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> Some kind of "long arc of history bends towards justice" make-believe. I find it fascinating that you can look at the long arc of the moral universe and see
by bjornsing 3y ago
> Some kind of "long arc of history bends towards justice" make-believe.
I find it fascinating that you can look at the long arc of the moral universe and see it any other way. The only reason I can think of is that you’re staring at just the last few decades trying to discern a pattern, or even looking for the bend itself in the present. But if you take a step back and look at all of human history (and what we know about pre-history), how can you see it any other way?
- zoogeny 3y agoI believe that long-arc moral ideas are debatable when applied to history. I personally don't believe it and unless we want to get into some deep discussion on history, politics and metaphysics we are unlikely to get anywhere. But I respect the position when applied in a correct context. However, it is another thing to apply a supposed multi-generational trend, one that requires us to "step back" as you say, to the tactics of an individual playing the social media game. It's like the difference between the tide and an individual wave in the middle of the ocean.
- hnbad 3y agoSure, if you look at the narrativized version of European human history the way we first conceived of it in the early Renaissance period, there's no other way to see it. It's called living at "the imperial core" for a reason. World history just tends to be a bit more complicated than that and looking at history as a combination of "overcoming monarchy", "increased technical complexity" and "line goes up" might leave you with a limited view feeding into your pre-existing biases.