Previously: Preamble Chapter 1 - The Why Chapter 1 digressions [audio available here, courtesy of AskWho] Chapter 2 - THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CULTURE CRAFTING This chapter starts with the following words: A culture’s growth and long-term viability are dependent on only four variables:
I really liked the detail they went into with how (in)effective proselytizing is for the Mormon church. I was raised in the Mormon church, and I remember even as a missionary having the feeling that we were there primarily for our benefit. I think I remember them talking about this in the chapter, that making the members go out and proselytize serves as a way to reinforce their commitment to the culture.
Ideally though, any proselytizing that's done by the members of a culture is done because it really improves their lives and is something they genuinely want to share with others. When you've read a good book or seen a good movie, no one has to tell you to go out and tell your friends about it, you just do it.
"The Collinses are not fans of cultural conversion. They say it is ineffective (“cultures with high cultural adoption proliferate over the short term but die quickly over the long run”) and imply that it is immoral (“harvesting the children of another culture”)."
That quote, and everything else, sounds very right-wing to me. Like, the actual right wing that affiliates with eg the KKK, not "the right wing" as conservatives and Republicans. They're saying "culture", but their view that cultures survive through physical reproduction and child indoctrination implies that only race-based cultures survive. Combining that with other things they say (e.g., "Offering tax-advantaged status or highly sought-after jobs only to members of the culture in question can significantly boost conversions") imply that they can survive only by being racist.
That doesn't logically imply that they're wrong, but we should be aware that this line of thinking leads most naturally to conflict theory and racial survival-of-the-fittest. They are de-cognitivizing culture, denying that it's memetic. Any approach to culture which de-emphasizes public debate and conversion is anti-Enlightenment and leads to some analog of Nazism and might-makes-right. If humans are so stupid that this is really the best they can do, it's time to get rid of them and replace them with AI.
Perhaps they have more to say later on about genetics which would lend itself to claims of racism, but I think they are primarily making the claim that immersion in a culture from a very young age is a superior way of propagating the culture compared to conversion later in life. I do not know if that claim holds up, but it does not require racist axioms.
> This would suggest to me that it would be good to have a culture that makes having children more easy and more fun/rewarding for everyone.
A culture that makes people tougher such that it's not such a burden to raise children is another solution, and one that I think would be quite appealing. Similar dynamic to Christianity spreading in the comparatively degenerate Roman empire.
I really liked the detail they went into with how (in)effective proselytizing is for the Mormon church. I was raised in the Mormon church, and I remember even as a missionary having the feeling that we were there primarily for our benefit. I think I remember them talking about this in the chapter, that making the members go out and proselytize serves as a way to reinforce their commitment to the culture.
Ideally though, any proselytizing that's done by the members of a culture is done because it really improves their lives and is something they genuinely want to share with others. When you've read a good book or seen a good movie, no one has to tell you to go out and tell your friends about it, you just do it.
"The Collinses are not fans of cultural conversion. They say it is ineffective (“cultures with high cultural adoption proliferate over the short term but die quickly over the long run”) and imply that it is immoral (“harvesting the children of another culture”)."
That quote, and everything else, sounds very right-wing to me. Like, the actual right wing that affiliates with eg the KKK, not "the right wing" as conservatives and Republicans. They're saying "culture", but their view that cultures survive through physical reproduction and child indoctrination implies that only race-based cultures survive. Combining that with other things they say (e.g., "Offering tax-advantaged status or highly sought-after jobs only to members of the culture in question can significantly boost conversions") imply that they can survive only by being racist.
That doesn't logically imply that they're wrong, but we should be aware that this line of thinking leads most naturally to conflict theory and racial survival-of-the-fittest. They are de-cognitivizing culture, denying that it's memetic. Any approach to culture which de-emphasizes public debate and conversion is anti-Enlightenment and leads to some analog of Nazism and might-makes-right. If humans are so stupid that this is really the best they can do, it's time to get rid of them and replace them with AI.
Making this about race seems a stretch.
It does have a tribal ring to it, which you could also call clannish, but I mean that in the clan with a C, not the Klan with a K manner.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clan
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Klan
Perhaps they have more to say later on about genetics which would lend itself to claims of racism, but I think they are primarily making the claim that immersion in a culture from a very young age is a superior way of propagating the culture compared to conversion later in life. I do not know if that claim holds up, but it does not require racist axioms.
Yeah, given the current environment, I should probably just shut up. There's no shortage of witch-hunters.
> This would suggest to me that it would be good to have a culture that makes having children more easy and more fun/rewarding for everyone.
A culture that makes people tougher such that it's not such a burden to raise children is another solution, and one that I think would be quite appealing. Similar dynamic to Christianity spreading in the comparatively degenerate Roman empire.
AI reading of this post:
https://open.substack.com/pub/askwhocastsai/p/pragmatists-guide-to-crafting-religion-400