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My understanding is: 1) Given Peter Thiel is for more capitalism and more libertarian initiatives; 2) Peter Thiel believes that women's enfranchisement prevente

My understanding is: 1) Given Peter Thiel is for more capitalism and more libertarian initiatives; 2) Peter Thiel believes that women's enfranchisement prevented more capitalism and libterarian initiatives; 3) Peter Thiel believes at the very least that women's enfrachisement has a consequence of preventing more of what he stands for.

vanusa 5y ago
Recall that in his famous quote, Thiel did not refer to "capitalism and more libertarian initiatives". He specifically chose (and perhaps coined) the curious phrase, "capitalist democracy". And you can be sure he chose that phrase for a reason. Against this backdrop -- it's interesting that you chose to drop the "d" part of the phrase as if Thiel never said it. Let's see how your paraphrase works using the "d" word in place of the "c" word: 1) Given Peter Thiel is for more democracy; 2) Peter Thiel believes that women's enfranchisement prevented more democracy; 3) Peter Thiel believes at the very least that women's enfrachisement has a consequence of preventing more of what he stands for, which is democracy. This isn't just a rhetorical exercise. It's very important to his message that he used the word "democracy" as the central noun in the phrase, and not "capitalism" or "capitalist ideals". That's because at his core, the man is and always has been -- expressly, unapologetically anti-democratic.
- KittenInABox 5y ago
  Thanks for calling out the nuance of the interpretation of rhetoric here. I think you're right in that the focus was on decreased democracy, not decreased capitalism, being the consequence of women's enfranchisement. It made very little sense to me that allowing women to vote caused less democracy, even in Peter Thiel's worldview, so I assumed it had something to do with libertarian/capitalistic beliefs instead.
ifyoubuildit 5y ago
I think that's a reasonable reading. I don't think 3 obviously implies what others in this thread seem to think. I can believe that my coworker getting a huge bonus/raise means that I am getting less as a result. It doesn't mean I think it shouldn't have happened, or that I'm going to attempt to sabotage them. I can acknowledge something that isn't beneficial for my cause without immediately desiring to end that thing.
- margalabargala 5y ago
  That's a great analogy that I think is spot on. To expand on this bit though: > It doesn't mean I think it shouldn't have happened, or that I'm going to attempt to sabotage them. You can probably see how if you go to your coworker, and tell them "It would have been in my best interest and created a world I more prefer if you had gotten less", they may get upset with you. This is what's happening here.
  - ifyoubuildit 5y ago
    Yeah, that's an absolutely fair take. To paraphrase a movie quote, he's not wrong, he's just an asshole.

vanusa 5y ago

Recall that in his famous quote, Thiel did not refer to "capitalism and more libertarian initiatives". He specifically chose (and perhaps coined) the curious phrase, "capitalist democracy". And you can be sure he chose that phrase for a reason. Against this backdrop -- it's interesting that you chose to drop the "d" part of the phrase as if Thiel never said it. Let's see how your paraphrase works using the "d" word in place of the "c" word: 1) Given Peter Thiel is for more democracy; 2) Peter Thiel believes that women's enfranchisement prevented more democracy; 3) Peter Thiel believes at the very least that women's enfrachisement has a consequence of preventing more of what he stands for, which is democracy. This isn't just a rhetorical exercise. It's very important to his message that he used the word "democracy" as the central noun in the phrase, and not "capitalism" or "capitalist ideals". That's because at his core, the man is and always has been -- expressly, unapologetically anti-democratic.

KittenInABox 5y ago
Thanks for calling out the nuance of the interpretation of rhetoric here. I think you're right in that the focus was on decreased democracy, not decreased capitalism, being the consequence of women's enfranchisement. It made very little sense to me that allowing women to vote caused less democracy, even in Peter Thiel's worldview, so I assumed it had something to do with libertarian/capitalistic beliefs instead.

ifyoubuildit 5y ago

I think that's a reasonable reading. I don't think 3 obviously implies what others in this thread seem to think. I can believe that my coworker getting a huge bonus/raise means that I am getting less as a result. It doesn't mean I think it shouldn't have happened, or that I'm going to attempt to sabotage them. I can acknowledge something that isn't beneficial for my cause without immediately desiring to end that thing.

margalabargala 5y ago
That's a great analogy that I think is spot on. To expand on this bit though: > It doesn't mean I think it shouldn't have happened, or that I'm going to attempt to sabotage them. You can probably see how if you go to your coworker, and tell them "It would have been in my best interest and created a world I more prefer if you had gotten less", they may get upset with you. This is what's happening here.
- ifyoubuildit 5y ago
  Yeah, that's an absolutely fair take. To paraphrase a movie quote, he's not wrong, he's just an asshole.