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
" 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
" 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.