DuplexFields
Ask me how the FairTax proposal works. All four Political Compass quadrants should love it.
2yr ago
A manifesto is about some perceived ill in the world and a proposed answer or solution. 200+ page deep explorations are useful for far more than manifestos.
But the most important things about books versus other formats is that they end, and they aren’t changed after publication. That means that, unlike this very reply, they are certain to be the same as when you first read them, and unless you get a later edition or a sequel, they contain exactly the amount the author and publisher agreed to publish.
This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a
court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to
optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.
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Why are you called The Motte?
A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently,
it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey",
originally identified by
philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial
but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens
this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for
the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired
propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."
On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.
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Notes -
A manifesto is about some perceived ill in the world and a proposed answer or solution. 200+ page deep explorations are useful for far more than manifestos.
But the most important things about books versus other formats is that they end, and they aren’t changed after publication. That means that, unlike this very reply, they are certain to be the same as when you first read them, and unless you get a later edition or a sequel, they contain exactly the amount the author and publisher agreed to publish.
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