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the actual views and arguments Getting the views of neoreactionaries from Noah Smith is like getting the views of Luther's 95 Theses from Pope Leo X. How about

the actual views and arguments Getting the views of neoreactionaries from Noah Smith is like getting the views of Luther's 95 Theses from Pope Leo X. How about, you know, just reading Moldbug? http://moldbuggery.blogspot.com http://moldbuggery.blogspot.com

hga 11y ago
tl;dr? Seriously, any interest I've ever had in whatever he's talking about has been stymied by his lack of concision, even simple methods like the pyramid style which allows for the full treatment. When this blew up I tried reading, then skimming the Carlyle essay, couldn't make myself (and I am somewhat interested in learning about political philosophies I'm not yet familiar with, and of course the peculiar institution is a very important thing to those of us in the US). A bit like the Wheel of Time when the plot stopped.
- lexcorvus 11y ago
  In contrast, I devoured the full UR archives over the course of a couple weeks. In this context, his verbosity is a feature, not a bug, because it's people like me Moldbug was trying to reach.
amcastillo 11y ago
Looks like this person edited their comment. Anyway, you're right, Noah Smith is one of the less objective filters you could seek to fairly summarize a right-of-left-of-center viewpoint. Read Moldbug, people.
- davidgerard 11y ago
  Life is far too short to actually read Moldbug. The man seriously does not state his thesis until at least 1000 words in (I am not exaggerating).
  - amcastillo 11y ago
    De gustibus non est disputandum :) Life is too short to do a lot of silly things like veg on junk TV or fart around on Twitter or read the entire Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality all day yet I admit that I sometimes persist. Moldbug is a strange and fascinating bird that is not immediately meant to be understood, but experienced. There really is no one else like him. For those with a taste for the antiquated charm of letters filtered for the post-post-modern generation, he writes entertaining and challenging essays that lets us peek behind the lacquered veneer of modern society to get a feel for what it is that we don't realize we have forgotten. He is certainly not for everyone, but a "fascist racist sexist anti-Christ" he is decidedly not.
savanaly 11y ago
I never claimed it was a wikipedia entry. Just that if you were interested in what the views expressed by neoreactionaries were, here's one source I read about it.
lsiebert 11y ago
I did read some. I was particularly struck by his advocating getting rid of democracy.
joe_coin 11y ago
And for those who prefer a chronological index: http://mencius.xmas.ratry.ru/ http://mencius.xmas.ratry.ru/

hga 11y ago

tl;dr? Seriously, any interest I've ever had in whatever he's talking about has been stymied by his lack of concision, even simple methods like the pyramid style which allows for the full treatment. When this blew up I tried reading, then skimming the Carlyle essay, couldn't make myself (and I am somewhat interested in learning about political philosophies I'm not yet familiar with, and of course the peculiar institution is a very important thing to those of us in the US). A bit like the Wheel of Time when the plot stopped.

lexcorvus 11y ago
In contrast, I devoured the full UR archives over the course of a couple weeks. In this context, his verbosity is a feature, not a bug, because it's people like me Moldbug was trying to reach.

amcastillo 11y ago

Looks like this person edited their comment. Anyway, you're right, Noah Smith is one of the less objective filters you could seek to fairly summarize a right-of-left-of-center viewpoint. Read Moldbug, people.

davidgerard 11y ago
Life is far too short to actually read Moldbug. The man seriously does not state his thesis until at least 1000 words in (I am not exaggerating).
- amcastillo 11y ago
  De gustibus non est disputandum :) Life is too short to do a lot of silly things like veg on junk TV or fart around on Twitter or read the entire Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality all day yet I admit that I sometimes persist. Moldbug is a strange and fascinating bird that is not immediately meant to be understood, but experienced. There really is no one else like him. For those with a taste for the antiquated charm of letters filtered for the post-post-modern generation, he writes entertaining and challenging essays that lets us peek behind the lacquered veneer of modern society to get a feel for what it is that we don't realize we have forgotten. He is certainly not for everyone, but a "fascist racist sexist anti-Christ" he is decidedly not.

savanaly 11y ago

I never claimed it was a wikipedia entry. Just that if you were interested in what the views expressed by neoreactionaries were, here's one source I read about it.

lsiebert 11y ago

I did read some. I was particularly struck by his advocating getting rid of democracy.

joe_coin 11y ago

And for those who prefer a chronological index: http://mencius.xmas.ratry.ru/ http://mencius.xmas.ratry.ru/