Curt Doolittle

Theme: Civilization

  • SHOULD HAVE BEEN “GUNS, GERMS, AND PROPERTY RIGHTS” Well, if you start a civiliz

    SHOULD HAVE BEEN “GUNS, GERMS, AND PROPERTY RIGHTS”

    Well, if you start a civilization with the problem of coordinating irrigation if an alluvial plain, thats very different from starting a civilization with the problem of allocating land to farmers who do not rely upon irrigation.

    Each culture, each civilization, carries with it, its means of warfare, means of coordination of use of the land, and family structure.

    None of which are particularly relevant in a modernity, in which our means of production and reproduction depend upon abstract institutions of property and contract which allow the voluntary organization of production in vast, unknowable overlapping patterns of specialization and trade.

    Capitalism isnt a belief, its a technology.

    Guns, germs, steel… MONEY, ACCOUNTING, AND PROPERTY RIGHTS.

    Source date (UTC): 2014-06-13 05:33:00 UTC

  • Yesterday, Yulia, Suliko, and Amanda had Roman and I over for a wonderful home c

    Yesterday, Yulia, Suliko, and Amanda had Roman and I over for a wonderful home cooked meal. It was beautiful. It’s hard to explain to Ukrainians that Americans don’t talk to their neighbors. Usually we live very far from the rest of our family. And we live in these physical as well as mental ‘boxes’ we rarely see out of. New England, or at least what’s left of it, still has a concept of family. So does the south – or what’s left of it. But that’s what I love about this country, Ukraine (and their cousins the lovable insanely crazy russians). It’s extremely genuine. I’m incredibly cognizant now of the constant status-warfare that’s the central ambition of american life. And I want nothing at all to do with it. I don’t like the countries that were fully brought into orthodoxy and dominion of the turks. Too much low trust. But you don’t see that here in Ukraine. Both the Catholics, Protestants, and the Orthodox ethics are here. and they tended to protect the value of each other somehow.

    It’s also helped me understand myself. I am really happy with a backpack, some technology, some nice clothes and a sports car. As a child I felt the same way. I used to think of it as ‘traveling light’ (freedom.) But something happened in college. I felt the need to become wealthy as a status symbol. But the truth is that, after all those serious illnesses, and selling pretty much all my ‘material burdens’, I’m a hell of a lot happier. Of course, being healthy is probably most of it. 🙂

    Because i’m free.

    I know it sounds trite. Because before I actually HAD all the things people dream of, i wanted them. But AFTER I had them all, I realized that all that matters is the people you spend time with. And that to have good friends you must supply something to the friendship. And if you need ‘things’ to get their attention, then you should probably work on your character and love instead. Because all money did for me is attract parasites and free riders that you must protect your ‘stuff’ from.

    Everyone should feel safe. And comfortable. But the data shows that after you make 60K a year, increases in wealth do not bring you happiness. Now, for me, just ’cause I’m an information junkie, it’s more expensive to feed the machine in my head. So that number appears to be about twice as high before I feel ‘comfortable’.

    And I really would just laugh at myself ten years ago. But it’s the truth. This is where I ended up. Material shit is a boatanchor. Money is freedom.

    Make money. Collect experiences. Collect friends. Collect accomplishments. And leave the ‘stuff’ to the people who only CAN collect stuff.

    Source date (UTC): 2014-06-09 06:57:00 UTC

  • A More Equal World : Thank The Anglos For Capitalism And For Dragging Humanity Out Of Ignorance And Poverty.

    Regarding: China poised to pass US as world’s leading economic power – FT.com

    –“When looking at the actual consumption per head, the report found the new methodology as well as faster growth in poor countries have “greatly reduced” the gap between rich and poor, “suggesting that the world has become more equal”. The world’s rich countries still account for 50 per cent of global GDP while containing only 17 per cent of the world’s population.”–

    [O]f course, no man is felt a hero to his debtors. The only measure of equality is consumption – the rest is investment and taxes. If we look at consumption per capita, rich western countries are far more equal than their ‘egalitarian’ counterparts. Because all that extra ‘wealth’ is merely the means of influencing the voluntary organization of production. It is ‘pressure’ not consumption. It’s not ‘real’ money that can be consumed. But getting human beings to understand that it is not consumable without likewise losing the ability to voluntarily organize production, is just beyond their comprehension. Rich countries are rich because they voluntarily organize very complex, highly rewarding production with little corruption at low risk. One may not think of the US military as an organizer of production. But both the UK Navy and the US postwar military are the defacto-organizers of world production. The question remains, that if the west ceases organizing voluntary production by meritocratic means, then what form of involuntary production by unmeritocratic means will prevail. History is not terribly comforting in this regard.

  • A More Equal World : Thank The Anglos For Capitalism And For Dragging Humanity Out Of Ignorance And Poverty.

