Capitalism is really the only humane way to aggregate an overpopulated world of nearly 8 billion. — Outlander

I am not interested in engaging this, I would just like to make a point about Left intellectuals. This is an incredibly ignorant statement that should not exist, but it does it exist. The man who wrote this is a strict provincialist, without any concrete knowledge of the workings of capitalism throughout the world. The reason this man is able to hold this view is because this narrative dominates, especially in Western countries that live off the exploitation of third world countries. The sheer fatalism attached to this dogmatic premise is simply proof that Left intellectuals have failed. If they had succeeded many things should be general knowledge, ingrained in the culture. Just like we no longer believe the sun revolves around the earth. This error was obliterated, not merely by evidence, but by intellectuals championing its truth in culture. We live in times where intellectuals champion their theories in academic institutions away from culture. We will all pay for this because this gentleman's ignorant and provincial consciousness represents a vast majority of humans. The intellectuals have failed.

Why does a dumb thread like this get a pass on not being moved to the lounge? It's about a fucking TikTok video.

I moved it to Interesting Stuff > Humanities and Social Sciences, and I think it just about qualifies there. If things go well with the discussion, it's a way of exploring the idea of counterfactual history, which, though not popular among historians, does have distinguished adherents, such as Niall Ferguson. "What would have happened if Hitler had been killed before his rise to power?" is a typical way of looking at it.

Even if the discussion never gets as far as the philosophy of historiography, it could still be interesting. If you don't have anything to say about it, feel free to ignore it. Or if you have a critique of counterfactual history, I for one would be interested to read it.

Good points.

Did you change the name of this thread?

Did you change the name of this thread? — Noble Dust

No I realised this just now.Can it be changed by any moderators.

It was probably already changed by a moderator.

It was probably already changed by a moderator. — Noble Dust

Is that possible?

Yup.

Those who would do such a thing (kill a child who grows up to be one of the most reviled people in history) are functioning under an unfounded assumption - that people are born evil. What about nurture in nature vs. nurture? How does the fact that people change their ways, turn over a new leaf as it were, factor into all of this?

Is Donald Trump the cause of Americans divisions and concerns about globalism and racial and ethnic diversity or is he the symptom? — prothero

The symptom of much deeper problems... after he's treated(and hopefully eradicated by anti-viral meds) the problems will remain. Those attempting to bring the problems to light will be compared to previous 'enemies' of America, like communism and socialism...

Appreciate the tenor we can learn from fiction as much or more than fact/data.