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I’ve noticed the conservatives? Alt-right? People on T_D on Reddit? Have started calling liberals “NPCs” (non player characters in video gaming terms). On both sides it’s a worrying trend of dehumanizing the other. A trend of cutting economic ties (boycotts, getting people fired) is also worrying, because you don’t go to war with people you trade with. Cutting economic ties is a sign of impending conflict.

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Countries do go to war with countries they trade with. People were saying record high levels of trade would prevent war ... in Europe, right before world war 1

To be fair they were totally right that going to war would be a terrible idea but they did it anyway - given that World War 1 pretty much killed off the ruling aristocracy, lead to countless suffering, and stagnation. If they were smart it would have prevented the war but as Bismark predicted it all blew up over a fool thing in the Balkans.

It is like MAD - the assumptions are based upon rational actors which is why they are terrified of proliferation beyond just others getting in their clubhouse.

NPC is a general meme, there are many of NPC wearing maga hates, etc. Lets not make it partisian in the vein of pepe.

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