DocWatts

@Leo Gura Shaming others for not having the patience or ability to wade through hundreds of pages of dense, poorly written prose (when there are others ways of getting that information) is counter productive. Hell the fact that you try to present your videos using understandable language and conversational tone along with decent production values (ie not using a $40 Camera that has trouble picking up audio) is proof that the way information is presented matters. Nothing wrong with a work being difficult, but at the very least it should also be engaging.

That is cool! Certainly a breath of fresh air to see optimistic sci-fi from settings other than Star Trek. I do think that some of the reasons why we don't see as many optimistic looks at the future (aside from the obvious one; that cynicism and cautionary tales are more aligned with the current zietgiest) is that from a storytelling perspective it's generally more difficult to create dramatic tension in an optimistic setting. Star Trek struggled with this as well, with the best storytelling in that setting dealing with how a relative Utopia (compared to today) still has challenges and difficulties. Not the least of which are how it interacts with other Cultures and Societies that don't share its ideals.

Without an actual policy platform they can sell people on or even a coherent vision for the country, no surprise that Republicans are grasping for straws in a really pathetic and obvious way. If and when Biden does fuck up in a real way, Republican criticism will be drowned out by the Left Wing of Biden's own Party. So far though all due credit to the Democratic Party for the unity that's been on display so far between Centrists and Progressives. And all it took for that to happen was a global pandemic followed by a fascist coup attempt.

And also Corporations are not democracies, the vast majority of them are run as top-down Autocracies. Now this is 'fine' as long as these mini Autocracies are regulated and controlled by more powerful democratic institutions, but take those restraints away and you're in for a horror show. Look to sweatshops and factory farms to see just how devoid of morality Corporations will sink to when not reigned in by an outside power.

Autocratic power structures have proved stable in China, the largest country in the world, for more than half a century. I certainly wouldn't want to live under one, but claiming that they're inherently unstable reeks of Western chauvinism.

Don't underestimate the power of Willful Ignorance and Motivated Reasoning. If large swathes of people were capable of using empirical evidence to modify thier worldview, we wouldn't have 70 million people voting against thier self interest when they cast a ballot to give Trump a second term.

*shakes head* Did no one read any cyberpunk literature (or even watch movies like Robocop or Alien), and get it through their thick skulls that allowing Corporations to form their own governments is objectively a terrible idea? Let's just go back to the days where workers get paid in company scrip while we're at it...

If anyone here actually works within (or is broadly knowledgeable about) one of the Social Sciences, I'd be highly interested in hearing your insights on the matter. I'll often see critiques on works meant for the Public (ie non specialists in that academic field) refuted not by a broad refutation of the work's overall argument, but death by a thousand cuts style critiques which cite methodological problems within the research used to back up arguments in the work. Steven Pinker's work comes to mind for a good example of this, in regards to Better Angles of Our Nature. But I've also seen this applied to a lesser extend for some of Jared Diamond's work as well. I could also list the numerous examples from within the field of psychology, with the replicability problem that's plagued the field and has supposedly discredited a number of high profile studies. As to contextualizing these types of critiques, do methodological problems on their own present a good case for questioning someone's entire argument, or should these also be backed up my other forms of critique, such as argumentation? Obviously this will vary on a case by case basis to some degree, and will also depend on how heavily the author's argument depends on empirical research, but in general how much weight should be afforded to these types of arguments? Or are they more often Red Herrings if not backed up by other forms of critique? Not a Social Scientist or Researcher myself, so it would be interested to hear some other thoughts on this issue.

@Carl-Richard That's interesting, the Construct Validity framework that you bring up seems to make a lot of sense for some of the critiques I see of pop-psychology models (such as Myers-Briggs). Sometimes it can be hard to parse out well grounded criticism pointing out the flaws of particular model from Snobbery on the part of Academics, as any model presented to non specialists (ie the Public) is going to have to be 'flattened' to some degree, losing some of its nuance in the process. I'm also of the Utilitarian mindset when it comes to Science, while at the same time I also see that ideas can be over-simplified to the point of becoming misleading, thus creating a potential to cause harm by propagating misinformation.

