"I have said for a long time that I believe in rule by a military caste of men who would be able to guide society toward a morality of eugenics. I am indifferent to economics as long as economic activity is subordinate to the interest of this caste and their project."
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think you're approaching the answer from the wrong question. I agree with the second sentence, but I find the first stale.
For some time now my thoughts have distilled into "what's the first question we should be asking" and for me this is the (age old) "what's the meaning?" of life.
Eugenics for the sake of eugenics is like conquest for the sake of conquest. It's a mindless endeavor and needlessly cruel. What's love got to do with it?
Later in your essay you cite the purpose of Christianity being the salvation of the soul, hence placing spiritual men in positions of dominion (in ages past), as an illustration of the higher calling of placing society over the individual. And there's undoubtedly truth to this, but the institution of the church was corrupt, imperfect, like everything else and every religion addicted to power and social control. What was before, or after, was not necessarily better, but reimagined Christendom is just as Hollywierd. Nietzsche, as well as all the thinkers preceding and following him, would never have emerged if the rotten system of controls hadn't been pushed aside.
And so today we're kinda stuck. We can't get to ground 0, yet we need to start over. And (at least I think) we know power corrupts, that hierarchies not born in virtue or aligned with (for lack of a better word) God and/or spirituality, descend into tyranny.
So until a self evident answer arises or a noble strongman comes along to place the answer on an altar and build a pantheon around it, and then vacate the position (obviously creating something akin to an honor guard etc), we're fucked.
I dig your writing, but all the stuff about fascism or worse, and monarchism, for me that's best confined to the rubbish bin of history. It didn't work out before so thinking it'll work out in the future is like listening to young communists blabbering about real communism not been tried because it was hijacked.
I think everything flows from what's the meaning of life. Great read, thanks for sharing 👍🏼
I'd be interested in thoughts around another movie's society Staarship Troopers, but not the mocking hack the director took it in to demean "fascism"... but rather the actual underlying philosophy proposed by the books writer Robert Heinlein.
Something akin to Autarchism, but in short a highly moral, high trust society that promotes individualism with safeguards for corruption. Only those that "served others by sacrifice" i.e. veterans had right to vote or to run for office, bit not while serving as that be a conflict of interest. Want to be merchant? Fine but no voting rights, harder to get agency, etc... lets those that have shown desire for greater good be only ones that can lead. Others free to live as they choose just accept lack of federal benefits.
The safeguards Heinlein envisions are impossible in the multi-ethnic society of the book. Heinlein has a reputation as The Based golden age sci-fi writer but he was still a believer in the idea of multi-culturalism and didn't seem to judge foreign societies on the outcomes they created. In this he was just another liberal.
Military junta-style governance aside, I always thought the most enduring theme I interpret here and in BAM was somehow the impossibility of politics due to most of mankind falling into the "mere life" category and a death instinct that undergirds all political projects.
This is my take on communitarianism. The way I see it is that if you want space travel or technological development, you cannot keep wasting resources on shipping fruitcups from China. Let me know what ya think.
I think that was an episode of Deep Space Nine. Or Trek recycled the episode, because that exactly describes the plot of a DS9 episode (Sisko and Bashir, if I recall correctly).
BAP is in fact referencing the Deep Space Nine season 2 episode titled "Paradise". The episode is not really a recycle but the theme of a society devolving and any question of the devolved state being suppressed is pretty common in science fiction. Could compare this to the Original Series episode "For The World is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky", many similarities.
Prince george of england will Arise have many Circassian wifelets, breed new race of Anglo nobility then sail forth to CONQUER a melted Greenland, majestic central valley I have seen this yes yes i mainline nicotine yes
“America” (and I don’t think, and I apologize if I’m being overly hyperbolic) is a corporation. A corporation where the population believes it exist within a thing called a nation.
Did you just call me Chomsky-lite . . . followed by several ad hominems? Maybe youth, inexperience, and ignorance has gotten in the way of your reasoning abilities.
….now there’s a string of ad hominems….
Nothing fruitful comes from these sorts of exchanges. Why don’t you pick a paragraph or two from the above and we can work through it together …and we’ll see if it’s actually word salad gibberish or simple plain language …
It would only be characteristic that a Chomsky-lite in the bastardized "educational" system would be unable to understand a text so tangible and simple. If you had any real ideas you'd be barred from teaching. Instead you'll support slow steady western decline that your old butt won't experience anyways...
"I have said for a long time that I believe in rule by a military caste of men who would be able to guide society toward a morality of eugenics. I am indifferent to economics as long as economic activity is subordinate to the interest of this caste and their project."
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think you're approaching the answer from the wrong question. I agree with the second sentence, but I find the first stale.
