Live data from Hacker News

New evidence that British workplaces are losing viewpoint diversity

ethicalsystems.org

731–734 of 734 posts

Re: New evidence that British workplaces are losing viewpoint diversity

#731

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As soon as I find out someone holds opposing views on a topic I feel strongly about, I can’t help but dread my interactions with them. I'm of the opinion that all views that my colleagues have that are not related to the work at hand does not/should not affect how we work together at all. I've been hearing my colleagues personal political opinion, the spectrum goes to both ends. I personally don't mind at all, I'm…

So would you be ok with a colleague spouting far right Nazi propaganda?

Depend on how you define that.

I know for sure some would consider what I was hearing exactly that, but most wouldn't.

I've never heard a single personal opinion that I would consider actual Nazi or Confederate though.

Re: New evidence that British workplaces are losing viewpoint diversity

#732

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Racism didn't "come from, all of a sudden". As history demonstrates, racism is an endemic problem in both places. The question isn't "does it exist" it's "how is it being expressed today". You really seem to be having trouble getting my point about views, so I'll try again. "Party X should be in charge" is not what I'd call a view. It's generally more a tribal affiliation and a placeholder for a basket of actual opin…

I wasn't being obtuse, I wanted to give you the opportunity to explain your claims in your own words, because I didn't want to risk misrepresenting you. I also wanted to withhold judgement about your level of knowledge concerning the subject matter. > The question isn't "does it exist" it's "how is it being expressed today". I'm glad that you've come out and said that, because it drives right to the heart of the issu…

I see you've decided to make up a cartoon version of my views and argue with that. I'll try one more reply, but I'm not optimistic.

I didn't say it was an immutable characteristic. I said it was an endemic problem. I would like it to go away, but we won't get there by pretending it has gone away. We have to make that happen, and that first requires looking honestly at the history and present facts of it.

A positive example here is Germany. They stopped denying they had an antisemitism problem and have worked assiduously to remove it. And plenty of western nations have moved fitfully in the direction of acknowledging previous and current oppression. In the US, both Reconstruction and the Civil Rights movement are positive examples there. But in both cases, society gave up before finishing the job (see first and second Nadirs). My proposal: this time let's not let those trying to conserve oppression win.

As with polio, it's perfectly possible to eliminate something endemic. But also as with polio, some people of a conservative bent will try to conserve even the harmful parts of the status quo. (My part of the US was settled by a bunch of Dutch who thought things like vaccines and insurance were refusing to accept God's will, for example. And in the modern era, the US right has caused at least a couple hundred thousand deaths through various pro-Covid actions.) So yes, conservatives trying to conserve harmful things may end up feeling bad about that.

I'm fine with that. I understand that conservatives are used to being coddled by society, and that this is uncomfortable for them. As they say, when you're used to privilege, equality feels like oppression. But my goal here is minimizing actual oppression, and I think that's more important than preserving the very delicate feelings of those who previously got away with not examining the consequences of their politics.

Re: New evidence that British workplaces are losing viewpoint diversity

#733

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One is Conservative voters, who have been vilified by the hard left since the 1970s, not least because of a sense of betrayal with the erosion of parts of the historic Labour voter base as people from working-class backgrounds moved to white-collar professions and abandoned trade unionism, and this has been particularly apparent in the arts. There is a "Shy Tory" phenomenon that has continued to confound pollsters.…

Just on the subject of trade unions, Labour would cease to exist without them, as their (millions of) members' subscriptions contribute to its funding, and since Corbyn they have had a significantly larger role in the NEC than in the Blair/Brown years. Now that he has left there is all sorts bitter in-fighting, and the prospect that the radical factions could break away (or stay and cause Starmer an unending stream o…

Sorry, yes, you are correct. My assertion was about not being about unionism was too strong.

Its far more complex and nuanced, as you rightly point out. The ramifications of Corbyn stirring up the latent 80s unionism have yet to be fully felt.

Re: New evidence that British workplaces are losing viewpoint diversity

#734
post #670
post #492

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Conservative policies take a bit more explaining to get their point across, and are much more focused on the logical and realistic side of things. >... >Also, the time horizon for conservative viewpoints is often much longer (think about generations in the future and the impact today's decisions will have down the road). Conservative policy in the US toward climate change right now is "it's a worldwide scientific h…

> The United States is the about the only western country for which the right-wing views this as illogical and unrealistic I never said this wasn't ideal, I'm saying it's unrealistic to snap your fingers and make it happen. I'm saying it sounds good to say this(which is why it's often boasted about by the left), but the process in which the left wants to go about it are completely unrealistic and lead to bigger unrel…

>Lets do simple economics: charge a polluting business extra taxes...they pass the extra cost down the supply chain (eventually to consumers)...and they mark up their services by a fixed percentage and use their variable cost as the anchor...which means e.g. a 35% markup leads to more profits for big business, higher expense for consumers, and no actual incentive to cut production levels. Not to mention the inflation triggered by that.

That assumes a completely inelastic demand curve, which is unrealistic.

>FYI your response is essentially a cookie cutter leftist response, and you're pretty much proving my point. You complain about things using sensational, overly emotional, and somewhat condescending language

My point was that your post itself was completely condescending and sensationalistic about the left, and I could do the same to you. You should have a bit of introspection about your final paragraph:

>The simple fact is that conservatives have an easier time seeing where the left is coming from as a result of the left's primary policies being shallower and less thought out. These aspects also make it easier for the left to create snarky comments around. Conservatives however, simply don't agree and think it's all a pipe dream. They see the shallowness that the left is not able to. The left on the other hand, not only doesn't understand the right's overarching viewpoints...they also aren't even willing to try to understand where the right is coming from.

That is completely sensationalistic, overly emotional, and extremely condescending.

Post reply on HN