Yes, science is the source of climate change and pollution, int the sense that, without it they would not have existed. Science is the source of technology, which is the source of consumerism, pollution, global warming, environmental degradation, soil destruction tion, aquifer destruction, over-fishing of the oceans etc, etc. Science is also the source of increasingly effective technologies that can be used to diminish personal liberty. — Janus
The scheme of the Enlightenment philosophers was roughly this: if they could persuade the rulers to leave them alone to pursue their studies “of the things under the earth and in the heavens” as they wished, free of persecution, the philosophers promised them that their discoveries—those of the nascent “Scientific Revolution”, as Fooloso4 has mentioned—would benefit mankind by offering protection against disease, famine, death from violence, etc, and “ease their estate” generally through the application of the results of that science. — Todd Martin
Not a bad deal, is it? — Wayfarer
You’re kind of fundamentalist in your own way, you know. It’s a very black v white, good guys v bad guys script you’re running. Stay with it, I will trouble you no more. — Wayfarer
I think it one of those situations where if you have to explain the point, it’s not worth making. I’m sure someone will come along soon with another point, let’s wait for that. — Wayfarer
Does the expression ‘biblical literalism’ mean anything to you? Do you know why it is criticised? What the alternatives are to it? — Wayfarer
You know it cuts both ways. The vocal atheists of popular culture all weaponise evolutionary theory to ‘prove’ or ‘show’ that God doesn’t exist. So how are the religious supposed to react to that? ‘Oh, I guess you’re right. I guess what I’ve seen up until now as the whole foundation of my life is really just a delusion, a by-product of my evolved simian brain.’ — Wayfarer
I'm sure it is. However, I think it is rather difficult to imagine politics without finance. Indeed, one of political leaders' primary concern is how to finance their political programs and how to persuade the leaders of finance and industry to support their projects. And this is where politics and finance necessarily intersect or converge. But I agree that not everyone finds this a topic of interest. — Apollodorus
I can see your point. However, personally, I would tend to be less sure. — Apollodorus
The question is whether the anti-capitalist, anti-western and anti-white left acts on its own or with the collaboration and support of rogue elements within the capitalist camp who share the left's agenda to monopolize financial, economic, and political power and abolish democracy. — Apollodorus
I think science and religion are natural enemies. The recognition that there is a natural order discoverable by reason, and the authority of text revealed to man by god must necessarily collide, which was always the source of the persecutions of philosophers by the civil/religious authorities. — Todd Martin
The fault lies with science, not religion; and I mean by “science” what used to be meant by “philosophy”, ie, the pursuit of the truth about nature according to reason—including the nature of man, of his soul. That bold innovation of Machiavelli and his numerous disciples, the Enlightenment—was really just a power-grab: an attempt to wrest authority away from the pontiffs and prelates and rulers who bowed to them and place it in the hands of philosophers, that they no longer suffer persecution, and this was successfully accomplished by focusing man’s attention on his material as opposed to spiritual prosperity. It was this goal of philosophy that conduced to the division in philosophy b/w it and science in the modern sense, ie, “hard” science, the sort that is demonstrable and easily adaptable to material prosperity. — Todd Martin
The modern scientist casts an ambiguous shadow: does he really only want to understand rerum naturam as the disinterested theoretician, or is he the benefactor of mankind, the technician discovering things that can be used to increase our material prosperity? Everything lies in the motive, for it is not obvious that everything he discovers has practical application—especially in the realm of the soul. Aristotle’s lover of “beautiful and useless things” is not to the modern taste. — Todd Martin
I tend to agree that it doesn't make sense to single out Westerners for criticism. Slavery, for example, existed for many centuries in Ancient Egypt, and other parts of Africa, Asia and the Americas before it became widespread in the Roman Empire and its European successors. If we condemn something we should condemn all perpetrators not just Europeans. So, it does look like there is a political and potentially racist agenda here. — Apollodorus
Good grief, there's no need to be so bloody rude. — BigThoughtDropper
The legacy of the 19th century is with us today. Our wealth is built upon the backs of the world's poor. — BigThoughtDropper
In terms of (2) the specific game in question is not thematically anti-colonialism as I pointed out with the "unrest rule"- unless you think that it is pro-colonialism in the present day ... ? — BigThoughtDropper
So, to keep an open mind, we have to allow that science is not always a good thing, especially when it crushes the spirit each of us has in us by denying its very existence. — Hanover
we have to allow that science is not always a good thing, — Hanover
What is to be taken from this essay? — I like sushi
The circularity is that ‘hammer’ is not ‘physical’. When it comes to cognitive thought (or rather, worded thought) the ‘hammer’ I can hold in my hand is no more physical than the thought of holding the ‘hammer’ in my hand — I like sushi
So, I think you are saying this board game is (1), but I think it is (3). — BigThoughtDropper
