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Comment by seibelj | Hacker News Reader

I’m passionate about Bitcoin, Ethereum, Catholicism, the destruction of the state, the lowering of taxes, the betterment of society on individualistic terms, the rise of private schools and the death of public indoctrination. The future is truth and the ruination of government lies. And every day I see more evidence that the socialist order is decaying.

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How do you think about individualism, tech and Christianity? There's a difference between an individual and a person with Catholicism I think, and the individualistic approach to life I have heard goes hand in hand with pride, going it alone, rejecting God, others, and ones whole personhood. We live in relation to others.

Another thing we hear is that the modern world is in it's troublesome state because of the individualistic "me-first" selfish view of life. The rejection of Church is because people think they can have all the answers in themselves as an isolated individual for example.

Collectivism / socialism is the opposite to individualism and that's also a mistake obviously - so there's a middle ground which is more social but also respectful of each persons personhood.

I mean, have you thought about this deeply? Its something I've been pondering about - I can see it's right there in these new technologies.

Maybe there's a way to be actually social with the new tech? (where the old "social media" of the past drived us apart.) I don't see it though, just people going it alone more.

The government murdered the son of god which is a foundational element of Christianity.

The Catholic Church is a supranational entity that will survive as nation states rise and fall. No one in 2022 puts a gun to your head to join nor stay inside it. There is no forced tithe. You are encouraged voluntarily to donate money and assist others but unlike the government not doing so is something you have to deal with yourself.

All churches and orders generally have to be self sustaining. The Vatican is not cutting checks - money flows up but doesn’t flow down and they will close churches if they aren’t cutting the mustard. This encourages self sufficiency and creativity. For example my church owns a lot of rental property and has other income generating assets.

Catholic schools are generally far superior to the local public schools. They charge reasonable rates. I live in an expensive city and the local Catholic elementary school is $10k per year which is a deal considering the public school spends $25k per student and you’d have to be out of options to send your child there because of the violence and awful nature of the education (basically ranked 1/10 nationally).

It’s hilarious that you think I haven’t thought about this deeply. What’s more shocking is that people go through life oblivious to human nature and reality. They think by taxing productive citizens and enterprises all of societal flaws can be solved. The true solution is to let all of us work communally to solve our issues and keep the greedy, evil, self serving, and venal politicians away from the wealth we earned with our own hands.

by "I mean, have you thought about this deeply? " I was asking if you had because I hadn't and was curious and am looking for someone who had. Hence the question. Sorry if I offended. I do not mean to imply that you have not. I have not encountered a Catholic tech individualist before (but am a Catholic). It's entirely possibly you are not an "individualist", sorry. Its also possibly that I'm combining two of your interests (blockchain-ish + catholicism) which you have separate feelings and interests about, if that's the case, apologies. I have an interest in mycology and catholicism but I don't have any theories combining the two!

Also, see, I am not the same user(s) who replied to your original comment, but looking at their replies I can understand that you have, what appears to me to be written a defensive response. It was not the one that I was looking for. So I'm sorry. It's cool, brother. Sometimes I get worked up and reply to others still in a heated frame of mind based on something before someone else said, so I can understand when it happens, if it did.

I am curious about individualism and catholicism and these new technologies. I'm less interested in tech and government which is common here in HN, as evidenced by the other responses you got. Maybe you could provide me with the equivalent of some AOL keywords - if suitable. This might be better just to get me started than trying to parse my awkward questions!

It seems to me that individualism is the opposite of communitarianism - both extremes have their problems which Catholicism points out. What do you think? Do you see individualism and libertarianism occurring more often with Anarchist, atheism or neo-paganism or not, perhaps how is Christianity more suitable here? But really, it's this question and how it relates to new technologies. Do these technologies help us work communally, or just a tool like the stuff most of us use to be used one way or the other, or something else? How is it different from a self organising Anarchist community vision? Is it a really New Thing I guess I'm asking?

We are social creatures and I absolutely believe in community and helping each other. My issue is that other people want to use the state to solve all of their favored issues, and fund this by stealing from citizens such as myself. It’s especially bad because the recent vintage of politicians exclusively attack the rich and pretend that purely by stealing from them all the money can be found, when instead they should be advocating for shared sacrifice by all to achieve their aims. It’s class warfare mixed with naivety and it’s lies because the rich are far more nimble and able to avoid such taxes than the demagogues believe. They don’t advocate for broad tax increases because then their “something for nothing” mantra falls apart and suddenly their solutions are far less popular.

In terms of Catholicism I’m not sure there is a lot of writing specifically about how the tech industry and it intertwine. I believe that if you are a healthy individual and have nothing preventing you from working then it is your duty to be a productive member of society to help your family, friends, and those around you. The whole point of the teaching and faith is that it’s universal and timeless - doesn’t matter if we are peasants 1000 years ago or on a space ship 1000 years into the future. Just because I’m in technology doesn’t change anything or make me different from a janitor, doctor, or craftsmen.

