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"Advanced Social Thought" is really just a western pseudonym for "the shadows of judeo-christian morality". I wouldn't be so quick to under-estimate them so qui

"Advanced Social Thought" is really just a western pseudonym for "the shadows of judeo-christian morality". I wouldn't be so quick to under-estimate them so quickly. Chinese art & philosophy is just as profound as those in the west. America may seem secular but our attitudes towards death and the individual are the result of our Christian roots.

linkmotif 9y ago
Definitely what you’re saying about China, especially historically, is true. Thanks for leaving your comment, to acknowledge this. But these days what they’re doing is end-of-days stuff in my opinion even without bringing Judeo-Christian morality into the mix. Mass collecting DNA to catch criminals. Etching IDs onto knives. Convenient—yes. Desirable socially? Questionable. (America doesn’t seem secular. I am, however, excitedly watching it progressing back to paganism. Who knows where that will shake out though.)
musage 9y ago
> "To them, violence, power, cruelty, were the supreme capacities of men who had definitely lost their place in the universe and were much too proud to long for a power theory that would safely bring them back and reintegrate them into the world. They were satisfied with blind partisanship in anything that respectable society had banned, regardless of theory or content, and they elevated cruelty to a major virtue because it contradicted society’s humanitarian and liberal hypocrisy." -- Hannah Arendt Where you see a "shadow" or something "hampering", I see a railing. Where you hear criticism of the jealous people left behind, I am waving at a dot that is getting smaller and smaller.
- stanfordkid 9y ago
  I think it was more of a reactive comment: It's funny to uphold moral superiority towards a people that have never conquered nor been conquered. I think comparing it to the philosophy of the Nazi's is a bit of a stretch. I do see your point though -- but everything exists on a spectrum. As a dominant superpower it's pretty easy for the west to hold the moral high-horse in things like this but seems hypocritical when you look at the big picture of the results of our dominance (imperialism over the past millennium). I think China has the ambitions to be a superpower and they have a willingness to cut corners to get to that point. Smart authoritarians are a short-term optimal system of governance and that is the type of rule that China finds itself under currently. My thought is that the cutting of corners is not so much inhumane as it is cutting through bureaucracy, intelligently, done by smart leaders with a definite vision of the future.

linkmotif 9y ago

Definitely what you’re saying about China, especially historically, is true. Thanks for leaving your comment, to acknowledge this. But these days what they’re doing is end-of-days stuff in my opinion even without bringing Judeo-Christian morality into the mix. Mass collecting DNA to catch criminals. Etching IDs onto knives. Convenient—yes. Desirable socially? Questionable. (America doesn’t seem secular. I am, however, excitedly watching it progressing back to paganism. Who knows where that will shake out though.)

musage 9y ago

> "To them, violence, power, cruelty, were the supreme capacities of men who had definitely lost their place in the universe and were much too proud to long for a power theory that would safely bring them back and reintegrate them into the world. They were satisfied with blind partisanship in anything that respectable society had banned, regardless of theory or content, and they elevated cruelty to a major virtue because it contradicted society’s humanitarian and liberal hypocrisy." -- Hannah Arendt Where you see a "shadow" or something "hampering", I see a railing. Where you hear criticism of the jealous people left behind, I am waving at a dot that is getting smaller and smaller.

stanfordkid 9y ago
I think it was more of a reactive comment: It's funny to uphold moral superiority towards a people that have never conquered nor been conquered. I think comparing it to the philosophy of the Nazi's is a bit of a stretch. I do see your point though -- but everything exists on a spectrum. As a dominant superpower it's pretty easy for the west to hold the moral high-horse in things like this but seems hypocritical when you look at the big picture of the results of our dominance (imperialism over the past millennium). I think China has the ambitions to be a superpower and they have a willingness to cut corners to get to that point. Smart authoritarians are a short-term optimal system of governance and that is the type of rule that China finds itself under currently. My thought is that the cutting of corners is not so much inhumane as it is cutting through bureaucracy, intelligently, done by smart leaders with a definite vision of the future.