I’m not an American but I don’t know anything about the OWS that would make it one bit more interesting to “rationalist communities” than any other political movement anywhere in the world. I don’t find it any more interesting than the Tea Parties. For that matter, I find it significantly less interesting than the Pirate Party.
Modern-day leftwing movements are even significantly less rational than they used to be. Once upon a time, the english version of the Internationale said “Away with all your superstitions,” and “No saviour from on high delivers,”. In the 1990s Billy Bragga-revised version it says “Let racist ignorance be ended,” and “Change will not come from above”. The condemnation of superstition and religion is no longer politically convenient.
Do you think that the OWS participants would be open to ask for the tax-exemption of churches to be ended? They’re allied to the religious left, so probably not.
And ofcourse even that level of rationality would be too little for the purposes that would be desired by the LessWrong community—significant amount of money devoted to medical immortality research, cryonics, friendly artificial intelligence, etc, etc.
I don’t know any leftwing political movement that’d be capable of debating even whether they seek equality and justice as an instrumental or terminal value. Or indeed any actually core issue that would make it remotely interesting to LessWrong.
I’m not an American but I don’t know anything about the OWS that would make it one bit more interesting to “rationalist communities” than any other political movement anywhere in the world. I don’t find it any more interesting than the Tea Parties. For that matter, I find it significantly less interesting than the Pirate Party.
Modern-day leftwing movements are even significantly less rational than they used to be. Once upon a time, the english version of the Internationale said “Away with all your superstitions,” and “No saviour from on high delivers,”. In the 1990s Billy Bragga-revised version it says “Let racist ignorance be ended,” and “Change will not come from above”. The condemnation of superstition and religion is no longer politically convenient.
Do you think that the OWS participants would be open to ask for the tax-exemption of churches to be ended? They’re allied to the religious left, so probably not.
And ofcourse even that level of rationality would be too little for the purposes that would be desired by the LessWrong community—significant amount of money devoted to medical immortality research, cryonics, friendly artificial intelligence, etc, etc.
I don’t know any leftwing political movement that’d be capable of debating even whether they seek equality and justice as an instrumental or terminal value. Or indeed any actually core issue that would make it remotely interesting to LessWrong.