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This assumes that it's an earnest desire to improve society (which it sometimes is), and not a desire to gain/maintain status or power through virtue signalling
by fighterpilot 5y ago
This assumes that it's an earnest desire to improve society (which it sometimes is), and not a desire to gain/maintain status or power through virtue signalling.
- seoaeu 5y ago> a desire to gain/maintain status or power What you're describing is basically a textbook definition of 'politics'. I find it funny that you call this virtue signalling when that term was literally invented to describe the opposite: halfhearted political activism that isn't trying to build power.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- fighterpilot 5y agoWell, the word "politics" has various connotations in general usage, and many of them don't describe the phenomenon I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is a cynical attempt at elevating one's zero-sum standing in a social group by showing conspicuous adherence to the group's purported moral orthodoxy. This[1] is good reading on the phenomenon. [1] https://scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Ok-et-al.-2020.pdf https://scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Ok-...