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AmrikeeAkbar


				

				

				

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joined 2022 September 14 04:22:46 UTC
				

				

				

				

				

				

					
				

				

				
				
				

				
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AmrikeeAkbar


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 14 04:22:46 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 1187


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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	 Hot Bump Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
	



		

	






	

		
		

		
		
	

	

  







		

			
			
				Thoughts on the Network State
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think this scenario gets interesting with multiple rival networks attempting to mobilize people in the name of a cause. Agree that a distributed globohomo ruling class scenario, of the kind @DaseIndustriesLtd seems to be talking about is less interesting. I'm a little bit skeptical of the ability of the ability of any ruling class to impose their will as totally as he seems to envision, however. I think on the whole there's a brittleness to such systems; they tend to result in people further down the hierarchy simply hacking the feedback loop to keep upper echelons off their backs. The illusion of legibility, if you will.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Thoughts on the Network State
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I guess I'm not sure what you mean by that first sentence? Practical for what exactly? What I'm arguing is that network-actors could provide an avenue for disaffected people to erode the power of the state, even if they don't replace the state entirely. Participation in such networks can create maneuver space, wiggle room for people who for one reason or another want to do something the state doesn't want them to do. I'm not really proposing any particular solution for any particular problem for any particular group, just trying to describe and extrapolate from a trend-line.


I also think the second part still remains to be seen. Actually, I think we're visualizing a network "state" (the more I think about it, the less I like the second term) in two very different ways. I think you're thinking of, basically, a bunch of educated elites, folks already fairly well-positioned in the scheme of things, organizing to increase their own bargaining power vis-a-vis the existing state. Skull-and-bonesmen with crypto, withdrawing into their towers and walled estates, communicating with each other through their secure channels and not participating in society at large more than strictly necessary. I'm visualizing network actors as a vector for a successful mass movement. A framework for mobilizing people around a common identity and shared cause.  Put another way, I don't think the most successful network-actor is the one that successfully recruits all the wealthy, talented people (though they'll probably need some). The most effective network actor is the one who nails 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Dr. King's Dream - a GenX screed
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Was mistake theory ever strong politics? I suppose I'm cynical, but I think it's generally easier for people to believe they're opponents are evil and willfully ignorant rather than well-intentioned folks with different beliefs. Possibly I'm biased by the internet being my sample.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Thoughts on the Network State
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I haven't read enough of his writing to really know. In Network State he comes across as a guy with a technical background and mindset who perhaps doesn't have the same intuitive grasp of the rawer aspects of the human condition. Like, I think intellectually he has a model for nationalism, hunger, the thirst for vengeance and power, fanaticism, faith, prejudice, the whole glorious constellation of our savage species. He's just more comfortable dealing with the technical issues.  I'll give him credit for at least acknowledging these things though. Plenty of people with similar background don't even do that much; their horizons end at Fully Automated Gay Luxury Space Communism.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Thoughts on the Network State
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thank you for the link. I think fear of retaliation is the heart of political bargaining power in this context, but I'm not sure that retaliation needs to be overwhelming per se. To return to the Afghanistan example, the Taliban couldn't go head to head with the US Army, but they could apply pressure on local officials attempting to enforce unpopular edicts. If you're a local official, you might not die, but you would be forced to ask yourself: how badly do I want to do X? Badly enough to risk assassination? If you're local law enforcement, are you willing to pursue lawbreakers into hostile territory? Probably all such decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis. Network actors could alter the balance of power even if they never grow strong enough to actually overthrow the system.


Also, I guess you guys know something about Balaji I don't, but even if Balaji's personal Network-State Utopia is people only by 160 IQ STEM-Wizard Philosopher-Kings and their hangers-on - that needn't be the only game in town! I think you're operating off of a model where all crypto remains the realm of the tech-savvy shape rotators indefinitely. I don't think that will be the case. I think that over time, the tech will disseminate and become accessible to the layman, and they will apply it in new ways. The street finds its own uses for things.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Thoughts on the Network State
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'd be interested in an english version, if available. I do agree that the techno-capitalists may be form the kernel of a rival elite to our current one. The very fact that they attract so much vitriol these days is a testament to this.


