A lot of the comments in response to Connor’s point are turning this into a 2D axis with ‘mainstream norms’ on one side and ‘weird/DIY norms’ on the other and trying to play tug-of-war, but I actually think the thing is way more nuanced than this suggests.
Proposal:
Investigate the phenomenon of totalization. Where does it come from, what motivates it, what kinds of people fall into it… To what extent is it coming from external vs internal pressure? Are there ‘good’ kinds of totalizing and ‘bad’ kinds?
Among people who totalize, what kinds of vulnerabilities do they experience as a result? Do they get exploited more by bad actors? Do they make common sense mistakes? Etc.
I am willing to bet there is a ‘good’ kind of totalizing and a ‘bad’ kind. And I think my comment about elitism was one of the bad kinds. And I think it’s not that hard to tell which is which? I think it’s hard to tell ‘from the inside’ but I… think I could tell from the outside with enough observation and asking them questions?
A very basic hypothesis is: To the extent that a totalizing impulse is coming from addiction (underspecified term here, I don’t want to unpack rn), it is not healthy. To the extent that a totalizing impulse is coming from an open-hearted, non-clingy, soulful conviction, it is healthy.
I would test that hypothesis, if it were my project. Others may have different hypotheses.
A lot of the comments in response to Connor’s point are turning this into a 2D axis with ‘mainstream norms’ on one side and ‘weird/DIY norms’ on the other and trying to play tug-of-war, but I actually think the thing is way more nuanced than this suggests.
Proposal:
Investigate the phenomenon of totalization. Where does it come from, what motivates it, what kinds of people fall into it… To what extent is it coming from external vs internal pressure? Are there ‘good’ kinds of totalizing and ‘bad’ kinds?
Among people who totalize, what kinds of vulnerabilities do they experience as a result? Do they get exploited more by bad actors? Do they make common sense mistakes? Etc.
I am willing to bet there is a ‘good’ kind of totalizing and a ‘bad’ kind. And I think my comment about elitism was one of the bad kinds. And I think it’s not that hard to tell which is which? I think it’s hard to tell ‘from the inside’ but I… think I could tell from the outside with enough observation and asking them questions?
A very basic hypothesis is: To the extent that a totalizing impulse is coming from addiction (underspecified term here, I don’t want to unpack rn), it is not healthy. To the extent that a totalizing impulse is coming from an open-hearted, non-clingy, soulful conviction, it is healthy.
I would test that hypothesis, if it were my project. Others may have different hypotheses.