Politics Discussion Thread September 2012

Multiheaded

The last thread didn't fare too badly, I think; let's make it a monthly tradition. (Me, I'm more interested in thinking about real-world policies or philosophies, actual and possible, rather than AI design or physics, and I suspect that many fine, non-mind-killed folks reading LW also are - but might be ashamed to admit it!)

Quoth OrphanWilde:

Top-level comments should introduce arguments; responses should be responses to those arguments.
Upvote and downvote based on whether or not you find an argument convincing in the context in which it was raised. This means if it's a good argument against the argument it is responding to, not whether or not there's a good/obvious counterargument to it; if you have a good counterargument, raise it. If it's a convincing argument, and the counterargument is also convincing, upvote both. If both arguments are unconvincing, downvote both.
A single argument per comment would be ideal; as MixedNuts points out here, it's otherwise hard to distinguish between one good and one bad argument, which makes the upvoting/downvoting difficult to evaluate.
In general try to avoid color politics; try to discuss political issues, rather than political parties, wherever possible.

Let's try to stick to those rules - and maybe make some more if sorely needed.

Oh, and I think that the "Personal is Political" stuff like gender relations, etc also belongs here.

Quoth OrphanWilde:

Top-level comments should introduce arguments; responses should be responses to those arguments.
Upvote and downvote based on whether or not you find an argument convincing in the context in which it was raised. This means if it's a good argument against the argument it is responding to, not whether or not there's a good/obvious counterargument to it; if you have a good counterargument, raise it. If it's a convincing argument, and the counterargument is also convincing, upvote both. If both arguments are unconvincing, downvote both.
A single argument per comment would be ideal; as MixedNuts points out here, it's otherwise hard to distinguish between one good and one bad argument, which makes the upvoting/downvoting difficult to evaluate.
In general try to avoid color politics; try to discuss political issues, rather than political parties, wherever possible.

Let's try to stick to those rules - and maybe make some more if sorely needed.

Oh, and I think that the "Personal is Political" stuff like gender relations, etc also belongs here.

Despite my misgivings, If we already have this thread I may as well indulge in my desire to discus the fascinating and reactionary writings found in the archives of Mencius Moldbug's blog Unqualified Reservations. If you are unsure who this chap is inspect the links from here or perhaps here. I have recently read and found interesting the following:

A general theory of corruption, corruption as the difference between the formal and informal nature and function of an institution.
Be infinitely devoted to your beloved owners. I very much enjoyed the quotations from Lev Navrozov's famous book and have put it on my reading list.
Dante: Politics as Wish an essay by James Burnham. The discussion of the essay by Moldbug in the comments is interesting.
The real meaning of diversity, diversity as a tool towards political power. Commentary on use of language in ideologically uniform politicized societies.
Rotary management: the next big thing, a new theory of management.
A landscape of bewildering contradictions, questions if there are is a need for the theory of good government to be anything but a special case of the theory of building good organizations.
Democracy as adaptive fiction, demotism as a theory of political legitimacy

I've read the last one, it's extremely typical of Moldbug IMO. He rather distinctly perceives what sort of thing is going on (yes, "diversity" is a political weapon, not so much "towards" political power as to undermine the influence of the New Left's perceived enemies; personally I am lukewarm on it) - but he engages in a lot of empty rhetoric and faux-cynical views of human psychology (it's silly and unfalsifiable - not to say invidious - to say that most ideals of the Left are merely well-internalized means to get the thrill of wield... (read more)