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Seems founded on a totally unmaterialist and unscientific understanding of how societies persist themselves. This is evident in Balaji’s fixation on the psycho
by ihm 4y ago
Seems founded on a totally unmaterialist and unscientific understanding of how societies persist themselves.
This is evident in Balaji’s fixation on the psychology of the individuals involved. E.g., saying intentional communities have failed because they didn’t have a religious devotion to the project, like “Zionism without Judaism”.
Instead he should talk about “Zionism without the British empire and the Holocaust”, both of which were much bigger factors in sustaining the project than the psychology of early zionists. Of course this played a role, but not a determinative one.
Another indicator of the lack of materialist understanding: who is keeping the lights on for these delusional societies? Where does the food come from? Where do the electronics they use come from?
Edit: reading further (against my better judgement…) it’s clear that the whole line of thinking is rooted in a misunderstanding of history and a parochial worldview that can barely see the world outside Twitter.
- evrydayhustling 4y agoRight - shared interest is much better at creating identity than identity is at creating shared interests. The idea of lifestyle identities binding network states that survive the evolution of members' differing interests is weak. The sustained identity-based networks of the world have often been those whose persecution gives them a strong mutual interest.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- arlcode 4y agoAlso the most basic question: "You and what army?" Either they pay/bribe whatever governments have an interest in them or they find a way to (threaten to) defend themselves against people who are much more organized and economically supported than their paradise for rich people. In the later cases you need to find 'volunteers' who (might) "die in the trenches" and I've got a feeling that you those are not to abundant in a society characterized by the desire to get away. Others have tried and failed. E.g. The Khmer Rouge did enforce massive changes on society, according with their ideology, but in the end they were removed from power with the help of tanks planes and guns.