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Tempting. Sadly, if we let the sheep have their FB, the likely result will be that we lose whatever semblance of democracy we have left. Already we're down to o
by corinroyal 5y ago
Tempting. Sadly, if we let the sheep have their FB, the likely result will be that we lose whatever semblance of democracy we have left. Already we're down to one party that belives in free and fair elections. Our system depends on informed citizens, not massive authoritarian psyop experiments. The longer we go where the majority can't get overwhelmingly popular policies accomplished, the closer we get to turning to any strongman who promises bold action, no matter how nightmarish that would be for most people.
- sandworm101 5y agoThat is the US story. It has less to do with facebook and more to do with the US political system. There are plenty of countries who have very different systems that have not followed the same path in recent years. Tech companies are part of the problem but should not be made scapegoat to avoid the deeper issues within the American political system, issues that existed long before the internet was a thing.
- blippage 5y agoUK Brit here. Countries like the UK and the US certainly have their flaws, but I'd take them before nearly everything else that's on offer. China's system seems terrible. The whole of Africa seems like a corrupt system. The EU seems mostly woke, and I'm not sure I particularly want that. Canada seems to have bought a first class ticket on the Progressivist crazy train from what I've been hearing. What's left? Not much, by the looks of it. Singapore, maybe?
- GoblinSlayer 5y agoBrazil.
- 0xcafecafe 5y ago>>The EU seems mostly woke Can you please elaborate more on that? I thought US is going more woke and France in the EU is pushing back on wokeism.
- hardlianotion 5y agoThe whole of Africa is a host of very different systems. It's rather annoying fielding this stuff that appears quite ignorant.
- zwirbl 5y agoDown from, like, two at the best of times. It's always either them or us, which is likely part of the problem
- spockz 5y agoI’m by no means an expert in US political history but all books and papers I’ve read indicate that this polarisation between the parties did not always exist. Members were allowed to vote according to their own principals instead of just the party line which is basically always opposing the other party. Senators and other politicians would have bbq on Saturday at each other’s place. It appears that this no longer happens.
- inglor_cz 5y agoToo much transparency. If thousands of eyes of gatekeepers are at you at all times, and immediately start screaming that you are a DINO or a RINO if you do not hold the party line at all times, you have all the incentives to be strictly partisan. We generally consider transparency in politics a good thing, especially because it may reduce corruption. But it comes with significant downsides. Only very resilient personalities are able to ignore the psychopathic monkey cesspool that is the political Twitter. The rest will submit to Moloch. (Scott Alexander's "Meditations on Moloch" are a good read; I was lucky enough to meet the author two days ago at a meetup in Prague.)
- Radim 5y agoOh. What meetup, what did I miss?
- inglor_cz 5y agoPrague-Karlín, Sunday Oct the 3rd.
- GoblinSlayer 5y ago>Only very resilient personalities are able to ignore the psychopathic monkey cesspool that is the political Twitter. Then don't visit twitter and post on an obscure nntp newsgroup instead.
- GoblinSlayer 5y agoWill it be better if we destroy FB and the sheep is back at TVs?
- krapp 5y agoIt would be better if we didn't keep referring to people as sheep, TBH.