To put it shortly, it seems to me we have lost the ability to build new things, and became an online debate club.
Did LW as a group ever have this ability? Going by the archives it seems that there were a small number (less than 10) of posters on LW who could do this. Now that they’re no longer posting regularly, new things are no longer produced here.
try creating a new one from scratch, or whatever?
A reasonable case could be made that this is how NRx came to be.
A reasonable case could be made that this is how NRx came to be.
If this is where NRx came from, then I am strongly reminded of the story of the dog that evolved into a bacterium. An alternative LW-like community that evolved into an aggresive political movement? Either everyone involved was an advanced hyper-genius or something went terribly wrong somewhere along the way. That’s not to say that something valuable did not result, but “mission drift” would be a very mild phrase.
Show me that movement in actual politics. Is any NRx-er running for office? Do they have an influential PAC? A think tank in Washington, some lobbyists, maybe?
Oh, I think we’re using the phrase “political movement” in different senses. I meant something more like “group of people who define themselves as a group in terms of a relatively stable platform of shared political beliefs, which are sufficiently different from the political beliefs of any other group or movement”. Other examples might be libertarianism, anarcho-primitivism, internet social justice, etc.
I guess this is a non-standard usage, so I’m open to recommendations for a better term.
Yep, looks like we are using different terminology. The distinction between political philosophy and political movement that I drew is precisely the difference between staying in the ideas/information/talking/discussing realm and moving out into the realm of real-world power and power relationships. What matches your definition I’d probably call a line of political thought.
Mencius Moldbug is a political philosopher. Tea Party is a political movement.
Did LW as a group ever have this ability? Going by the archives it seems that there were a small number (less than 10) of posters on LW who could do this. Now that they’re no longer posting regularly, new things are no longer produced here.
A reasonable case could be made that this is how NRx came to be.
If this is where NRx came from, then I am strongly reminded of the story of the dog that evolved into a bacterium. An alternative LW-like community that evolved into an aggresive political movement? Either everyone involved was an advanced hyper-genius or something went terribly wrong somewhere along the way. That’s not to say that something valuable did not result, but “mission drift” would be a very mild phrase.
As far as I can see it evolved into mostly smart people writing dense texts about political philosophy. That’s a bit different :-)
That would describe quite a few political movements, actually—it’s hardly exclusive to NRx.
Nope, political movements and political philosophy belong to different categories.
Some political movements evolve out of political philosophy texts, but not all political philosophy texts evolve into political movements.
I think that at this point it would be fair to say that a movement has developed out of NRx political philosophy.
Show me that movement in actual politics. Is any NRx-er running for office? Do they have an influential PAC? A think tank in Washington, some lobbyists, maybe?
Nah, man. Once you get to that level of politics, you’re already pozzed.
Oh, I think we’re using the phrase “political movement” in different senses. I meant something more like “group of people who define themselves as a group in terms of a relatively stable platform of shared political beliefs, which are sufficiently different from the political beliefs of any other group or movement”. Other examples might be libertarianism, anarcho-primitivism, internet social justice, etc.
I guess this is a non-standard usage, so I’m open to recommendations for a better term.
Yep, looks like we are using different terminology. The distinction between political philosophy and political movement that I drew is precisely the difference between staying in the ideas/information/talking/discussing realm and moving out into the realm of real-world power and power relationships. What matches your definition I’d probably call a line of political thought.
Mencius Moldbug is a political philosopher. Tea Party is a political movement.