1/ Thread:
A topic Social Science seems to not see, but I believe is key to understanding what’s going on.
(I’m riffing extemporaneously here, and reserve the right to refine and improve this argument as I think about it more):
A topic Social Science seems to not see, but I believe is key to understanding what’s going on.
(I’m riffing extemporaneously here, and reserve the right to refine and improve this argument as I think about it more):
2/ I think it’s important to look at current events within the context of the arc of history. Patterns emerge, insights are gained, conclusions can be drawn, that are not visible otherwise, and therefore possible beneficial paths forward are also missed.
3/ I think things like the recent UK election, the grievance studies project, and the replication and bias crises in academia have solidified the notion that woke thinking is bad thinking that in the long run does more harm than good.
4/ From perspective of the arc of history the propensity for woke thinking seems embedded in the psyche like a dormant virus, always poised to emerge if the social immune system breaks down.
5/ The social immune system includes the white blood cells of British (vs Continental) enlightenment values like 1) negative liberty, 2) process-based equality, justice, and fairness, 3) enumerated powers, 4) separation of powers, and 5) sovereignty of the individual....
6/ 6) a common, shared, base of knowledge about the human condition, 7) a similar shared knowledge of history, 8) an empirical, holistic, style of thinking that accepts the world as it is.
[6 and 7, together, provide the basic knowledge that explains why 1-5 are essential.]
[6 and 7, together, provide the basic knowledge that explains why 1-5 are essential.]
7/ The virus is the antithesis of these. It is characterized by the Enlightenment on the Continent, and includes a) positive liberty, b) outcome based equality, justice, and fairness, c) consolidated, concentrated power, d) collectivism,...
8/ ...e) insufficient knowledge of human nature and human history, f) an idealistic thinking style centered on “ought.”
9/ The virus is specious, and insidious. It gains initial traction because on the surface it seems plausible, attractive, beneficial. It then proceeds in a gradual, subtle, way, that in the end is harmful. By the time the harm is recognized it’s too late.
It is a siren song.
It is a siren song.
10/ The social immune system, like civil society itself, is difficult to create and maintain but easy to destroy.
Each white blood cell, on its own, is vulnerable to the virus.
A breakdown in any one or two of them can allow the virus to strengthen and overwhelm the others.
Each white blood cell, on its own, is vulnerable to the virus.
A breakdown in any one or two of them can allow the virus to strengthen and overwhelm the others.
11/ Eternal vigilance in the maintenance of the immune system is therefore required. This is reflected in ideas like “Freedom is never more than one generation away from being lost.”
12/ What has happened is that the vigilance has failed and the virus has taken over.
13/ It happened gradually, hiding in plain sight, right before our eyes.
With hindsight it can be traced backward in time from today’s wokism to the cultural revolution of the ‘60s, and The Great Society. Before that The New Deal. Before that the progressive era.
With hindsight it can be traced backward in time from today’s wokism to the cultural revolution of the ‘60s, and The Great Society. Before that The New Deal. Before that the progressive era.
14/ The tipping point was reached during the campaign and election of Obama.
“We are the ones we have been waiting for.”
“We are the ones we have been waiting for.”
15/ It was then that the virus reached critical mass; people afflicted by it felt the safety in numbers to come out, as it were, and the virus asserted itself.
areomagazine.com/2018/10/26/wha…
areomagazine.com/2018/10/26/wha…
16/ This being the case, it seems that efforts to increase viewpoint diversity or bridge the ideological divide seem too little too late; as powerless and effective as trying to stop an avalanche after it has started.
17/ It seems, therefore, that the best, and possibly only, path forward that seems likely to be effective is to boost the immune system with the vaccine of knowledge.
Replace the insufficient knowledge of human nature and of human history with sufficient knowledge.
Replace the insufficient knowledge of human nature and of human history with sufficient knowledge.
18/ Avert future avalanches by preventing the buildup of snow.
Not to indoctrinate, but to provide the common foundation of knowledge that is the basis of understanding from which *healthy* debate can proceed.
Not to indoctrinate, but to provide the common foundation of knowledge that is the basis of understanding from which *healthy* debate can proceed.
