Comments on: Society Is Fixed, Biology Is Mutable

By: Barnabas

Barnabas — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 19:28:50 +0000

It looks very likely that we get South American style communism along with a Hugo Chavez type populist leftist dictator in my lifetime.

By: Toddy Cat

Toddy Cat — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 15:47:23 +0000

“It’s probably as close as we can realistically get to communism”

I have a sickening feeling we’re going to get a lot closer.

By: James James

James James — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 15:16:28 +0000

“I think when Moldbug talks about America being a communist country, at least half of what he is saying is ‘Consider my idiosyncratic definition of communism.’”

Yes, AIACC is a koan.

By: Alrenous

Alrenous — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 20:17:49 +0000

When Moldbug says AIACC he means Communism and realpolitik are kissing cousins while what-hobbits-think-Democracy-is lives on the other side of town. If we’re lumping, communism wins. Of course it’s not Slavic communism; that would never fly in the Anglosphere. It’s probably as close as we can realistically get to communism, though.

Alexander is good at naming things I already know about. Alexander is very, very bad at coming up with true things I don’t already know about. (“Oh, confirmation bias.” Then why would I agree with him more when he’s closer to his actual trained expertise?)

I can’t even honestly give him points for not pointing-and-sputtering, since he replaces it with Sophistry. That’s a wash.

By: Barnabas

Barnabas — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 17:17:37 +0000

I think Alexander has been good for NRxn. There is a real tendency to attack a caricature of liberalism and Alexander makes a good foil. He argues fairly and doesn’t just point and sputter. I have found his motte and bailey concept very useful.

By: Toddy Cat

Toddy Cat — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 15:13:01 +0000

If that’s the case, I owe Alexander an apology, but I’ve got to say that I doubt it. It kind of reminds me of all those people back in 2005 who argued that our strategy in Iraq only looked stupid, that it was actually part of some deeper plan. No such luck, at least until the Surge. Yeah, Alexander might be a closet reactionary, but to me, he just looks like a typical Social Justice lefty, who has a better than usual understanding of his opponents’ case and occasional misgivings about his own side.

By: Alex J.

Alex J. — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 14:20:18 +0000

I think when Moldbug talks about America being a communist country, at least half of what he is saying is “Consider my idiosyncratic definition of communism.”

Maybe Alexander doesn’t intend this, but if people can be persuaded that mutable biology is important, they’re one step closer to acknowledging the importance of genetic biology.

By: Space Nookie

Space Nookie — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 10:21:52 +0000

I’m pretty sure one of the themes of Brave New World is the use of “biology” to transform human beings into bio-robots that love their servitude.

By: Toddy Cat

Toddy Cat — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 19:32:40 +0000

I’m not sure about me, but it does seem that Alexander is using the words differently than most people do when they talk about society and biology. Most people wouldn’t consider taking an iron supplement as an example of “mutable biology”. When someone on the Right says that biology is fixed, by “biology” they don’t mean lack of iron or protein or lead exposure or something, and Scott knows it.

It’s the same reason I had problems with Moldbug calling the United States “A Communist Country”, and then coming up with his own, highly idiosyncratic definition of “Communism”. Alexander is using a definition of biology as anything that pertains to the human body. OK, fair enough, but that’s not how most people who talk about biology in a political context use it.

By: Aretae

Aretae — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 17:28:09 +0000

Well, the idea that solving social problems is basically impossible doesn’t seem to be false from where I sit. Whereas, we’ve had a lot of success solving biological problems: lead, malnutrition, etc.

Are you using the words differently than Scott is?