurt their own interests can be understood on the basis of Ferenczi’s model of identification with the aggressor. Intrafamilial child abuse is often followed by the abuser’s denial. Children typically comply with abuse, in behavior and by embracing the abuser’s false reality, under threat of emotional abandonment. Similarly in the sociopolitical sphere, increasing threats of cultural and economic dispossession have pressed working Americans to adopt an ideology that misrepresents reality and justifies their oppression. In society as in the family, there can be a compensatory narcissistic reaction to forfeiting one’s rights that, ironically, encourages feelings of power and specialness while facilitating submission." https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/pcs.2015.53
(Low-Effort Thought Promotes Political Conservatism)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0146167212439213
(Why People Fail to Recognize Their Own Incompetence)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8721.01235
I pity you.
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"Many roads lead to the Path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice. To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn't apparent because it's shrouded by sensation and delusion. Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls, the absence of self and others, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason. Without moving, without effort, they enter, we say, by reason.
To enter by practice refers to four all-inclusive practices:
suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing, and practicing the Dharma."
-Bodhidharma, Outline of Practice
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