Re: your last point. If someone does devise a true grand vision along "the full range of possible action", we'll find out about it soon enough.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Thoughts on the Network State
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I agree thats the biggest flaw in Balaji's thesis. More or less what I was alluding to when I talked about the historical consequences of challenging the status quo. I'm not sure Balaji is a libertarian, at least not in the ultra-capitalist/consumerist/individualist sense of the term. While I agree that he's an aspirational-elite in the Turchinian sense of the term and he certainly has no love lost for the current ruling class, I'm not sure he's as elitist as you're making him out to be. At least I don't get that from this book, which is the only thing by him I've read. But honestly, even if he is, so what? Major societal changes usually require some degree of elite participation. Purely popular uprisings tend not to have lasting effects. To paraphrase Snow Crash yet again, the world is full of waves; getting where you want to go is a matter of riding the right wave.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Am I an acceptable poster for theMotte.org?
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Well now I feel uncool for only being sort of aware of the Navy Seal copypasta, at least not enough to catch the reference first time round. Here, have this bit of internet humor I am familiar with


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 15, 2023
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Alternating between Democracy In America and Prometheus Bound


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Am I an acceptable poster for theMotte.org?
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'm gonna be that guy and suggest you mean "guerilla" warfare


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Let’s Interview Fascism with Paul Gottfried, pt. 8 – Discussion and Conclusion
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'd just like to say how much I enjoyed this series. Rarely have I seen fascism discussed in anything like a scholarly fashion, let alone on the internet. I found this whole sequence very informative and look forward to your next post.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for October 28, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I read that one nearly a year ago and yeah, Elric as a character is...a bit much. Adolescent is the word I would use. Not that I didn't enjoy the stories.


I'd agree that there's something about Lovecraft. His prose can get pretty purple, his plots aren't particularly inventive, and his ideas, when stated bluntly, don't seem terribly sophisticated or compelling (There is no higher power and the universe is pointlessly cruel and chaotic? Shocking twist). And yet, he makes an impression. He casts a longer shadow than many other "better" writers. Maybe it's just sheer conviction. He really feels dread when contemplating a universe stripped of divine purpose and he's able to communicate that dread to the reader? I dunno.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Meta: Is the Motte beset by bots?
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think there's certainly something weirdly compelling about dead internet theory, but I haven't noticed a huge decline in comment quality here. On the other hand, it may be that I don't spend enough time here to notice. But I agree its potentially a problem. Perhaps we need to bring back mass email chains? Something analogous to the way 16th century radicals disseminated their ideas? I don't know, but more long-form writing might equate to more effortposts, higher barriers to entry, and higher quality in general.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Seeing an opening, rising powers are trying to reorganize global affairs along civilizational lines.
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My question is: what defines a civilization? Is it language? Religion? Some vaguer set of shared cultural norms? I think it's precisely the fuzziness of defining "civilization" that makes it hard to use as an effective behavioral model. I'll grant you that there has been increasing pushback on the western progressive narrative, but I'm not sure anyone has a clear idea what will replace it in the global south


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 10, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think this is done because real diversity would require trying to get into the mindset of people who think differently than we do, which is something our increasingly insular and status insecure elite is profoundly uncomfortable doing. A truly diverse story about Afghanistan, for example, would be a story about hardscrabble clansman surviving by will, strength, and guile, with the US a background actor. I think there probably would be an audience for such a story, but I don't think those who control the media means of production have the vision or daring to try something like that, for various structural reasons. Much easier to cast some conspicuously nonwhite actors and call it a day.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 9, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Just wanted to say hear-hear to this sentiment. I'm not sure what the practical solution is to trying to maintain a stream of fresh blood, but I think this community exists to fill a real need; as long as that need exists, people will find their way here.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Book Review: The Affirmative Action Empire
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My working theory is that a really strong sense of local identity tends to be correlated with lower socioeconomic status. To be cosmopolitan requires education and the freedom and economic security to travel, all of which are correlated with wealth. I can't imagine someone who went to Groton penning this song


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Book Review: The Affirmative Action Empire
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
To me that just sounds like the good ol' urban-rural divide. Dunking on those dirty country-folk goes back at least to what, ancient Rome? If not further.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Book Review: The Affirmative Action Empire
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks for the clarification


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Book Review: The Affirmative Action Empire
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks, appreciate it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for October 7, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Sliders always strikes me as a great premise that was largely wasted in execution. Seriously, reboot that instead of the 18th Batman movie.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for October 7, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
For Adult, I'm gonna go in a different direction and say Tolkien's "The Tale of Turin Turambar." Tolkien had a lot more range than he gets credit for, and Turin Turambar would let you use the Tolkien name to tell a story that's a lot closer in tone to his Germanic inspiration than LOTR proper. Turin is a grim-and-gritty antihero who lives and dies by the sword; perfectly in keeping with modern prestige drama norms.


For family friendly: Lord of Light. Obscure sci-fantasy novel from the 60s, loved it when I read it in my early twenties.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of October 3, 2022
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That depends on whether or not you are permitted to raise your children on your terms, with your own values, way of life, etc. In a strictly genetic sense, the Mongols may be one of the most successful people groups in history; in terms of their culture, society, and way of life, they are largely extinct. You can argue that was always going to happen over a sufficiently long enough time horizon, and that's correct. But it can happen on much shorter timelines, even within a single generation, and often does.