by Eli Harman It’s an article of faith among many libertarians that violence, and particularly aggressive violence, is necessarily negative sum. Prices contain information and markets broker them (in a subjective utility maximising way.) Violence only short circuits that, disrupts markets, destroy price signals, and makes everyone worse off. But this is not correct. In the first place, market transactions aren’t necessarily positive sum. If they are fraudulent or create negative externalities for those not party, they can be negative sum. And in the second place, violence is itself a signal, and transmits information. A threat expresses a subjective evaluation just as an offer does in the marketplace. “Hey, don’t do that or we’re going to fight.” And the initiation of hostilities demonstrates the authenticity of that information just as a payment does in the marketplace. One undertakes real cost, and real risk, in resorting to violence. (In contrast, whining, and playing the victim DO NOT demonstrate the authenticity of grievances in the way that resorting to violence does, and so are liable and likely to prove negative sum, if indulged, just as theft is liable and likely to prove negative sum, in the marketplace, because it does not make a sufficient demonstration and exchange of value.) Markets and prices on the one hand, and violence and threats on the other, are both necessary components to a stable, functional, and efficient society and economy. To suppress either wholly in favor of the other, would be to forego the benefits they offer, and to pervert incentives towards destructive outcomes. No society which does either will be able to compete, long term, against one which makes a more sensible tradeoff between them, making best use of information supplied by both exchange and conflict. Violence is the means of expressing the subjective evaluations not captured by price signals, which are as vast and varied as those which are.
Category: Commentary, Critique, and Response
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Privilege? Earned Stereotype
—“Privilege is something any group will create for its members if they are able. I think we would do better to ask what’s wrong with groups that are unable, rather than tolerating lectures on account of we trust each other more than we trust them; when they evidently don’t even trust each other (because they would prefer to interact, or do business, or live among, us.)”— Eli Harman If you, as an individual, find yourself benefitting from the stereotypes developed by your people, is it not ‘true’ and is it not ‘moral’? The more interesting question is why do others not benefit from the stereotypes developed by their people? Trust, truth telling, and signals of trust and truth telling are very expensive investments a people must make. Why is it that some are more or less willing and able to make those investments and produce that stereotype? Why should people pay high costs to test a stereotype that was paid for at such high cost? And why have you and yours failed to produce an equally valuable stereotype?
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Privilege? Earned Stereotype
—“Privilege is something any group will create for its members if they are able. I think we would do better to ask what’s wrong with groups that are unable, rather than tolerating lectures on account of we trust each other more than we trust them; when they evidently don’t even trust each other (because they would prefer to interact, or do business, or live among, us.)”— Eli Harman If you, as an individual, find yourself benefitting from the stereotypes developed by your people, is it not ‘true’ and is it not ‘moral’? The more interesting question is why do others not benefit from the stereotypes developed by their people? Trust, truth telling, and signals of trust and truth telling are very expensive investments a people must make. Why is it that some are more or less willing and able to make those investments and produce that stereotype? Why should people pay high costs to test a stereotype that was paid for at such high cost? And why have you and yours failed to produce an equally valuable stereotype?
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The Folly of our Guilt
by Bob Moran We’ve built societies where slavery is counter-productive (or at least much less efficient than the alternatives), but it doesn’t mean it’s never a valuable choice given some the circumstances. Just like high trust, the lack of slavery is part of our privileges. And yet, we are getting guilt tripped for what we built for ourselves and to a certain extent given to others. High trust: You’re mean because you don’t trust me like your own. –> Why don’t you have high trust societies? Why should we trust you? Wealth: You’re mean because you don’t give me the same stuff as your own. –> Why are you poor? Citizenship: You’re mean because you don’t give me the same rights as your own. –> Why are your laws retarded and corrupted? Land/Conquest: You’re mean because you took land / you don’t give me land –> Why couldn’t you hold land? Why can’t you take it? Slavery : You’re mean because you don’t (didn’t) treat me like your own. –> Did you prove we could? Did you enslave each other to be sold to ou
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The Folly of our Guilt
by Bob Moran We’ve built societies where slavery is counter-productive (or at least much less efficient than the alternatives), but it doesn’t mean it’s never a valuable choice given some the circumstances. Just like high trust, the lack of slavery is part of our privileges. And yet, we are getting guilt tripped for what we built for ourselves and to a certain extent given to others. High trust: You’re mean because you don’t trust me like your own. –> Why don’t you have high trust societies? Why should we trust you? Wealth: You’re mean because you don’t give me the same stuff as your own. –> Why are you poor? Citizenship: You’re mean because you don’t give me the same rights as your own. –> Why are your laws retarded and corrupted? Land/Conquest: You’re mean because you took land / you don’t give me land –> Why couldn’t you hold land? Why can’t you take it? Slavery : You’re mean because you don’t (didn’t) treat me like your own. –> Did you prove we could? Did you enslave each other to be sold to ou
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non arguments so far
non arguments so far
Source date (UTC): 2017-04-19 19:20:07 UTC
Original post: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/854776643122061313
Reply addressees: @FormerlyFormer @primalpoly @JayMan471
Replying to: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/854775696694161408
IN REPLY TO:
@FormerlyFormer
@curtdoolittle @gmiller @JayMan471 Irrelevant. The govts may be relatively old, but what is considered bad speech has changed often just in my own lifetime.
Original post: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/854775696694161408
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yuo mean in the oldest extant governments in the world?
yuo mean in the oldest extant governments in the world?
Source date (UTC): 2017-04-19 19:14:29 UTC
Original post: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/854775227020177408
Reply addressees: @FormerlyFormer @primalpoly @JayMan471
Replying to: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/854772844932325376
IN REPLY TO:
@FormerlyFormer
@curtdoolittle @gmiller @JayMan471 Short term thinking. There is no guarantee that the sorts of judges you prefer will always be in place.
Original post: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/854772844932325376
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It’s because you shot from the script not from storyboards, so your transitions
It’s because you shot from the script not from storyboards, so your transitions suck. Script -> storyboards -> locations -> production -> shoots.
Want to improve your skills as a director? spend three years learning how to draw, and learn from the comic books. During that time build a library of clips so you see how to make various shots.
This is your inventory. locations, production, and actors are what cost you money.
Now. You might think you’re creative. Or talented. But you’re wrong. It’s all just details. And the best directors are better at using the inventory, planning all the details, so that when you want to shoot, you care mostly about what you can’t do ahead of time: coach the actors.
In the editing room, your goal is to manage the viewer’s emotions the entire time. If you got enough shots you can do that. If you didn’t you cant.
Yes and tat is why your low budget flick sucks. You didn’t get it to storyboard, or map story boards to shoots, and plan out all your production costs ahead oftime. And if you did, you couldn’t coach your actors.
And so you shot your script and your movie sucks. You have a set of two second to four second stills of your script. and it’s dead. emotionally dead.
Source date (UTC): 2017-04-19 15:40:00 UTC
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@RichardBSpencer Damn Richard. Excellent work at Auburn. You just keep getting b
@RichardBSpencer Damn Richard. Excellent work at Auburn. You just keep getting better and better. Nice leadership.
Source date (UTC): 2017-04-19 01:04:54 UTC
Original post: https://twitter.com/i/web/status/854501025448964097
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Untitled
Source date (UTC): 2017-04-18 22:53:00 UTC