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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   28005 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 7, 2024

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I think organs of consensus building are inherent to any group human activity much like a dominance hierarchy is. If you smash the current ones, you will find others taking their place. Think tanks are probably more effective than they look to us normal serfs on the outside of the power structure. Most of their work is laundered through the organs of consensus aimed at us — mostly media, political talking points, and influencers.

I don’t think you fight most of these things by destroying the think tanks that already exist. You do so, much like other institutions that build consensus, by building alternatives. The greatest enemy of the public schools are home schools as they effectively remove certain children from the early indoctrination curriculum that schooling is meant to provide. The greatest threat to universities are trade schools and children skipping college to go into trades. Current media and social media are best countered by alternatives. If I can watch media with a different perspective, or news slanted in a different direction, or listen to music that doesn’t line up with Consensus, then the Consensus loses control.

I don’t think you fight most of these things by destroying the think tanks that already exist.

But didn't he just say he wasn't interested in doing that in the parent comment?

The greatest enemy of the public schools are home schools as they effectively remove certain children from the early indoctrination curriculum that schooling is meant to provide.

Home schools aren't much of a threat because they're very limited in application. They allow small pockets of the less-indoctrinated (or otherwise-indoctrinated) but can't supplant the public schools. Vouchers and reasonably inexpensive private schools would be a real threat, but they keep getting killed or nerfed.

The greatest threat to universities are trade schools and children skipping college to go into trades.

Trades aren't a threat to universities. What would be is if employers stopped requiring degree for many high-status occupations, but they aren't going to... and if they tried, the governments would step in to require degrees, as they have for many licensed professions.

You’re right about the inherently small scaling. But small pockets of un-indoctrinated people can form nucleation points for larger groups. It’s a threat to them even if it’s never going to be a big thing.

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