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>It's a shame reasonable perspectives rarely appear in the mainstream media... Problem is, what's "reasonable" is completely different to a lot of people. FOX

>It's a shame reasonable perspectives rarely appear in the mainstream media... Problem is, what's "reasonable" is completely different to a lot of people. FOX News is "reasonable" to some people, CNN is "reasonable" to others, and still others swear by the BBC. (And then you have that pitifully small group of people who watch CSPAN, and might actually be argued to be the most "reasonable" in the classic sense of the word.) BTW, Japan's social cohesion is falling apart just like everyone else'. So even your initial point is a bit suspect. (Unless you feel things like masses of old people dying alone, unwanted and even undiscovered is a sign of great social cohesion. But even if you do hold such a belief, a contemplative individual would likely not be faulted for disagreeing.) In a modern world, in modern societies, social cohesion just tends to fall apart. Modern societies are set up to be convenient, and when the efficiencies offered by these conveniences exceed the benefits offered by social cohesion, people, understandably, choose convenience. It's really just human nature. I don't know how we get around it, I just know that it manifests itself all over the globe. As political strife in the EU and US, as strongman leadership in places like Russia and the Philippines, and as some rather horrible social norms that are developing in places like Japan.

mistermann 8y ago
> BTW, Japan's social cohesion is falling apart just like everyone else'. So even your initial point is a bit suspect. When you say "falling" apart, what do you mean exactly? Declining? Is it falling apart to the same degree that cohesion is falling apart in Western first world nations? > Unless you feel things like masses of old people dying alone, unwanted and even undiscovered is a sign of great social cohesion. Ian Bremmer uses four specific dimensions of evaluation to substantiate his case. Your example uses one, but is " "masses" of old people "dying alone" " both an accurate description of current Japanese society (what is the actual degree of change in this respect over time), and caused by "social cohesion falling apart"? Demographics and the rising tendency for offspring to move away from family (in this case, it introduces complexity into what the word "alone" really means) seem like they play a substantial part as well. Epistemologically, I wonder if there's anyone who really has a good idea. > In a modern world, in modern societies, social cohesion just tends to fall apart....It's really just human nature. I wholeheartedly agree that this is the overwhelming norm in most modern societies, but I disagree with "it's just human nature" so will continue to agree with Ian Bremmer for the time being. I think it is largely a function of the kind of societies we choose to build, often optimizing for GDP growth with little respect for the often nuanced qualitative effects this has on our societies.

mistermann 8y ago

> BTW, Japan's social cohesion is falling apart just like everyone else'. So even your initial point is a bit suspect. When you say "falling" apart, what do you mean exactly? Declining? Is it falling apart to the same degree that cohesion is falling apart in Western first world nations? > Unless you feel things like masses of old people dying alone, unwanted and even undiscovered is a sign of great social cohesion. Ian Bremmer uses four specific dimensions of evaluation to substantiate his case. Your example uses one, but is " "masses" of old people "dying alone" " both an accurate description of current Japanese society (what is the actual degree of change in this respect over time), and caused by "social cohesion falling apart"? Demographics and the rising tendency for offspring to move away from family (in this case, it introduces complexity into what the word "alone" really means) seem like they play a substantial part as well. Epistemologically, I wonder if there's anyone who really has a good idea. > In a modern world, in modern societies, social cohesion just tends to fall apart....It's really just human nature. I wholeheartedly agree that this is the overwhelming norm in most modern societies, but I disagree with "it's just human nature" so will continue to agree with Ian Bremmer for the time being. I think it is largely a function of the kind of societies we choose to build, often optimizing for GDP growth with little respect for the often nuanced qualitative effects this has on our societies.