In terms of technology for myself I see writing software as not dissimilar to constructing buildings or bridges - it’s an act of creativity that creates something out of nothing and I find beauty in the systems produced. If you are curious about Catholicism or something inside of you is seeking answers it may be worth reaching out to your local parish, they are always happy to chat.

Thanks. I also love the line about "peasants 1000 years ago or on a space ship 1000 years into the future" - we tend to get caught up in our present time and tools. I will try to remember that.

I can see where you are coming from regarding tax and the state, and agree with you on the attack on the rich as a kind of naive resentful class warfare.

I would _love_ any semblance of evidence that the current order is in any form socialist

Depends on your world view. I give ~40% of my income to a decrepit government where I have no say how it’s spent. My city pays $25,000 USD per public school student and the results have not only been atrocious for decades but are declining year after year. Government jobs require college credentials… colleges whose accreditation are approved by the government, in some circular fashion of reciprocal approval. Our medical system is in shambles. I really don’t know how to convince people that the government has ruined society if they can’t see it themselves - the solution for statists is always to steal money from actually productive people like myself.

How much have you travelled? From my experiences there are plenty of nations/states that make higher taxation work for the people.

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Did you consider that perhaps having students from less wealthy and educated families enroll would cause "declining results"? The best way to ensure perfect scores is to exclude underperforming kids from families where parents didn't go to university and/or have to choose between soap and bread at the supermarket instead of educating their child.

I'm still genuinely amused every time I see a Westerner living in a democratic country claim their government is dysfunctional, lying, stealing and bad. First, compared to what country? Second, can't you elect a different government? If enough people agree with you they would vote for it, and if not enough agree then perhaps you are in a minority. If unlike many people on this planet you have a mechanism for peaceful replacement of power it seems strange to call for a revolution.

So... are there any countries in the world that are not socialist by your definition? Maybe China? It has, perhaps, lower taxes and better public schools.

Developed countries were created over centuries. They have a giant amount of legacy cruft and baggage that may have made sense in an older world but no longer does. They have no reason nor incentive to reform themselves and its workers are mindless drones that never think if their work has any value because the institution lacks the market test.

China is an authoritarian godless dictatorship that will put a bullet in your head if you disagree with the dictator. This is the antithesis of freedom and the free will given to each of us.

The existence of overwhelmed workers who don't have any energy (or desire) to think outside of their daily routine is a shared characteristic of all economic regimes in sufficiently large countries. It's not due to "socialism in the US" or capitalism somewhere else. Lowering taxes or improving public school system won't solve that completely. And, just to note, Catholicism doesn't encourage freethinking either.

Catholicism has no issue with science as any scientific fact was established by god and therefore is fine. You may be thinking about Baptists or similar groups with literal interpretations of the bible. The church really doesn't have any mandates other than the Nicene Creed and no one has to agree with everything the Vatican mandates, our priest and deacon both disagree with certain elements of the official doctrine. God gave humans free will and therefore the capacity to sin. You are allowed to think anything you want, there is no mandate.

I appreciate your explanation!

I see you are frustrated you can’t convince others that government is the root of all problems. Have you considered that you might be wrong?

Serious problems require serious efforts to understand and solve. Calling people names like “statists”, you sound like a toddler following some ideological talking points. Use the Internet and library to expand your perspective. Grow up.

Statist is a term for someone who thinks the state can solve society’s problems. There is never a solution that doesn’t involve the government and never a situation where giving more taxes (and it’s always the rich who must pay - never the masses!) is the wrong answer.

In my view an increasing number of people are agreeing with me. You won’t see it in the mainstream media because they are also statists whose worldview is wrong and intolerant. You are witnessing them scream and cry and whine that democracy is failing, the climate is failing and the world is ending, basically the apocalypse is upon us and you need to be scared and afraid 24/7. Whereas the people I know don’t give a shit and don’t believe those lies. It’s like an alternate planet where hyper-online people actually think the world is ending and all the normal people stopped believing those lies.

Have you considered that your market-rate could be 66% up (166*0.6=100) because everybody in your market has to pay 40% and wants to have a certain living standard? Or the other way round: how much will your income fall if taxes would be abolished?

If you want to see change, link up with other productive people. It takes one to get one. Those 40% are kind of a global standard. Instead of fighting big government, why not help to make it productive?

Philosophically the government is the one holding the gun. I want it as tiny and efficient as possible with the minimum number of guns pointed at its citizens. There is no way you can give politicians, nor any human, the exclusive right to giant amounts of money and not expect them to be corrupted. If you didn’t earn the money and you aren’t responsible for keeping the productive enterprises working then you simply don’t care and will never understand. It’s always about stealing more money to feed the ever hungry Leviathan.

And believe me I am linked up with other productive people all dedicated to reducing the size and scope of the immoral and unsalvageable corrupt state.

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