For a moment I was going to say that I had misinterpreted you, but on reflection, I don’t think I did at all.
You just compared being against your favoured constellation of political ideas to child molesting, and called those who are against them dangerous, repulsive, and immoral. You want them subject to suspicion and strong scrutiny; they must be identified and tagged. Of course, you’re not going to personally suppress them, but—nudge nudge, wink wink—they’d better take care if they know what’s good for them, eh?
Now, imagine someone had read only that comment, but not its ancestors. What might they conjecture that this constellation of political ideas might be?
The manifest destiny of the Aryan race? Missionary Christianity? The white man’s burden of ruling the lesser peoples? Pan-Islamism? No, “liberal democracy”. (That was just the third of your five bullet points, but “liberal democracy” includes the other four already.)
Of course, you’re not going to personally suppress them, but—nudge nudge, wink wink—they’d better take care if they know what’s good for them, eh?
I’m not nudging, I’m not winking, and I’m not jocular or joyous: I’m dead serious, and state this as a matter of fact. Not as a threat or a warning, but as a statement of common sense. In fact, I like it better when they do not show this much common sense, so we can discuss their ideas in the open, and expose them for what they are.
You just compared being against your favoured constellation of political ideas to child molesting, and called those who are against them dangerous, repulsive, and immoral.
I chose paedophilia (not child molesting, I never said anything about actually having ever laid a hand on an actual child) because it’s something people get panicky about on a gut level, but is contingent to the local region of space and time one occupies. You may replace it with “racism”, “military expansionism/imperialism”, “support for the Death Penalty”, “support for banning guns”, “support for Cryonics and/or Transhumanism”, or “support for gay marriage”, depending on the social environment you’re moving in.
BTW, have you come across Mencius Moldbug?
I have. I am fairly unimpressed. Some interesting, daring, and refreshing new ideas, but I don’t know if it’s “rehearsing arguments”, “one argument against a thousand”, and so on and so forth, but I find his arguments un-satisfactory, ultimately.
The manifest destiny of the Aryan race? Missionary Christianity? The white man’s burden of ruling the lesser peoples? Pan-Islamism?
I find it telling that you conflate all of these and put them on the same level. In particular, you seem to be confused as to what missionary Christianity and Pan-islamism entail, respectively, by themselves.
I’m not nudging, I’m not winking, and I’m not jocular or joyous: I’m dead serious, and state this as a matter of fact. Not as a threat or a warning, but as a statement of common sense.
A statement of “common sense” that they will be seen as dangerous, repulsive, and immoral, and all the rest. If not by you, and not by them, then by whom?
I find it telling
I wish people who use this expression would go on to say what it tells them.
Those were just some examples of ideologies that have taken this attitude to their opponents. (Ok, maybe not all manifestations of missionary Christianity deserve to be in that list; consider it replaced by Stalinism or the Chinese Cultural Revolution.)
For “liberal democracy” to take that attitude doesn’t sound very liberal.
Er, yes, I have turned it into a draft at the behest of some readers who told me to reformat it in a way that would make it a proper top-level post, rather than a mere recapitulation/contextualization of the discussion so far. I’ll warn you as soon as it’s done.
For a moment I was going to say that I had misinterpreted you, but on reflection, I don’t think I did at all.
You just compared being against your favoured constellation of political ideas to child molesting, and called those who are against them dangerous, repulsive, and immoral. You want them subject to suspicion and strong scrutiny; they must be identified and tagged. Of course, you’re not going to personally suppress them, but—nudge nudge, wink wink—they’d better take care if they know what’s good for them, eh?
Now, imagine someone had read only that comment, but not its ancestors. What might they conjecture that this constellation of political ideas might be?
The manifest destiny of the Aryan race? Missionary Christianity? The white man’s burden of ruling the lesser peoples? Pan-Islamism? No, “liberal democracy”. (That was just the third of your five bullet points, but “liberal democracy” includes the other four already.)
BTW, have you come across Mencius Moldbug?
I’m not nudging, I’m not winking, and I’m not jocular or joyous: I’m dead serious, and state this as a matter of fact. Not as a threat or a warning, but as a statement of common sense. In fact, I like it better when they do not show this much common sense, so we can discuss their ideas in the open, and expose them for what they are.
I chose paedophilia (not child molesting, I never said anything about actually having ever laid a hand on an actual child) because it’s something people get panicky about on a gut level, but is contingent to the local region of space and time one occupies. You may replace it with “racism”, “military expansionism/imperialism”, “support for the Death Penalty”, “support for banning guns”, “support for Cryonics and/or Transhumanism”, or “support for gay marriage”, depending on the social environment you’re moving in.
I have. I am fairly unimpressed. Some interesting, daring, and refreshing new ideas, but I don’t know if it’s “rehearsing arguments”, “one argument against a thousand”, and so on and so forth, but I find his arguments un-satisfactory, ultimately.
I find it telling that you conflate all of these and put them on the same level. In particular, you seem to be confused as to what missionary Christianity and Pan-islamism entail, respectively, by themselves.
A statement of “common sense” that they will be seen as dangerous, repulsive, and immoral, and all the rest. If not by you, and not by them, then by whom?
I wish people who use this expression would go on to say what it tells them.
Those were just some examples of ideologies that have taken this attitude to their opponents. (Ok, maybe not all manifestations of missionary Christianity deserve to be in that list; consider it replaced by Stalinism or the Chinese Cultural Revolution.)
For “liberal democracy” to take that attitude doesn’t sound very liberal.
Please see here.
I don’t have access to the link. Is it an unpublished draft?
Er, yes, I have turned it into a draft at the behest of some readers who told me to reformat it in a way that would make it a proper top-level post, rather than a mere recapitulation/contextualization of the discussion so far. I’ll warn you as soon as it’s done.