Death of the nation state?
878 karma · joined June 10, 2008
I have another app that tracks all my usage (time ) at an application. Window level, but I purchased it because it saves locally.
Also had the issue with modem, paging through the manual figured out the initialisation string
AT&FX1
In Africa there is the concept of Ubuntu "I am because we are". Identity and personhood arises within community, rather than being constructed indivudually.
I think we need to differentiate between self-help in the modern sense, and viewing the self as a continuous process of engaging in meaningful activities, within community, with purpose that helps cultivate virtue. i.e "Becoming"
When self-help is treated as only individual optimisation, without any ultimate end it risk becoming self-referential.
Philosopher Charles Taylor describes a similar shift with modernity that he calls "Disengaged reason" [0]. Where reason is disconnected from moral frameworks, that once helped orient us.
The deeper issue may be Self-help/Improvement that is often not contained within these larger frameworks of meaning, that answer:
To what ultimate end?
[0] https://www.academia.edu/26548899/Disciplinarity_and_Islamic...
previously discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46743214
also here:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ismaildhorat_a-new-world-does...
Put another way, the ability to accumulate resources, is not a reliable indicator of the "good" being created in the world.
When the quantitative metric of "Money" is used a a proxy for value creation, it creates serious and dangerous side effects.
This is a fundamental failure mode of modern capitalism.
Capitalism requires ethical discipline. Without it, we get runaway resource accumulation, that rationalises actions and strategies (externalisation, extraction, optimisation-at-all-costs) which cause more harm than good.
The techno-optimists (See e/acc/Marc Andreessen)[0], frame progress as intrinsically good.
I believe a more prudent approach is needed, one that is wise and looks at business from the perspective of:
STEWARDSHIP & BALANCE,
rather than
RESOURCE ACCUMULATION & PROGRESS.
While I do not disagree with all he says, and do not think technological progress is bad, you will notice there is no mention of ethics in the entire manifesto other than as an "enemy".
Philosopher Charles Taylor argues that a defining feature of modernity is the rise of what he calls “disengaged reason” [1]:
> Contrary to a Platonic understanding of reason where a meaningful order exists in the cosmos and in the soul that serves as a source for the highest good for reason to discover and conform to, disengaged reason "is no longer defined in terms of a vision of order in the cosmos" (Taylor 1989, 20). This disengagement allows reason to look at the world from an 'autonomous' viewpoint, leading to the abandonment of all 'horizons' > or frameworks "within which we know where we stand, and what meanings things have for us" (Taylor 1989, 29), thus rendering any inquiry to be independent of an overarching telos.
> The great innovation with modernity was to convince people that money is *GOD*. With the enlightenment *MONEY* replaced *GOD* for a lot of people
This is not to say I am arguing that money, profit and competition are morally wrong, but rather the way it is packaged. It is often elevated to the ultimate end (telos), rather than the means.
The fundamental category error is making the assumption that:
VALUATION (or Money in the bank) = Value Creation (For The Greater Good)
As you have rightly pointed out, the "It started here, now it's worth $xB" is an indication of this worldview, where the telos itself is "MONEY"
[0] https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/
[1] https://www.academia.edu/26548899/Disciplinarity_and_Islamic...
1. Unconsciously incompetent
2. Consciously incompetent
3. Consciously competent
4. Unconsciously competent
The challenge with AI, it will give you “good enough” output, without feedback loops you never move to 2,3,4 and assume you are doing ok. Hence it stunts learning. So juniors or inexperienced stay inexperienced, without knowing what they don’t know.
You have to Use it as an expert thinking partner. Tell it to ask you questions & not give you the answer.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/03/israels-55-y...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_apartheid
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/04/27/abusive-israeli-policies...
During apartheid , and towards the end plenty were making arguments for gradual control ; gradual processes which just would have further perpetuated oppression. I was highlighting the similarities to that. We also had people saying the ‘blacks’ just want to ‘kill the whites’ and it would result in violence.
Your mapping of roles is completely incorrect, Indians cannot be the Zionist since they were an oppressed minority and did not have power. Equating Afrikaners to ottomans / British is incoherent.
You, and the original comment completely ignores the power imbalance as was the case in apartheid South Africa. This framing further perpetuates oppression and is a way to prop up the apartheid state.
I won’t post all of the evidence here confirming that Israel functions as an apartheid state. Numerous reports exist that describe and draw the comparison.
The link to Orwell……….?