I agree. To a certain extent, I think it's disrespectful to pretend that European colonization was cleaner than it really was. — T Clark
Obviously, I couldn't play this game in good conscience the way that it is. — BigThoughtDropper
To be clear this theme is not meant to be educational — BigThoughtDropper
This wasteland of the soul is what I fear we have received in exchange for a prosperous bodily existence. I know all the counter-arguments... — Todd Martin
Piketty argues that seeing it merely as "people voting against their interests" is mistaken. Every system is propped up by ideology as well. The ideas of the meritocracy, of the primacy of the market and perhaps above all the idea that there is simply no alternative to massive inequality are very pervasive. — Echarmion
It's a testament to the power of the current orthodoxy that we are unable to even properly talk about alternatives. It's like 1615, only our God is "the invisible hand of the market" and our doctrine is Neoliberalism. — Echarmion
I call it 'revolutionary change' only because the installed Uber-wealthy class might not be dislodged by a gradual, evolutionary process. They have everything to lose and nothing to gain from major change. — Bitter Crank
Major industry develops that way. Someone has a working undeveloped technology with major potential. Investors give a group the money to start production, whether that be a cast-iron steam engine works, new steel plant, a transistor factory, or a large-scale battery storage farm--whatever it is. There is generally risk involved--that the investment might not pay off well, or worse, might not pay off at all. The Uber-wealthy are not risk takers. There is no need for them to take risks--they already have such a large share of the wealth. They can afford to be indifferent. — Bitter Crank
That is the distortion the disproportionate distribution of global wealth has. The few thousand people controlling 70% of world wealth starve innovation. Geo-thermal / H-power is just one more good idea languishing on the shelf. — Bitter Crank
The problem is you're basing your views on your ignorance. — Echarmion
A lot of things "seem" to you this way and that, which is a nice way of saying you don't really know, and you're just making stuff up to suit your existing narrative of evil lefties out to destroy the world. — Echarmion
Because in your mind I'm a leftist, so I must be an unemployed guy living in his parent's basement with a Che Guevara T-Shirt, right? — Echarmion
It is desirable to have wealth vigorously percolate up the economy (rather than a glacially slow trickle-down), but getting the wealth to the base so it can percolate up requires a revolutionary change in the way wealth is controlled. I don't see that on the horizon. — Bitter Crank
Your geo-thermal/hydrogen idea will probably remain undeveloped for lack of capital. — Bitter Crank
It's genuinely baffling to see someone so confidently make an argument from ignorance. — Echarmion
It's bad because it damages social cohesion, in ways that are already quite obvious. You cannot expect people to not notice that their real income doesn't go up, while the stock market breaks record after record and managers in large companies get millions of dollars in bonuses even if they fail. — Echarmion
Certainly not while people fervently defend the right of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates to be arbitrarily rich on the basis that any kind of redistribution is born from jealousy and leads to communism. It also doesn't help that very few people are aware of the economic history of the last century in their own country, let alone the world. — Echarmion
But the supply still does need to be build first, and then the question of who decides how the supply is handled needs to be answered. Not everyone will own their own geothermal plant. I imagine you don't want one giant profit-driven conglomerate to own all the new power plants, and for good reason. — Echarmion
I have pointed out elsewhere that inequality is not simply "different outcomes". But regardless, the problem isn't that some theoretical amount of inequality might perhaps be good. It's that the current amount of inequality is bad. — Echarmion
Just be careful not to forget actually involving the poor in your calculation of what's "enough", because they won't just sit around watching you build your utopia if they're fed only the scraps. — Echarmion
Metaphors are all fine and good, but it's too easy to just brush the question aside with a smirk. Rising inequality is a real problem, and one that directly impacts your stated aim of providing everyone with cheap and clean energy. — Echarmion
The people affected by UBI are not the same as the people affected by a minimum wage increase. — Echarmion
it's hard to make conclusive statements on this without large scale experimentation. Which is to say we'd need a major economy - something the size of France, Germany or the UK at least - to actually implement an UBI to have any real chance of getting a good idea of the effects. — Echarmion
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" is a principle of solidarity, not jealousy. — Echarmion
No, I've been talking about universal income throughout. No doubt the word 'polluter' confused you. — Bartricks
have a credible discussion about why black people commit a lot more crime. — James Riley
Do you see the problem? — TheMadFool
And now, rather than address the argument, you engage in witless insults. — Bartricks
You're now wandering horribly. Focus. — Bartricks
I really like your reply because it is honest, about your own view. Of course, my question was rather abstract, but I do believe that an important part of thinking reality probably needs to include the personal components. — Jack Cummins