"The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country. [...] The educated citizen knows how much more needs to be done, and criticizes because he cares, not because he despairs"
Criticism of society cán obviously be a force for good, and the openness to do so is one of the things that separates Western societies from many others. But the people criticising must actually want that society to do better, not break it down because it's 'inherently bad/evil', etc.
Interesting take. As East Asia gets wealthier, will we see a similar rise in “biting the hand that feeds you” or will this remain distinctive to the West?
Anti-West, anti-fossil fuel not realizing or ignoring 80%-ish of all energy comes from it, anti-Christian, anti-capitalism yet pro everything should be free, anti-logic, anti-development, anti-white, anti-straight, anti-male, anti-Human, anti-reproduction, anti-tradition, anti-responsibilty, anti-consequences to one's actions, non-existent gratitude, anti-military without giving any credence to the idea that it may be whats keeping the peace, etc pro-simplistic colonial belief system, pro-environment, to the extent that they think the Avatar movie is real, pro-DEI-ignoring merit totally, pro-dogma, pro-violence to those who oppose the dogma, pro-victim/oppressor ideology, pro-revolution with an idiotic/ignorant idea of what's to replace the current system, etc I may be wrong on some of these but it's an idea I have pieced together over the last decade. This guy confirms my bias.
A prevalent trend I have noticed and written about, in the West at least, is how many government agencies and departments begin with good intentions but end up becoming the very thing they were intended to create.
For example, the FDA was set up, ostensibly, to save lives, but today it kills more people than it saves by denying them life-saving treatment. I wonder if something similar is happening in Western society, where the society that gave birth to the modern industrial lifestyle is turning against the very factors that led to its rise.
I saw Steven Pinker share this article. There’s two major factors that people like you and him never consider.
The first is the near complete collapse of expertise and institutional trust. We’re clearly in a competency crisis. The fact the likes of Pinker can’t see this only proves the point. The mandarin bureaucrats have no clothes on.
The second is the unprecedented levels of mass immigration into the west. In America, the share of the white population has declined precipitously in but one generation, the boomer generation. The replacements are from every corner on the earth, completely disparate cultures and religions smashed together in one location in record time. Totally unprecedented in all of human history. The end result is a fractured and disconnected population with no common bonds. Truly the Tower of Babel.
The west lives increasingly impractical lives, imaginary parper (silicone chip) ones, inside city bubbles. For the lanyard classes everything is disconnected and abstract and therefore you are not truely connected to the consequences of your ideas and actions. This has now also gone on for many generations.
Compare with the parctical lives of those, such as farmers, fishermen or builders, who's very exsistance is practical in every way and every action has consequences. You can't pretend something is not what it is. You can then see why the west increasingly bites the hand that feeds itself.
Environmentalism rejects the fruits of modernity? It would be good to distinguish between reactions to modernity without proof, such as that of Rousseau, and rational concerns about the impact of modernity? Is the underlying thought that modernity will always find a way out of whatever obstacles might be hit? Or is this a caricature of environmentalism?
True that environmentalism may come with a healthy portion of hypocrisy but you cannot dispose of logical argument by that convenient dodge.
Even if environmentalism can only thrive in a free society, how does that invalidate anything? Meanwhile China, while still pragmatically building coal fired stations, is leaving the USA behind in its environmental ambition.
"I’m an inveterate optimist," said Maarten Boudry in conversation with Chelsea Follett.
Inveterate optimism is a deep-seated, habitual, and enduring form of optimism. It refers to a person who consistently and naturally maintains a positive outlook, regardless of the circumstances. This is not fleeting cheerfulness, but a steadfast belief that good will ultimately prevail even in the face of adversity.
Another inveterate optimist was Joe Biden.
"Look, I get accused of being an inveterate optimist. I call that the “Irish of it.” We’re never on top, always stepped on. But we are optimistic like Dr King was optimistic." That was a touch of optimism and good-humour in President Joe Biden's speech honouring Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia (January 2023)
Makes me think of a quote by JFK:
"The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country. [...] The educated citizen knows how much more needs to be done, and criticizes because he cares, not because he despairs"
Criticism of society cán obviously be a force for good, and the openness to do so is one of the things that separates Western societies from many others. But the people criticising must actually want that society to do better, not break it down because it's 'inherently bad/evil', etc.
