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Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

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21–30 of 57 posts

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#21
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ah. Rodriguez resents progressive movements that seek to upend the current social hierarchy (presumably because Rodriguez enjoys exerting social control far more than experiencing it) and has coined this new jargon to associate movements he dislikes with a reviled term (totalitarianism) > > Rodriguez begins with an intellectual lie, then uses it to advance the idea that anti-racist and anti-misogynist movements are…

> Seems to me they've been culturally dominant in America (i.e. they control the schools, the media, entertainment, government bureaucracy and now Big Tech) for over a century Explain to me how BLM controlled America in the 1920s.

> Explain to me how BLM controlled America in the 1920s.

Progressive movements in general, not BLM and MeToo in particular.

The Atlantic, The New Republic, the American Economics Association, Planned Parenthood and many other Progressive organizations have been around for over a century. BLM is a particular instance of the sort of "third wave" of Progressive activism, which is based on expanding the civil rights movement.

(The first wave Progressives wanted nothing to do with civil rights, and most were virulent and unrepentant racists like Woodrow Wilson or Margaret Sanger. The second wave was based around the welfare state and neutrality on racial issues, and included FDR, Harry Truman and the New Deal coalition. All three groups advocate for nearly identical policies, and yet have contradictory stated goals.)

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#22

What a cargo-culting piece of a hot mess... It's not "totalitarianism" if people get tired of your whatever-ism . It's basic human nature. Instead of decrying that mechanism, be happy that people tell you to shut up/stop inviting you to parties/block you on Twitter. Because all those are low-intensity interventions. They give you essential feedback, and do so rather early in the process. Most importantly, they make i…

> If you believe society today is less free than it was in the past, just remember that until the 80s, most Americans lived in small towns. Nothing I see people today complaining about compares to the essential small-town experience of your church community (i. e. "the town") ostracising you for wearing white after Labor day, or having disabled child, or being too friendly to .

If you didn't like it, you could move to a different small-town. As I understand it, that was a strong motivator for many people to move to the new world, that they could live in a different way that they wanted to.

But you can't move out of the global village.

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#23

What a cargo-culting piece of a hot mess... It's not "totalitarianism" if people get tired of your whatever-ism . It's basic human nature. Instead of decrying that mechanism, be happy that people tell you to shut up/stop inviting you to parties/block you on Twitter. Because all those are low-intensity interventions. They give you essential feedback, and do so rather early in the process. Most importantly, they make i…

"It's not "totalitarianism" if people get tired of your whatever-ism. It's basic human nature." These two things do not contradict each other. Given how often do ideologically controlled societies emerge throughout history, I would argue that basic human nature contains some seeds of totalitarian thought: "Shut up the heretic, or better kill him." "be happy that people tell you to shut up/stop inviting you to parties…

if firing had to be for cause, twitter mobbing would not be actionable.

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#24

What a mess. In small tribes social control can be directly maintained as members have perfect knowledge of any individual’s reputation. This mechanism doesn’t scale beyond a few hundred individuals so institutions such as hierarchical organized religion were invented. We have established words (oppression) and jargon (social control) for this already. The author has decorated an old concept with new jargon and is pa…

> Ah. Rodriguez resents progressive movements that seek to upend the current social hierarchy (presumably because Rodriguez enjoys exerting social control far more than experiencing it) and has coined this new jargon to associate movements he dislikes with a reviled term (totalitarianism) > > Rodriguez begins with an intellectual lie, then uses it to advance the idea that anti-racist and anti-misogynist movements are…

"progressives... have a complete monopoly over the relevant cultural power"

Can you really make that claim, in light of the current political climate and in-progress election results?

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#25

What a mess. In small tribes social control can be directly maintained as members have perfect knowledge of any individual’s reputation. This mechanism doesn’t scale beyond a few hundred individuals so institutions such as hierarchical organized religion were invented. We have established words (oppression) and jargon (social control) for this already. The author has decorated an old concept with new jargon and is pa…

> Ah. Rodriguez resents progressive movements that seek to upend the current social hierarchy (presumably because Rodriguez enjoys exerting social control far more than experiencing it) and has coined this new jargon to associate movements he dislikes with a reviled term (totalitarianism) > > Rodriguez begins with an intellectual lie, then uses it to advance the idea that anti-racist and anti-misogynist movements are…

> progressive movements like BLM and MeToo are absolutely attempting to preserve the existing order

I so wish this were true. If we lived in the world BLM envisions, George Floyd and while lot more people would still be alive.

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#26
post #22

What a cargo-culting piece of a hot mess... It's not "totalitarianism" if people get tired of your whatever-ism . It's basic human nature. Instead of decrying that mechanism, be happy that people tell you to shut up/stop inviting you to parties/block you on Twitter. Because all those are low-intensity interventions. They give you essential feedback, and do so rather early in the process. Most importantly, they make i…

> If you believe society today is less free than it was in the past, just remember that until the 80s, most Americans lived in small towns. Nothing I see people today complaining about compares to the essential small-town experience of your church community (i. e. "the town") ostracising you for wearing white after Labor day, or having disabled child, or being too friendly to . If you didn't like it, you could move t…

> But you can't move out of the global village.

Elon would like a word with you.

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#27
post #26
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you believe society today is less free than it was in the past, just remember that until the 80s, most Americans lived in small towns. Nothing I see people today complaining about compares to the essential small-town experience of your church community (i. e. "the town") ostracising you for wearing white after Labor day, or having disabled child, or being too friendly to . If you didn't like it, you could move t…

> But you can't move out of the global village. Elon would like a word with you.

> > But you can't move out of the global village.

> Elon would like a word with you.

Really? Because to all evidence he is acutely aware of that fact.

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#28

What a mess. In small tribes social control can be directly maintained as members have perfect knowledge of any individual’s reputation. This mechanism doesn’t scale beyond a few hundred individuals so institutions such as hierarchical organized religion were invented. We have established words (oppression) and jargon (social control) for this already. The author has decorated an old concept with new jargon and is pa…

Ad hominem attacks like this one calling him insane and questioning his ethics illustrate the author’s thesis quite effectively.

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#29

What a mess. In small tribes social control can be directly maintained as members have perfect knowledge of any individual’s reputation. This mechanism doesn’t scale beyond a few hundred individuals so institutions such as hierarchical organized religion were invented. We have established words (oppression) and jargon (social control) for this already. The author has decorated an old concept with new jargon and is pa…

Ad hominem attacks like this one calling him insane and questioning his ethics illustrate the author’s thesis quite effectively.

The intellectually dishonesty is quite apparent. Questioning his ethics and motivations is not a particularly difficult leap given the mediocre argument presented. If you think it supports the author's stated thesis (and not the hidden these of "why don't these people agree with my opinions and stop forcing me to question my own role in the current structure") then perhaps you need to work on your critical thinking skills.

Re: Horizontal totalitarianism in life and literature

#30
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Seems to me they've been culturally dominant in America (i.e. they control the schools, the media, entertainment, government bureaucracy and now Big Tech) for over a century Explain to me how BLM controlled America in the 1920s.

> Explain to me how BLM controlled America in the 1920s. Progressive movements in general, not BLM and MeToo in particular. The Atlantic, The New Republic, the American Economics Association, Planned Parenthood and many other Progressive organizations have been around for over a century. BLM is a particular instance of the sort of "third wave" of Progressive activism, which is based on expanding the civil rights move…

Explain how "existing" is the same as the original "controlling".
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