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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   31307 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 15, 2023

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I don't see how it follows that allowing drug addicts people to harass strangers and push them in front of subway trains allows for greater innovation. If anything, it would seem to be the opposite. What's the mechanism here? Is the thought that someone like Kanye West would be jailed in Taiwan? I'm not sure that's true. I'm also not sure that there is no innovation in East Asia.

One thing I'm fairly certain of is that innovation in the United States now is lower than it was pre-1970 when crime and decay was much lower than today.

My hypothesis would be that the same degeneration which causes drug addiction and crime also lowers our creative capacity.

Well the libertarian ethos that has defended wealthy weirdos and their right to innovate and Do Their Own Thing is certainly wedded to the uncomfortable subway person in spirit.

And America's love of rags to riches stories also suggests that the uncomfortable subway person may one day be a startup founder!

In libertarian utopia, drug shops would be on every corner, and so would be gun shops.

In libertarian utopia, everyone would be packing, and when drug addicts start making problems, sober citizens will not need "cops" or "marines" to save them, sober citizens will draw faster, fire more accurately and solve their problems themselves once and for all.

(at least, this is what the theory says)

In short, this subway situation would be impossible in libertarian world, and no way could be blamed on "libertarian ethos".

I see. You're doing the No True Scotsman redefining of libertarianism to the stricter anarcho-capitalism only

Correct, to get the subway situation you need anarcho-tyranny. The state claims a monopoly on force, then fails to enforce it against crazy homeless drug addicts, but comes down like a ton of bricks on anyone who tries to handle said crazy homeless drug addicts themselves.

Yeah, that sounds about right. Kind of like the alcoholic's belief that their heavy drinking is somehow making them more interesting. Possible in some cases I suppose, but mostly it's just bad storytelling and cope from people who want to believe that there must be some reason that bad things happen.

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