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"Most homogeneous groups in history seem to either arise from a founder effect or maintain their homogeneity through dehumanizing tribalism and Incredible Viole
by scottlocklin 11y ago
"Most homogeneous groups in history seem to either arise from a founder effect or maintain their homogeneity through dehumanizing tribalism and Incredible Violence."
Yeah, sort of like the inhomogeneous groups in history acquire their inhomogeneity through dehumanizing tribalism and (nothing incredible about it -it's just human nature) violence. Take the British Empire for example. They deliberately moved people around their empire to keep their subjects angry at each other rather than at themselves; Indian rubber tappers and Chinese merchants in Malaysia, Scottish Protestants in Northern Ireland, Indians shipped to Kenya, etc. Worked for a few hundred years. Arguably, the modern neoliberal system is an extension of this to the modern day.
Taleb's argument doesn't seem to be in favor of any flavor du jour of democracy. More an exposition of how things work in complex pluralistic social systems, democracy or no. Ornery minorities in a pluralistic society end up getting their way most of the time. As all of western civilization seems determined to become some kind of ornery minority, the next 20 years should be pretty interesting.
- danharaj 11y agoI think I didn't communicate clearly what I meant. I think my response to a sibling comment clarifies my observation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571763 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10571763 I'm not sure what you mean about "western civilization" becoming an ornery minority but it gives me a sense of "barbarians at the gates" sort of thinking. Could you clarify?
- scottlocklin 11y agoWestern civilization is very obviously dissolving itself into tiny balkanized minorities, consisting of perpetually aggrieved people whining at each other in a sort of victim olympics in hopes of status payouts and vague grubbings after ephemeral power. Taleb's hack applied on a wide scale by everyone against everyone else. There are passages on the subject in Thucidides, Ammianus Marcellinus and probably lots of other places... Anyway, civilizations get sick and die: there is nothing I can do about it beyond scowling at the imbecile descendants of the people who once sent men to the moon. At least China seems to have walked away from its suicide attempt.
- vlehto 11y agoPluralistic society could still work with vehemently pluralistic majority of conservatives. Who are not afraid to defend their own rights, even when they seem insignificant. I really never thought I'd say that. I guess I'm getting old. "A man who is not a Liberal at sixteen has no heart; a man who is not a Conservative at sixty has no head." —Benjamin Disraeli