Note: This post is mainly addressed to leftists. A value is an idea that remains static across various opportunities to choose an action. Humans have two broad categories of values. We naturally value wealth. Valuing wealth is the result of a selection effect. Most of the planning we do is about how to finance ourContinue reading “A Leftist’s Guide to Natural and Artificial Values”
Tag Archives: philosophy
Structural Dialectics
Draft 8: Fiddling with the semantics. Draft 7: Increased the simulation periods. Some writing changes. Draft 6: Updated the simulation and all the charts. PS. Fixed the broken charts. Draft 5: Still finding inconsistencies introduced during the rewrite. Draft 4: Fixed syntactic inconsistencies. Draft 3: Editing and expanding. Decided to remove the tables. Draft 2:Continue reading “Structural Dialectics”
The 21st Century Ideology
There’s an assumed metaphysics behind mainstream 21st century thinking on both the left and the right: 1. every individual belongs to a cultural collective, 2. culture determines values and that 3. the values of each culture Platonically emanate out of its religion. On the left, these people argue for multiculturalism. On the right, these peopleContinue reading “The 21st Century Ideology”
Character Simulation Part 1: Prediction
The Python library soma.narrative can be used to describe a fictional person in terms of feelings, beliefs, and relationships, run them forward in time, and then ask the kinds of questions a novelist asks: when would this person break? what is she really feeling under the composure? what single thing, changed, would have saved thisContinue reading “Character Simulation Part 1: Prediction”
Abstraction as Simulation
The external world and the human mind operate by the same physical laws. The functions of the brain like perceiving, reasoning and calculating are done as physical processes. Experiences inherit the mathematical describability of physics: to the extent that natural laws are formulated mathematically, the experiences shaped by the laws are the same. Experiences cannotContinue reading “Abstraction as Simulation”
Disagreement with ideas that pass for common sense, Part 2: A Critique of Pure Aesthetics
One absurd complaint I keep coming across is that a political proposal based on analytical principles is contrary to art. Precisely the opposite is true. Note: This post is not an attack on art. It’s an argument that dry principles are better at defending art than art itself: Principles are more inclusive than aesthetics. AlthoughContinue reading “Disagreement with ideas that pass for common sense, Part 2: A Critique of Pure Aesthetics”
Materialist Economics, Part 5: Concluding Remarks
This proposal is not fully communist in the way Marx imagined. It does not abolish all market exchange. It does not assume perfect social harmony. What it offers is a framework in which the productive capacity of society is directed by the people who depend on it, backed by empirical science. The disagreements with MarxContinue reading “Materialist Economics, Part 5: Concluding Remarks”
Materialist Economics, Part 4: Objections and Responses
The Motivation Problem If necessary goods are readily available, why would anyone work at all? The objection rests on the premise that necessary goods are freely distributed. They are not. They are produced by the government sector and sold at public stores in exchange for labor vouchers. A person who does not work does notContinue reading “Materialist Economics, Part 4: Objections and Responses”
Materialist Economics, Part 3: Accountable Planning
Constitutional Human Rights and the Rule of Law Without protected human rights, it is impossible to know the will of the people. Any system of democratic production requires, as a precondition, constitutional protections for speech, assembly, and political participation. The rule of law must be upheld. Legal challenges must meet reasonable evidential standards, and accusationsContinue reading “Materialist Economics, Part 3: Accountable Planning”
Materialist Economics, Part 2: The Problem
Consider a recurring pattern in international affairs. A major power backs an armed faction abroad. When that faction takes power, its human rights record becomes a pretext for military contracts and arms sales. The crisis generates jobs in the defense industry while destroying livelihoods elsewhere. This is job creation through destruction. A simple alternative wouldContinue reading “Materialist Economics, Part 2: The Problem”
