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I think what we're experiencing in the world today is a major disillusionment with neoliberal and capitalist solutions. We have a major cultural shift coming as
by liberte82 10y ago
I think what we're experiencing in the world today is a major disillusionment with neoliberal and capitalist solutions. We have a major cultural shift coming as those ideologies are no longer able to help solve our problems.
Sort of by default, we're looking backward at "noble savage" type societies for answers. I think we'll find that those societies didn't have the answers either, but it's kind of a first place to look as we're trying to come up with new answers and new models to live by in a modern world.
The problem with these more fascist ideologies that rely on "feelings" and our inherent human tendencies, is that our inherent human tendencies are not the natural wellsprings of wisdom that proponents of these ideologies believe them to be. We are evolved creatures with many biases and flaws, and following our biological instincts will not bring us back to some sort of natural harmony with the world as some believe. We're not getting in touch with our true selves when we listen to the prejudice in our hearts, we're just tuning into and amplifying the fear that we're biologically adapted to feel in certain situations of conceived elevated risk. It's not Capital T Truth.
The other major risk with what is happening is that as people become disillusioned with their systems, those with more malevolent agendas who have no problem with manipulating people are more easily able to exploit those doubts and gain power. I've little doubt that this is what is occurring with Trump and I only hope there is enough sanity left to see through his utter corruption that his way is not the answer we're looking for either.
- naravara 10y agoThere's an old G.K. Chesterton (I think?) quote that goes something like "The trouble with progressives is that when human nature works against their progressive dogma, they prefer to keep the dogma and discard the humans." (paraphrasing) Even though my political views put me on the more progressive end of the spectrum, I always come back to that quote (that I can't even seem to remember anymore) as a way of checking myself. The purpose of social organization is to foster and nurture human beings (and nature), after all, and if we keep finding ourselves running up against that we probably haven't thought through the problem deeply enough. That lesson is as true for life as it is for writing good software it turns out. . .
- liberte82 10y agoYeah. Human nature can't and shouldn't be ignored. It also shouldn't be worshipped as some sort of source of universal truth, because it's not.