I agree that culture is downstream from law, but with the caveat that this is valid during the down slope of a culture. I am not sure it applies to the up slope. (In fact you almost say as much in the introduction)
That it applies during the down slope can be explained by the observation that 'when people are in it for themselves' they will seek the edges of the written law to increase their share of the commons. When 'people are in it for themselves' you are almost by definition on the downside slope of a culture.
I was a huge fan of Andrew Breitbart, so this topic is hard. I would describe the truth of it in a push and a pull. Push: How gay marriage went from entirely outside the overton window to entirely inside in about 5 years. Pull: The Princton study that showed that writing laws bears no correlation to how well they express the values of the people.
Bioshock was about individualism on a rampage, at the expense of their own children and business partners. At worst it is a swipe at Ayn Rand but at best the work of someone in the libertarian-to-conservative evolution.
Excellent, the point you bring up about the small hat people is a killer. "law is downstream from interests" Their culture, if we can call it that, is the accumulation of more power. It's not a religious issue at all
First, it is simply not true that the system does not like you. It created the biggest credit Bubble in history in order for you to be able to live the best bourgeois life since you were born (since the 70s or 80s). This is a Ponzi scheme, but people cannot say they did not enjoy it - basically doing minimal and comfortable work for decent "pay" in paper money and able to buy a lot of stuff and do a lot of "fun" things. I do not remember that anybody resisted that or wanted anything else, maybe until few years ago.
Second, before you try to get out of the system, think about how weak you are and everybody around you. Whatever you try to do, it will probably fail. Will you survive these failures in a situation in which the system won't be able to take care of you and bail you out every time you do something stupid?
Finally, in vast majority of cases, nothing can be done. This avalanche needs to end up in the valley. Cycle needs to be closed and Everything Bubble needs to be popped. You can try to do something, but do not depend on the result - you will fail. This is also the opportunity to understand how important Tradition is. It is the only way systems can really work in a stable way for non-trivial amount of time.
You can "ride the tiger", but do it in a radically anti-bourgeois way, because bourgeois mindset is the core of the illusion and cause of the dysfunctionality of the system. You can form "Mannerbunds" with others doing similar things. You might succeed only with the help "from above", maybe from some traditional forces which will reappear magically out of nowhere.
Those who, having assumed as reference points the spirit and forms that characterize every authentic and traditional civilization, were able to travel upstream to the origins and see the phases of the unfolding of history, are also aware of the immense effort it would take not only to return, but even to approximate a normal (traditional) social order. These people are therefore bound to see the future differently from other people. - Julius Evola
" Let’s take a look at US domestic birth replacement rates before and after 1973."
Let's look at the fertility rate then:
1960: 3.44
1970: 2.34
1973: 2.03
1980: 1.79
1990: 1.96
I don't see the effect of Roe vs Wade whatsoever. In addition, the same fertility decline also happened in countries where abortion is outlawed (Malta, many Latin American countries).
The role of contraceptives ('technological progress') is much more relevant.
(The poll about the change women's opinion about being discriminated is interesting, though)
This theory is blankslatist. You cannot make whatever people do whatever you want just by passing the laws. All the liberal legislation can work only with law-abiding, individualistic and pretty decadent Westerners. Moreover, liberalism means promoting vices which is pretty easy to do - people love that. I mean it would be much harder to “pass the right laws” and make people virtuous and community-oriented.
I agree that culture is downstream from law, but with the caveat that this is valid during the down slope of a culture. I am not sure it applies to the up slope. (In fact you almost say as much in the introduction)
That it applies during the down slope can be explained by the observation that 'when people are in it for themselves' they will seek the edges of the written law to increase their share of the commons. When 'people are in it for themselves' you are almost by definition on the downside slope of a culture.
I was a huge fan of Andrew Breitbart, so this topic is hard. I would describe the truth of it in a push and a pull. Push: How gay marriage went from entirely outside the overton window to entirely inside in about 5 years. Pull: The Princton study that showed that writing laws bears no correlation to how well they express the values of the people.
Bioshock was about individualism on a rampage, at the expense of their own children and business partners. At worst it is a swipe at Ayn Rand but at best the work of someone in the libertarian-to-conservative evolution.
Excellent, the point you bring up about the small hat people is a killer. "law is downstream from interests" Their culture, if we can call it that, is the accumulation of more power. It's not a religious issue at all
First, it is simply not true that the system does not like you. It created the biggest credit Bubble in history in order for you to be able to live the best bourgeois life since you were born (since the 70s or 80s). This is a Ponzi scheme, but people cannot say they did not enjoy it - basically doing minimal and comfortable work for decent "pay" in paper money and able to buy a lot of stuff and do a lot of "fun" things. I do not remember that anybody resisted that or wanted anything else, maybe until few years ago.
Second, before you try to get out of the system, think about how weak you are and everybody around you. Whatever you try to do, it will probably fail. Will you survive these failures in a situation in which the system won't be able to take care of you and bail you out every time you do something stupid?
Finally, in vast majority of cases, nothing can be done. This avalanche needs to end up in the valley. Cycle needs to be closed and Everything Bubble needs to be popped. You can try to do something, but do not depend on the result - you will fail. This is also the opportunity to understand how important Tradition is. It is the only way systems can really work in a stable way for non-trivial amount of time.
You can "ride the tiger", but do it in a radically anti-bourgeois way, because bourgeois mindset is the core of the illusion and cause of the dysfunctionality of the system. You can form "Mannerbunds" with others doing similar things. You might succeed only with the help "from above", maybe from some traditional forces which will reappear magically out of nowhere.
Those who, having assumed as reference points the spirit and forms that characterize every authentic and traditional civilization, were able to travel upstream to the origins and see the phases of the unfolding of history, are also aware of the immense effort it would take not only to return, but even to approximate a normal (traditional) social order. These people are therefore bound to see the future differently from other people. - Julius Evola
" Let’s take a look at US domestic birth replacement rates before and after 1973."
Let's look at the fertility rate then:
1960: 3.44
1970: 2.34
1973: 2.03
1980: 1.79
1990: 1.96
I don't see the effect of Roe vs Wade whatsoever. In addition, the same fertility decline also happened in countries where abortion is outlawed (Malta, many Latin American countries).
The role of contraceptives ('technological progress') is much more relevant.
(The poll about the change women's opinion about being discriminated is interesting, though)
Is that why culture is so screwed?
This theory is blankslatist. You cannot make whatever people do whatever you want just by passing the laws. All the liberal legislation can work only with law-abiding, individualistic and pretty decadent Westerners. Moreover, liberalism means promoting vices which is pretty easy to do - people love that. I mean it would be much harder to “pass the right laws” and make people virtuous and community-oriented.
The Online Safety Bill in the UK, and the various vaccine mandates seem a good example of this concept.