We’ve Misunderstood Human Nature for 100 Years
It’s a source of today’s intense political animosity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/22/opinion/human-nature-polarization-predator.html?smid=em-share
Month: January 2025
****** NYTimes.com: How the Democrats Lost the Working Class
How the Democrats Lost the Working Class
The theory seemed sound: Stabilize financial markets, support the poor and promote a more secure, integrated world. But blue-collar workers were left behind.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/us/politics/democrats-working-class.html?smid=em-share
Against Guilty History
“History should always be told in full,” writes @davidfrum. “But we don’t correct past wrongs committed in a liberal democracy by defaming the ideal itself”:
***** Stalin’s Revenge
********* Why Technology Favors Tyranny
Artificial intelligence will further concentrate power among a small elite if we don’t take steps to stop it, @harari_yuval writes:
In the 20th century, the masses revolted against exploitation and sought to translate their vital role in the economy into political power. Now the masses fear irrelevance, and they are frantic to use their remaining political power before it is too late. Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump may therefore demonstrate a trajectory opposite to that of traditional socialist revolutions. The Russian, Chinese, and Cuban revolutions were made by people who were vital to the economy but lacked political power; in 2016, Trump and Brexit were supported by many people who still enjoyed political power but feared they were losing their economic worth. Perhaps in the 21st century, populist revolts will be staged not against an economic elite that exploits people but against an economic elite that does not need them anymore. This may well be a losing battle. It is much harder to struggle against irrelevance than against exploitation.
***** Why Technology Favors Tyranny
Artificial intelligence will further concentrate power among a small elite if we don’t take steps to stop it, @harari_yuval writes:
********** The Rise of Techno-authoritarianism
;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px”> No more “build it because we can.” No more algorithmic feedbags. No more infrastructure designed to make the people less powerful and the powerful more controlling. Every day we vote with our attention; it is precious, and desperately wanted by those who will use it against us for their own profit and political goals. Don’t let them.