4 ms·

>A government full of cronies sucks... >A meritocratic...government sounds like a dystopian novel. So nepotism + networking = bad, but meritocracy also = bad.

>A government full of cronies sucks... >A meritocratic...government sounds like a dystopian novel. So nepotism + networking = bad, but meritocracy also = bad...? >...we can at least hope to get our own cronies in at some point. OR you reduce the risk vector and limit the size & scope of government. Most people agree with your earlier premises, so why would I support adding powers to a structure where folks I strongly disagree with will lead that structure ~50% of the time?

cratermoon 2y ago
> So nepotism + networking = bad, but meritocracy also = bad...? The downsides of meritocracy invalidate the almost idolatrous worship of the idea seen in the tech field. Tolstoy wrote “It is principally through this false idea of inequality, and the intoxication of power and of servility resulting from it, that men associated in a state organization are enabled to commit acts opposed to their conscience without the least scruple or remorse.”[1] See also: Sandel, Michael J. The Tyranny of Merit : What’s Become of the Common Good?. [S.l.]: Penguin Books, 2021. Niebuhr, Reinhold. Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. https://archive.org/details/moralmanimmorals00nieb_0 https://archive.org/details/moralmanimmorals00nieb_0. [1] Tolstoy, Leo,. 1894. “‘The kingdom of God is within you’ Christianity not as a mystic religion but as a new theory of life;” New York: Cassell Pub. Co. /z-wcorg/. 1894. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/3859761.html http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/3859761.html.
- s3r3nity 2y ago
  Biggest issue with Democrats is learning that "People are born with different abilities." Biggest issue with Republicans is learning that "People are born with different abilities."
  - cratermoon 2y ago
    Thank you for your analysis. It is both penetrating and diffuse.

cratermoon 2y ago

> So nepotism + networking = bad, but meritocracy also = bad...? The downsides of meritocracy invalidate the almost idolatrous worship of the idea seen in the tech field. Tolstoy wrote “It is principally through this false idea of inequality, and the intoxication of power and of servility resulting from it, that men associated in a state organization are enabled to commit acts opposed to their conscience without the least scruple or remorse.”[1] See also: Sandel, Michael J. The Tyranny of Merit : What’s Become of the Common Good?. [S.l.]: Penguin Books, 2021. Niebuhr, Reinhold. Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. https://archive.org/details/moralmanimmorals00nieb_0 https://archive.org/details/moralmanimmorals00nieb_0. [1] Tolstoy, Leo,. 1894. “‘The kingdom of God is within you’ Christianity not as a mystic religion but as a new theory of life;” New York: Cassell Pub. Co. /z-wcorg/. 1894. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/3859761.html http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/3859761.html.

s3r3nity 2y ago
Biggest issue with Democrats is learning that "People are born with different abilities." Biggest issue with Republicans is learning that "People are born with different abilities."
- cratermoon 2y ago
  Thank you for your analysis. It is both penetrating and diffuse.