Comments on: The Amish have been breeding themselves for plainness https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Thu, 28 May 2026 14:07:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3558213 Jim Sun, 07 Aug 2022 05:08:36 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3558213 “ethnic German”

]]> By: Harry Jones https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3558163 Harry Jones Sat, 06 Aug 2022 21:19:17 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3558163 Depends. How quickly can they give up their pacifism?

]]> By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3558151 Jim Sat, 06 Aug 2022 18:47:34 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3558151 And Harry Jones, pray tell, how quickly and effectively do you think a group of hard-working, down-to-earth ethnic German agricultural folk can mobilize to secure their living space?

https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2015/10/cropped-HeaderImage_withWM.jpg

]]> By: Harry Jones https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3558144 Harry Jones Sat, 06 Aug 2022 18:16:16 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3558144 Defense is always relevant.

No free ride lasts forever. The Amish survive and prosper in a terrarium created by the US government. Said government is looking shaky.

]]> By: Bomag https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3558100 Bomag Sat, 06 Aug 2022 12:00:54 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3558100 I wonder what the Amish defense budget is?

Teacher might have to step in here and explain it for us slow ones.

I initially thought it a compliment: those who spend less on defense in the modern world have higher fertility and social cohesion.

But maybe it’s a criticism: the Amish are drafting off the security provided by non-Amish.

]]> By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3558019 Jim Fri, 05 Aug 2022 22:08:31 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3558019 Harry Jones: “I wonder what the Amish defense budget is?”

You’re too smart to sincerely ask such an irrelevant question.

]]> By: Jim https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3558018 Jim Fri, 05 Aug 2022 22:05:35 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3558018 Uneducated: “If they read the Bible and steer clear of college, they’re well educated. Won’t be many engineers or doctors among them, but we’d all be better off without most doctors.”

No, you don’t understand. “Well-educated” doesn’t mean being steeped in a culture derived substantially from the Bible, it means having a piece of paper from an accredited institution given the stamp of approval by middle-class bureaucrats and lawyers.

]]> By: Harry Jones https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3557987 Harry Jones Fri, 05 Aug 2022 16:34:15 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3557987 I wonder what the Amish defense budget is?

]]> By: Bob Sykes https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3557961 Bob Sykes Fri, 05 Aug 2022 13:07:16 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3557961 Some years ago, the Columbus Dispatch published and analysis of Amish farm economics. Amish farms are substantially more profitable than conventional farms, despite the substantially lower yields.

Amish profits depend on: (1) no powered machinery, (fuels, maintenance, capital investment); (2) no fertilizer (other than manure) or insecticides; (3) unpaid family labor and sharing labor with neighbors (barn raisings); cash only finances (no interest costs).

It helps to live modestly and to be industrious, too.

Amish (and Mennonite) farms have spread all across the Midwest from eastern Pennsylvania to western Iowa. Their population is rapidly expanding; they are the only white ethnic group with above replacement fertility.

This is Darwinism writ large. The Amish are adaptive to their environment, which includes the wider economy and society. The low birthrate of other whites indicates they, their social practices, and their economic practices are not adaptive.

Better learn “the Deutch.”

]]> By: W2 https://www.isegoria.net/2022/08/the-amish-have-been-breeding-themselves-for-plainness/comment-page-1/#comment-3557887 W2 Fri, 05 Aug 2022 01:42:18 +0000 https://www.isegoria.net/?p=49134#comment-3557887 If they read the Bible and steer clear of college, they’re well educated. Won’t be many engineers or doctors among them, but we’d all be better off without most doctors.

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