Interesting take. As East Asia gets wealthier, will we see a similar rise in “biting the hand that feeds you” or will this remain distinctive to the West?
Anti-West, anti-fossil fuel not realizing or ignoring 80%-ish of all energy comes from it, anti-Christian, anti-capitalism yet pro everything should be free, anti-logic, anti-development, anti-white, anti-straight, anti-male, anti-Human, anti-reproduction, anti-tradition, anti-responsibilty, anti-consequences to one's actions, non-existent gratitude, anti-military without giving any credence to the idea that it may be whats keeping the peace, etc pro-simplistic colonial belief system, pro-environment, to the extent that they think the Avatar movie is real, pro-DEI-ignoring merit totally, pro-dogma, pro-violence to those who oppose the dogma, pro-victim/oppressor ideology, pro-revolution with an idiotic/ignorant idea of what's to replace the current system, etc I may be wrong on some of these but it's an idea I have pieced together over the last decade. This guy confirms my bias.
A prevalent trend I have noticed and written about, in the West at least, is how many government agencies and departments begin with good intentions but end up becoming the very thing they were intended to create.
For example, the FDA was set up, ostensibly, to save lives, but today it kills more people than it saves by denying them life-saving treatment. I wonder if something similar is happening in Western society, where the society that gave birth to the modern industrial lifestyle is turning against the very factors that led to its rise.
I saw Steven Pinker share this article. There’s two major factors that people like you and him never consider.
The first is the near complete collapse of expertise and institutional trust. We’re clearly in a competency crisis. The fact the likes of Pinker can’t see this only proves the point. The mandarin bureaucrats have no clothes on.
The second is the unprecedented levels of mass immigration into the west. In America, the share of the white population has declined precipitously in but one generation, the boomer generation. The replacements are from every corner on the earth, completely disparate cultures and religions smashed together in one location in record time. Totally unprecedented in all of human history. The end result is a fractured and disconnected population with no common bonds. Truly the Tower of Babel.
The phenomenon the article describes predates these two factors, and in fact contributed to them.
The west lives increasingly impractical lives, imaginary parper (silicone chip) ones, inside city bubbles. For the lanyard classes everything is disconnected and abstract and therefore you are not truely connected to the consequences of your ideas and actions. This has now also gone on for many generations.
Compare with the parctical lives of those, such as farmers, fishermen or builders, who's very exsistance is practical in every way and every action has consequences. You can't pretend something is not what it is. You can then see why the west increasingly bites the hand that feeds itself.
Environmentalism rejects the fruits of modernity? It would be good to distinguish between reactions to modernity without proof, such as that of Rousseau, and rational concerns about the impact of modernity? Is the underlying thought that modernity will always find a way out of whatever obstacles might be hit? Or is this a caricature of environmentalism?
True that environmentalism may come with a healthy portion of hypocrisy but you cannot dispose of logical argument by that convenient dodge.
Even if environmentalism can only thrive in a free society, how does that invalidate anything? Meanwhile China, while still pragmatically building coal fired stations, is leaving the USA behind in its environmental ambition.
"I’m an inveterate optimist," said Maarten Boudry in conversation with Chelsea Follett.
Inveterate optimism is a deep-seated, habitual, and enduring form of optimism. It refers to a person who consistently and naturally maintains a positive outlook, regardless of the circumstances. This is not fleeting cheerfulness, but a steadfast belief that good will ultimately prevail even in the face of adversity.
Another inveterate optimist was Joe Biden.
"Look, I get accused of being an inveterate optimist. I call that the “Irish of it.” We’re never on top, always stepped on. But we are optimistic like Dr King was optimistic." That was a touch of optimism and good-humour in President Joe Biden's speech honouring Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia (January 2023)
Are you an inveterate optimist?
What's Your Optimism Superpower?