Apartheid South Africa’s real enemy—the ANC, the liberation movements, the “terrorists”—wouldn’t stop and wouldn’t surrender until white minority rule and its entire system didn’t exist. They had taken the innocent Black civilians of South Africa hostage. They were also so ingrained into the townships that resources were literally siphoned from humanitarian sites like churches and schools into hidden safehouses and underground networks; as just one example of reporting that many at the time were inclined to believe was credible, even with the mutual atrocities both sides were carrying out.
What would “winning” look like from a moral and ethical standpoint? Liberating the people of that region from the violence and suffering. Returning them to a “functioning society” with social and civic infrastructure. Fully denying major resistance and insurgency in the region for lifetimes—to the point that the hate and anger finally cooled off enough for people to “move on.”
Winning would require a multi-generational investment in humanity by humanity. It would require the buy-in of the people on the ground. It would require a United Nations coalition and boots on the ground from “responsible” countries who wanted to raise everyone above the hate. And of course, South Africa would need to be an absolute DMZ for that entire time—no armed liberation movements allowed, only peacekeeping forces sanctioned by the “international community.”
Getting from here to there? Even less popular than the hugely unpopular interventions elsewhere in the world. Don’t ask me how anyone could do it—those skilled in the art of diplomacy had tried for longer than my lifetime and probably longer than yours, and NOTHING had stuck. ———
wait; that’s not what it took.
It took the abolishment of apartheid; colonisation and oppression, peace was achieved. Your framing is flawed , it is framed as equal sides. Not the reality a colonial apartheid state.
False claims of beheaded babies, reports of babies burnt in ovens.
Even more nefarious , are the psyops influence campaigns (both against own citizens [1]) and against American's [2]
[1] https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-admits-psychological-warfa...
[2] https://www.wired.com/story/israel-us-disinformation-us-lawm...
Point noted. I should have prefixed it with zionist Israelis.
There are Israelis that have been awakened to the truth (see BT Salem, Ilan Pappe milo peled etc)
Also many former American Jewish Zionists [1] see Israelism film. You can also watch this to understand how these ideas and misinformation is propagated at an industrial scale.
You will note I clearly specified Zionist , which is an inherently racist/supremicist ideology. Akin to aparthied in South Africa.
There is no way for the mod/bot to know this rather. It is clearly spelt out in the terms.
“You have been banned for participating in a bad-faith subreddit (specifically Israel) which brigades other subreddits and spreads propaganda/disinformation/racism/sexism.”
Personally I don’t use Reddit that much, so I can speak to if this statement is true or not, the mods however do think it is.
Definitely not the type of leader I would want to be leading an open source project I depend on.
From a risk analysis perspective, this would make me question if wp is fit for my company. If the ceo/leader can behave in this way , what are the risks he pulls similarly self destructive moves that jeopardises my sites?
I am have no bone in this fight, I dropped wp back In 2010, due to the multitude of issues with plugins, themes and security. It was easier(and more secure) to roll an app with django/rails.
Though, I think if you are using Wordpress. Either look for alternatives , or look to a fork with better governance.
The theory proposes that all complex adaptive systems (CAS) naturally adapt to a state at the “edge of chaos” which is a transition zone between order(stability) and disorder.
The theory proposes this is the zone where maximal learning/innovation/creativity in social systems occur.
We studied complex adaptive systems in 2019, at the time I changed my LinkedIn tag line to : “learning at the edge of chaos” , still have not changed it since then.
The “what” is often timeless and stays the same.
The “how” the what is achieved changes.
I need to get from point a to point b (the what)
V1: walk/run/horse
V2: carriage
V3: train
V4: cars
Etc etc
There is another dimension to this as well.
Sometimes the what has to completely be re-architected since society has fundamentally changed.
As an example:
Consider education (what) this will always be required in society.
A naive version of innovation in this space would be to keep things the same and just change the delivery mechanism (online)
A better innovation would be to re-imagine what it means to be educated/schooled.
The best place to start is identifying the assumptions inherent in the current system. , and asking are they still relevant?
Do you have references?
> There are also long term risks such as the development of Parkinson’s disease
Do you have references?
[0] free to play
This is an interesting view. how did they avoid being punished for this?
Zimbabwe tried redistributing farms but it turned out horribly for them.
Would be interested In understanding how Zimbabwe attempt was different to these countries.
Here in South Africa land reforms is a politically charged issue. Due to apartheid we have a deeply unequal society, where productive farm land is concentrated in primarily in a few hands. Split along racial lines.
I recall meeting some labourers on a farm here in the western cape. They worked on a farm that had been “claimed” by colonisers who arrived in the 1800’s, and then handed down in families.
Where as this labourer ancestors has been in that area for generations before the colonisers got there.
Fans of Tolkien say the hike and Forrest in the Amathole mountains [1] could be straight out of middle earth.
[0] https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/travel/20...