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Harry Potter and the Status Quo rule (lemmy.blahaj.zone)

submitted 1 year ago by xxxSexMan69xxx@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/196@lemmy.blahaj.zone

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[-] MareOfNights@discuss.tchncs.de 45 points 1 year ago

[-] xxxSexMan69xxx@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 1 year ago

Not a meme though

[-] AdmiralShat@programming.dev 35 points 1 year ago

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

[-] thepaperpilot@beehaw.org 38 points 1 year ago

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

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[-] Brickwald@lemmy.one 2 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] cam_i_am@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] t_jpeg@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

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).

[-] cam_i_am@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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.

[-] porkins@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

[removed by mod]

[-] Leviathan@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

No one is a bum because they're lazy. You're the second Mexican I've heard this ridiculous bullshit from this week, which isn't many but it's still concerning.

[-] cam_i_am@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I would encourage you to look into the stats on welfare abuse and see how rare it is. The number of people who abuse the system and use it as an excuse to be lazy is tiny in relative terms. Clamping down on that small minority is only possible if you are willing to accept huge collateral damage in the form of pain inflicted on disadvantaged people who just need some help to find their feet.

If you allow people to slide into abject poverty, it just causes more poverty and social problems. Do you want to increase the number of people who are desperate, have nothing to lose, and feel like society doesn't give a shit about them? What do you think that does to a person? Do you think that motivates them to better themselves? For some people maybe, but for many it means doing whatever they have to in order to survive, including crime, drugs, etc.

I would much rather live in a compassionate society that helps people when they need help. If that means that a small number of people get away with not pulling their weight then so be it. It's a small price to pay.

It's pretty damn clear that countries with a strong social safety net are happier and more prosperous over all than those with a callous sort of dog eat dog attitude.

[-] tryptaminev@feddit.de 29 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] bouh@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 30 points 1 year ago

Ever read Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality?

[-] half_built_pyramids@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

It's cool, but skip out when the angel investor talk starts.

[-] HenryWong327@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] complacent_jerboa@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I mean, he does get shown to be an idiot many times throughout the story.

[-] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] dingleberry@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 year ago

I have read the whole thing. And it is /r/iamverysmart level of cringe.

[-] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

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.