7 ms·
Over time, global values are becoming more aligned, particularly around ideals like free thought, free speech, and the open exchange of ideas and goods. Yet, th
by apienx 2y ago
Over time, global values are becoming more aligned, particularly around ideals like free thought, free speech, and the open exchange of ideas and goods. Yet, this trend towards universal values is clashing with certain cultures that feel threatened. These cultures respond to perceived existential threats by rallying around authoritarian leaders, implementing stricter regulations.
Frustratingly, the study focuses too heavily on GDP per capita and largely overlooks the devastating effects of nationalism and religion. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46581-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46581-5
- Slava_Propanei 2y agoWeird that you think so highly of free thought, when your goal is to replace all cultures with one thought.
- lazide 2y agoCite on ‘global values being aligned’? People interacting with the same systems we do tend to be more aligned, but as you’re calling out a large portion of the populations feel insecure and are lashing out - and going even harder in the other direction.
- hparadiz 2y agoI was recently hanging out in VRChat and it hit me that the people I was talking to were speaking back to me using an almost American accent despite being native nordic Europeans. Culture is homogonizing at an incredible pace.
- _lvbh 2y agoI have a similar American accent despite being Malaysian. Missionary schools do a lot of good there but a side effect is the gradual phasing out of the local culture/language. The older folks (30+) tend to complain about the fact that “kids these days” don’t speak Chinese or Malay and don’t respect whatever semi-religious practices they carry out anymore. I do think making English a sort of universal language is pretty good though. Now that I’m in the UK, it’s extremely refreshing to be able to talk to anyone of any age and be able to communicate
- lazide 2y agoSelection bias, no? What percent of the population do you think you would be running across in the particular VR chat area you were in, and how would those people have decided to be there?
- hparadiz 2y agoIt certainly is selection bias however if 20 years ago the native English speaking population was 0% now it's 20% (made up number). That's not nothing and will likely accelerate.
- throwaway22032 2y agoN=1, but as someone who used to think of himself as being quite progressive and would now see myself as being in the "insecure" population (just using your terminology) - From my perspective it seems as if organised progressivism ends up "going too far", because once you've got the win, you either stop and lose your reason to exist, or invent another cause and go for that. It's like a treadmill and most people I know hopped off at some point because it got a bit too.. crazy? unstable? I kind of want to be able to plan my life long term, not have the rules change every 5 years.
- lazide 2y agoYup, though same with conservatism - as the idealized past never really existed, and is more false nostalgia/taking past marketing as real. It’s why these things go in cycles IMO - and also why older folks are almost always conservative. They really do need to plan long term or they are deeply screwed (sometimes even then), and have seen enough back and forth they really don’t (or flat out can’t afford) a lot of change. And have figured out how to adapt to whatever prior set of rules there was, roughly, or already died or became irrelevant.
- tengbretson 2y ago> Over time, global values are becoming more aligned, particularly around ideals like free thought, free speech, and the open exchange of ideas and goods. Yet, this trend towards universal values... Kind of just sounds like a romanticized justification for modern western imperialism.
- boxed 2y agoIt's funny how some people scream "imperialism" against anything. Just because "the west" is the poster child for human rights, medicine, industrialization, etc, doesn't mean it's bad. This meme of "western == bad" has got people very confused.
- shrimp_emoji 2y agoI would argue "imperialism == bad" is some novel confusion too. I think American imperialism (were it an actual thing, like America annexing regions and making them into states) would be good. What's not to like about some corrupt autocracy somewhere becoming part of the freest and most prosperous country in the world? On the other hand, imagine a free democracy getting annexed by a dictatorship. That imperialism would be bad to me. To say imperialism itself is bad is some kind of anarchist delusion. If you don't assert yourself on the world, others will assert themselves onto you. This is has always been true.
- spencerflem 2y agoif the people in the place being annexed don't want to be part of the freest country in the world, who are we to say they're wrong
- sublinear 2y ago> If you don't assert yourself on the world, others will assert themselves onto you. This is has always been true. I very much agree with this. > What's not to like about some corrupt autocracy somewhere becoming part of the freest and most prosperous country in the world? This not so much. The success of the United States has been, in part, due to avoiding overannexation. Culture and politics can change, but geography cannot. Mexico, for example, has terrible unproductive geography. Economics drives a lot of politics. Annexing countries like that would be a net burden. Their trafficking and other crime problems are not a matter of culture. The tail does not wag the dog. You can't politic the earth into submission but many will try. It can be argued the United States already has this problem with some of its states, but their proximity and lack of natural borders requires them to be assimilated. Manifest destiny was a carefully considered thing and not as stupid and reckless as some people want you to believe.
- datadrivenangel 2y agoAn Australian mate of mine told a humorous anecdote about some people in Australia talking about their Right To Privacy. Australia does not have the constitutional right to privacy like the US does...
- mikeruiz 2y agoThe US doesn’t either. Whatever federal privacy protections that exist in the US are the result of Supreme Court interpretation, the most famous of which (Roe v Wade) was just overturned (Dobbs).
- weberer 2y ago>The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. - The 4th amendment of the US Constitution
- spencerflem 2y agoYeah, that paragraph isn't worth the paper its written on if congress and the courts conspire to ignore it. We de facto do not have privacy in the USA.
- squigz 2y agoI'm not sure what your point here is, really. Do you interpret this to guarantee a right to privacy? Because if so, you should head to a law school and talk to the constitutional lawyers who have been arguing about this for ages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_laws_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_laws_of_the_United_Sta...
- weberer 2y agoLooks like the page you linked agrees with me in the second paragraph.
- Jiro 2y agoEurope has become pretty bad on free speech recently, and I don't think it can be explained that way. If anything, it gets justified by the fight against nationalism.
- atlantic 2y agoGlobalization is a misnomer. There are no universal values. The west is trying to push its value system on others, through means fair or foul. It's the new colonialism. And other cultures "feel threatened" by these "perceived existential threats". How dare they resist our benevolence?
- AnimalMuppet 2y agoIs there anyone, anywhere, who doesn't want to be able to say what they want, without fear? What there are, though, are lots of people who don't want other people to be able to speak freely.
- atlantic 2y ago> Is there anyone, anywhere, who doesn't want to be able to say what they want, without fear? Again, you're speaking for yourself. Many people care nothing for self-expression. But it's interesting to note how easily you universalize your personal preferences.