this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2023
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Not a meme though
I agree with his overall dissection of the weakness of writing and the nonexistent character, however I find it absurd to say liberals are afraid of change and fight change.
That's a whole new level of mental gymnastics
I think you're confusing liberalism with leftism. The post is talking about neoliberalism, which is fundamentally a political philosophy of "no bad systems, only bad actors", and is actually pretty darn anti-change and therefore conservative. If you'd like to watch a longer form essay that goes into more detail on the points that greentext brought up, and explains it within the greater context of Rowling's own politics, I highly recommend this video by Shaun (a leftist YT essayist): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1iaJWSwUZs
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=-1iaJWSwUZs
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One perspective I don't see very often in this discussion is one I heard in the appendices of the revolutions podcast. It is the following: People are moderate or radical in both means and ends respectively. So in ideological conflicts one will find:
- Radical radicals: people willing to use means outside the current system (e.g. violent force) to reach radical ends (e.g. communism or fascism).
- Moderate radicals: people only willing to use means within the current system to reach radical ends.
- Moderate moderates: people only willing to use means within the current system to reach moderate ends and go no further.
- Radical moderates: people willing to use radical means to reach moderate ends and prevent it from going any further.
I think this is a good perspective to have when looking at behavior of different political groups.
It's a broad stroke for sure. But there is definitely a demographic of milquetoast liberals who believe in progressive causes as long as it doesn't bring them too much discomfort. The sort of person who wants the far right to go away "so we can all get back to brunch", but is terrified of the sort of mass structural change that would be required to create a truly egalitarian society.
I believe that's the sort of person being addressed here. It doesn't help that the word liberal is heavily overloaded.
I believe the post is referring to those who are both economically and socially liberal. The rainbow capitalists. They believe in equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community, black and brown people etc. but refuse to acknowledge, learn or put the work into how a system like neoliberal capitalism results in these groups being oppressed in the first place.
In order for equality to be achieved the system has to radically change. A lot of liberals don't want this because it makes them feel uncomfortable (and a lot of the time this conflicts with a system they benefit from).
Right, it's the sort of person who thinks that female billionaires or black billionaires are icons of progress. As opposed to the continued existence of billionaires being a blight on society regardless of their gender or colour.
Or the sort of person who donates to a charity sleepout for homelessness, but opposes social housing development or improved renters' rights at the expense of landlords. Probably because they are a landlord themselves and are incapable of confronting the hypocrisy of being sad about the housing crisis while simultaneously profiting from it.
"Rainbow capitalist" is a great term btw.
american liberals are pretty much conservatives with LGBT rights by european standards. And well, our european "liberals" are mostly economically neoliberal, autocratic reactionaries and racist in many aspects but with LGBT rights and legalized pot. They'd sell out on the LGBT rights for a new car though.
It depends on where you live I guess. Some places are already liberal paradise so they don't have to plot to destroy any remaining worker right.
Ever read Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality?
It's cool, but skip out when the angel investor talk starts.
I read the first 15 or so chapters, then stopped because Harry was just a completely insufferable Mary Sue. I see a lot of people praising for the ideas behind it but the actual writing itself is pretty bad.
I'm not sure Mary Sue is the right trope. Although half the point is highlighting all the pointless stupidity of the original, so it's hard not to come across as condescending.
I mean, he does get shown to be an idiot many times throughout the story.
I have read the whole thing. And it is /r/iamverysmart level of cringe.
It's dunking on basically the entire wizarding world being paste-eating levels of stupid in the original, as well as lampooning cringey fan-fiction. I think you might have missed an element of self-awareness.