Excellent post. I'll add that being woke is a sensible career strategy if you are stuck in your career behind established older bosses who won't retire fast enough to give you the increase in power and money that you think you deserve. There is an increasing number of people in that situation due to what Peter Turchin calls "elite overproduction." One can eliminate that blockage to advancement by claiming your boss is morally flawed by not being "anti-racist" enough, or whatever leftist tripe they are peddling this season, and creating organizational pressure to force them to retire.
:) with sincere support. You make rational arguments that typically carry insight.
The old tired ideologies of the 20th and their bastard children will not get us through the first half of the 21st. We will re-create a new, better common truth to share power, or we will enter a history bending internal war. Then if we're lucky, you and I may even get the same camp and have fun debates.
But it would be better, not to go to camp. And it's incumbent, perhaps even the Purpose, of those capable to construct these Truths. Which isn't happening right now.
This topic must be a blind spot vortex in which logic and reason instantly evaporates.
1. "Woke" does not equal Totalitarian.
2. The Marxist social economic critique of the late 1800s does not equal Communism.
3. Power structure critiques of this generation (e.g. Critical Theory) are not invalid; power structures work exactly by identity based division and unearned reward to in-power elites.
4. Critical Theory as stated here is a text book strawman
5. "How they will do this" section is paranoia right out of the 1950s. And it's inaccurate and riddled with presumption and false representations.
Overall - a missed opportunity to describe something that is happening.
We'd get much further in these debates, if both side were somewhat objective, understood the validity of the opposite positions, and in general took a "steel man" rather than strawman approach.
Another good start is understanding the ancient power inequalities that run rife in modern society and appreciate how rapidly growing inequality impact the permanently disadvantaged.
Then focusing the Conversation on "What do we do about it" and then do it better.
There are real problems with Critical Theory, areas of "woke" ideology, and DEI as practiced in addition to the general culture growing around these.
This may be off your regular topic, but I think it may be the single best thing I have read (from any source) this year. Bravo!
Excellent post. I'll add that being woke is a sensible career strategy if you are stuck in your career behind established older bosses who won't retire fast enough to give you the increase in power and money that you think you deserve. There is an increasing number of people in that situation due to what Peter Turchin calls "elite overproduction." One can eliminate that blockage to advancement by claiming your boss is morally flawed by not being "anti-racist" enough, or whatever leftist tripe they are peddling this season, and creating organizational pressure to force them to retire.
:) with sincere support. You make rational arguments that typically carry insight.
The old tired ideologies of the 20th and their bastard children will not get us through the first half of the 21st. We will re-create a new, better common truth to share power, or we will enter a history bending internal war. Then if we're lucky, you and I may even get the same camp and have fun debates.
But it would be better, not to go to camp. And it's incumbent, perhaps even the Purpose, of those capable to construct these Truths. Which isn't happening right now.
This topic must be a blind spot vortex in which logic and reason instantly evaporates.
1. "Woke" does not equal Totalitarian.
2. The Marxist social economic critique of the late 1800s does not equal Communism.
3. Power structure critiques of this generation (e.g. Critical Theory) are not invalid; power structures work exactly by identity based division and unearned reward to in-power elites.
4. Critical Theory as stated here is a text book strawman
5. "How they will do this" section is paranoia right out of the 1950s. And it's inaccurate and riddled with presumption and false representations.
Overall - a missed opportunity to describe something that is happening.
We'd get much further in these debates, if both side were somewhat objective, understood the validity of the opposite positions, and in general took a "steel man" rather than strawman approach.
Another good start is understanding the ancient power inequalities that run rife in modern society and appreciate how rapidly growing inequality impact the permanently disadvantaged.
Then focusing the Conversation on "What do we do about it" and then do it better.
There are real problems with Critical Theory, areas of "woke" ideology, and DEI as practiced in addition to the general culture growing around these.
Spot on, Michael, and relatable process of thought you outline here.
A parody of DEI: https://open.substack.com/pub/mosby/p/heartily-we-decolonize-our-sport