There are some similarities between Spiral Dynamics and Marxism due to the fact that they are both dialectical theories. By that I mean that both are influenced to some degree by the German philosopher Friedrich Hegel and by what's become known as the Hegelian Dialectic. Broadly speaking its a philosophy that examines how systems (usually ideas or beliefs within societies) grow and change. The main idea behind it is that an Agenda gives rise to a Thesis. Eventually the tensions that arise from a Thesis will give rise to its Antithesis. And finally the tensions will be resolved through a synthesis, becoming in effect the new Thesis, which gives rise to a new antithesis, and so on... While this influence of Hegel and his dialectic was explicit in Marx's work, it's also so broadly applicable that its influence can be felt in a much more subtle and implicit way on developmental models such as Spiral Dynamics. Good quick intro video on Hegel :

I'm assuming the OP's question was directed at people who themselves aren't being directly affected by things like racism, sexism, etc. My intuition is that caring about Social Justice comes as a consequence of an increased compassion for other people, and by becoming more informed about the the numerous ways that Society is patently unfair.

I'll concur with this. I'm pleasantly surprised with Biden so far. Guess the Sleepy Joe caricature will have to be retired considering how active he's been during his first few weeks. I've been particularly impressed by how willing he is to use the opportunity afforded him to push for Bold policy solutions, and for his unwillingness to cave in to Republican obstructionism in a misguided attempt at bipartisanism with Bad Faith Actors. A Biden presidency along with Bernie at the head of the Senate Budget Committee has made for what's looking to be a quite effective Democratic Party.

Oh for sure. I'd say it's quite explicit in the anti-corporate and anti-authoritarian themes it's trying to convey, but unfortunately that hasn't prevented the movie from being co-opted by right wing Conspiracy Theorists under the sway of an Authoritarian Cult of Personality. Probably by some of the same dummies on the Alt-Right who quote '1984' while being ignorant of the fact that George Orwell was a Democratic Socialist.

Not strong, only aggressive cause the power ain't directed That's why we are subjected to the will of the oppressive Not compassionate, only polite, we well trained Our sincerity's rehearsed in stage, it's just a game We chasing after death just to call ourselves brave

If a person's sense of self worth comes from where they are positioned within a Dominator Hierarchy, of course they're going to be threatened by the intelligence, strength, and independence of whomever it is that society has conditioned them to feel 'superior' to. Thing about Dominator Hierarchies is that in addition to the obvious harm they cause to the people that are being subjugated, they are also detrimental to the people at the top of the hierarchies for the toxic notions of self worth they instill based upon illusory feelings of unearned superiority. So anything that comes along to shatter that illusion is going to be perceived as an attack on one's self worth.

Feminism has had the side effect of emasculating insecure men. Healthy masculinity isn't threatened by gender equality. That has less to do with feminism, and more to due with unhealthy expectations that society places on men .

Let's maybe draw a distinction between wanting Legal Consequences for public figures that spread misinformation and incite political violence, and just wishing that Conservatives would go away somehow. Because that's never going to happen, and phrasing it in the way you did could be perceived as a veiled threat, which needless to say is something we don't want.

For the Republican Party to not die it will either have to moderate its policy platform to appeal to enough people to win elections, or it will have to overthrow Democracy. There's no third option here.

Identifying as an anti-feminist is just as backwards as openly proclaiming that you're anti- Civil Rights. In both cases it makes you look like a dumb and bigoted person not worth listening to or taking seriously. That doesn't mean that excesses in both of these movements don't exist, but building an identity around opposition to feminism is going to make everything you say highly suspect.

Senate Democrats have begun the budget reconciliation process for Covid-19 relief https://www.vox.com/2021/2/3/22263177/senate-democrats-covid-19-relief-budget-reconciliation

Also the aforementioned infamously tone deaf Pepsi ad schemed up by boardroom execs trying to appear 'woke' to the millennials

Good riff by South Park on cringy attempts by Corporations who attempt to use Social Movements as a platform for advertising.

Let's not forget the most important lesson that Rudolph has to teach us

I'm assuming you mean most Adults don't develop further than the center of gravity for their Culture (or whatever subculture Culture was most prevalent in the circumstances they grew up in)? That's not surprising really, since it's kind of where most people will land at by default, and going beyond that requires actual effort on that Individual's part.