For some time now my thoughts have distilled into "what's the first question we should be asking" and for me this is the (age old) "what's the meaning?" of life.
Eugenics for the sake of eugenics is like conquest for the sake of conquest. It's a mindless endeavor and needlessly cruel. What's love got to do with it?
Later in your essay you cite the purpose of Christianity being the salvation of the soul, hence placing spiritual men in positions of dominion (in ages past), as an illustration of the higher calling of placing society over the individual. And there's undoubtedly truth to this, but the institution of the church was corrupt, imperfect, like everything else and every religion addicted to power and social control. What was before, or after, was not necessarily better, but reimagined Christendom is just as Hollywierd. Nietzsche, as well as all the thinkers preceding and following him, would never have emerged if the rotten system of controls hadn't been pushed aside.
And so today we're kinda stuck. We can't get to ground 0, yet we need to start over. And (at least I think) we know power corrupts, that hierarchies not born in virtue or aligned with (for lack of a better word) God and/or spirituality, descend into tyranny.
So until a self evident answer arises or a noble strongman comes along to place the answer on an altar and build a pantheon around it, and then vacate the position (obviously creating something akin to an honor guard etc), we're fucked.
I dig your writing, but all the stuff about fascism or worse, and monarchism, for me that's best confined to the rubbish bin of history. It didn't work out before so thinking it'll work out in the future is like listening to young communists blabbering about real communism not been tried because it was hijacked.
I think everything flows from what's the meaning of life. Great read, thanks for sharing 👍🏼
So that Mark Walberg scifi movie was about what Earth would look like if jewish women were actually in charge?
Mind Blown...
I'd be interested in thoughts around another movie's society Staarship Troopers, but not the mocking hack the director took it in to demean "fascism"... but rather the actual underlying philosophy proposed by the books writer Robert Heinlein.
Something akin to Autarchism, but in short a highly moral, high trust society that promotes individualism with safeguards for corruption. Only those that "served others by sacrifice" i.e. veterans had right to vote or to run for office, bit not while serving as that be a conflict of interest. Want to be merchant? Fine but no voting rights, harder to get agency, etc... lets those that have shown desire for greater good be only ones that can lead. Others free to live as they choose just accept lack of federal benefits.
The safeguards Heinlein envisions are impossible in the multi-ethnic society of the book. Heinlein has a reputation as The Based golden age sci-fi writer but he was still a believer in the idea of multi-culturalism and didn't seem to judge foreign societies on the outcomes they created. In this he was just another liberal.
Military junta-style governance aside, I always thought the most enduring theme I interpret here and in BAM was somehow the impossibility of politics due to most of mankind falling into the "mere life" category and a death instinct that undergirds all political projects.
I largely agree with every but the eugenics.
It is a materialist conception to think such practices won’t morally degrade a nation and people. This moral degradation is deadly long term
https://open.substack.com/pub/tompnoid/p/the-communitarian-manifesto?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=tcsdl
This is my take on communitarianism. The way I see it is that if you want space travel or technological development, you cannot keep wasting resources on shipping fruitcups from China. Let me know what ya think.
I think that was an episode of Deep Space Nine. Or Trek recycled the episode, because that exactly describes the plot of a DS9 episode (Sisko and Bashir, if I recall correctly).
BAP is in fact referencing the Deep Space Nine season 2 episode titled "Paradise". The episode is not really a recycle but the theme of a society devolving and any question of the devolved state being suppressed is pretty common in science fiction. Could compare this to the Original Series episode "For The World is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky", many similarities.
Prince george of england will Arise have many Circassian wifelets, breed new race of Anglo nobility then sail forth to CONQUER a melted Greenland, majestic central valley I have seen this yes yes i mainline nicotine yes
I agree. America is not hyper capitalism.
“America” (and I don’t think, and I apologize if I’m being overly hyperbolic) is a corporation. A corporation where the population believes it exist within a thing called a nation.
So maybe it is one kind of hyper capitalism
congrats on not getting it
Did you just call me Chomsky-lite . . . followed by several ad hominems? Maybe youth, inexperience, and ignorance has gotten in the way of your reasoning abilities.
….now there’s a string of ad hominems….
Nothing fruitful comes from these sorts of exchanges. Why don’t you pick a paragraph or two from the above and we can work through it together …and we’ll see if it’s actually word salad gibberish or simple plain language …
Read more philosophy
It would only be characteristic that a Chomsky-lite in the bastardized "educational" system would be unable to understand a text so tangible and simple. If you had any real ideas you'd be barred from teaching. Instead you'll support slow steady western decline that your old butt won't experience anyways...