Caldwell must be onto something, because his important work and crucial insight into our national schism has been completely ignored and anathematized—of course in the sacred beliefs held by our educated betters anything less than blind obedient worship to anything labeled "Civil Rights" must be denounced as blasphemy.
For people on the Left side of the aisle, the Civil Rights Narrative is their version of the Hero's Journey or the 7 Stations of the Cross, the sacred founding story & worldview they hold and that explains the world and their place in it. It also provides the moral rationale for why they deserve to rule over and police the thoughts and words of the rest of us.
It is tremendously ironic how liberalism began as a reaction to theocracy and will end by becoming its own theocracy. History always has a great sense of humor.
My view of our current state is that most issues are class wars disguised as culture wars. This keeps the plebes infighting while the oligarchs can grab more power as the masses are distracted. I’m glad to see there are tech elites who don’t buy into the tribalism and can ride the center.
1) If you think that groups have equal ability, equal outcomes seems like an inevitable result.
2) Groups having equal ability is essential to the concept of civil rights.
If they don't have equal ability, for instance if blacks are significantly more violent, then things like whites only Levittown's just seem like sensible consumer preference people can enter into freely. You could say the same for education (slow black learners will slow down the classroom), etc.
Segregation goes from "irrational hatred" to "rational preference".
A lot of this happened unofficially through price discrimination post 1964, but it was immensely more expensive process then actual discrimination.
3) Nobody likes the idea of people having unequal ability, even if you take race out. What parent wants to hear "your kid has about the same IQ as you and they are going to have the same dead end job as you, we can't educate him."
4) The idea of bad outcomes being a rational equilibrium to a given context (however unfortunate) rather then the actions of irrational and evil people (who are not you or your friends) that can be overcome by the good guys is unsettling to people. People have like a Marvel Movie level of moral understanding these days.
this was excellent, thanks!
Caldwell must be onto something, because his important work and crucial insight into our national schism has been completely ignored and anathematized—of course in the sacred beliefs held by our educated betters anything less than blind obedient worship to anything labeled "Civil Rights" must be denounced as blasphemy.
For people on the Left side of the aisle, the Civil Rights Narrative is their version of the Hero's Journey or the 7 Stations of the Cross, the sacred founding story & worldview they hold and that explains the world and their place in it. It also provides the moral rationale for why they deserve to rule over and police the thoughts and words of the rest of us.
It is tremendously ironic how liberalism began as a reaction to theocracy and will end by becoming its own theocracy. History always has a great sense of humor.
Very similar to this as well - https://www.richardhanania.com/p/woke-institutions-is-just-civil-rights
As someone who came to Caldwell very recently, it's astounding how prescient he was and how timely his work still feels.
This short essay is a great, quick summary of these ideas and I'll be following the series with great interest
My view of our current state is that most issues are class wars disguised as culture wars. This keeps the plebes infighting while the oligarchs can grab more power as the masses are distracted. I’m glad to see there are tech elites who don’t buy into the tribalism and can ride the center.
1) If you think that groups have equal ability, equal outcomes seems like an inevitable result.
2) Groups having equal ability is essential to the concept of civil rights.
If they don't have equal ability, for instance if blacks are significantly more violent, then things like whites only Levittown's just seem like sensible consumer preference people can enter into freely. You could say the same for education (slow black learners will slow down the classroom), etc.
Segregation goes from "irrational hatred" to "rational preference".
A lot of this happened unofficially through price discrimination post 1964, but it was immensely more expensive process then actual discrimination.
3) Nobody likes the idea of people having unequal ability, even if you take race out. What parent wants to hear "your kid has about the same IQ as you and they are going to have the same dead end job as you, we can't educate him."
4) The idea of bad outcomes being a rational equilibrium to a given context (however unfortunate) rather then the actions of irrational and evil people (who are not you or your friends) that can be overcome by the good guys is unsettling to people. People have like a Marvel Movie level of moral understanding these days.