    Regarding: China poised to pass US as world’s leading economic power – FT.com

    –“When looking at the actual consumption per head, the report found the new methodology as well as faster growth in poor countries have “greatly reduced” the gap between rich and poor, “suggesting that the world has become more equal”. The world’s rich countries still account for 50 per cent of global GDP while containing only 17 per cent of the world’s population.”–

    [O]f course, no man is felt a hero to his debtors. The only measure of equality is consumption – the rest is investment and taxes. If we look at consumption per capita, rich western countries are far more equal than their ‘egalitarian’ counterparts. Because all that extra ‘wealth’ is merely the means of influencing the voluntary organization of production. It is ‘pressure’ not consumption. It’s not ‘real’ money that can be consumed. But getting human beings to understand that it is not consumable without likewise losing the ability to voluntarily organize production, is just beyond their comprehension. Rich countries are rich because they voluntarily organize very complex, highly rewarding production with little corruption at low risk. One may not think of the US military as an organizer of production. But both the UK Navy and the US postwar military are the defacto-organizers of world production. The question remains, that if the west ceases organizing voluntary production by meritocratic means, then what form of involuntary production by unmeritocratic means will prevail. History is not terribly comforting in this regard.

  • winters arent enough

    http://feedly.com/k/Tl0XUECold winters arent enough.

    Source date (UTC): 2014-06-06 04:31:00 UTC

  • “THE WHITE FALLACY: THE ARISTOCRACY OF EVERYBODY” You know, most of my criticism

    “THE WHITE FALLACY: THE ARISTOCRACY OF EVERYBODY”

    You know, most of my criticisms are directed at the ridiculous beliefs of white people. I don’t blame others for their evolutionary strategy nearly as much as I blame my tribe for it’s vulnerability to the evolutionary strategies of others. Particularly when all that’s being acquired in exchange is short term status signals – the most hedonistic form of conspicuous consumption, by those undeserving of them.

    ON GOVERNMENT

    If you have an aristocratic pagan monarchy and judiciary that denies access to political power, leaving everyone with the necessity of participation in the market, plus rigid property rights including prohibitions on inbreeding and near-breeding, mandatory language adoption, universal standing, and pay-to-enforce rather than redistribution, and the requirement for operationalism in public speech, then I am not sure it matters what religions you rely upon.

    ON RELIGION

    Problem with christianity is it’s anti-rational, anti-tribal, and politically weak because it’s pacifist in its current state. Without the aristocracy to cooperate with the church, it is powerless. The Problem with islam is static knowledge, mystical dogma, anti-rationalism, inbreeding, and un-earned, mandatory respect. Problem with hinduism is mysticism, abandonment of reality and inbreeding. Problem with Buddhism is prescriptive inaction, detachment and inbreeding. Problem with judaism, is institutionalized deception via obscurantism, and parasitism. But regardless of these various verbal means of forcible indoctrination into a system of arbitrary cooperation – monarchy, paganism, property rights and scientific speech (operationalism) limit the damage that can be done by each of ALL of them.

    ON ENFORCEMENT

    The same goes for levels of impulsivity and violence. I am not convinced that the more impulsive tribes would not be better off constraining their own with violence rather than by incarceration, and less impulsive tribes better off constraining their own with ostracization and incarceration. We are unequal in both ability and incentives.

    “THE WHITE FALLACY: THE ARISTOCRACY OF EVERYBODY”

    This enlightenment fallacy that everyone can join the aristocracy is the source of as much suffering in the world as is the combined mysticism of the scriptural religions.

    Curt Doolittle

    The Propertarian Institute

    The Philosophy of Aristocracy.

    Kiev, Ukraine.

    Source date (UTC): 2014-06-04 11:38:00 UTC

  • HOW URBANITES DESTROY SOCIETY –“The mobs of great cities add just so much to th

    HOW URBANITES DESTROY SOCIETY

    –“The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government, as sores do to the strength of the human body. .. . I consider the class of artificers as the panderers of vice, and the instruments by which the liberties of a country are generally overturned.”– Jefferson

    Prophetic. And so why did he not structure a defense against them?

    Source date (UTC): 2014-06-02 12:58:00 UTC

  • CULTURAL OBSERVATIONS : INSULT “He has a face that has not been disfigured by in

    CULTURAL OBSERVATIONS : INSULT

    “He has a face that has not been disfigured by intelligence.”

    Translation: “Он имеет лицо, которое не было обезображенные интеллектом.”

    Proper: “лицо, не обезображенное интеллектом”

    Phonetic: “litso ne obezobrazheno intellektom”

    ? lol

    Source date (UTC): 2014-05-22 11:13:00 UTC

  • So, can someone explain to me, why housing in the UK is such sh_t? I mean, peopl

    So, can someone explain to me, why housing in the UK is such sh_t? I mean, people live in hovels. Even ‘nice’ homes are little more than rabbit warrens. Dark, low ceilings, small rooms, poorly laid out. Is it just habit? Remnants of socialism? Antique regulatory environment? Heating/cooling costs? What? I mean, in the states, the prices vary but in most of the country $200K US will get you a decent house and yard (garden) front and back. In large parts of the country $300K US will get you what what qualifies as a Manse in the UK.

    Here in Ukraine you can get an amazing apartment overlooking the river in a new building for $200K. You can buy a dacha in the country for 75-150K. (albeit you can’t earn a living here worth a damn).

    Why are homes so expensive (and claustrophobic) in the UK? I mean, Post 1980 US Northwest (ecotopia) architecture is actually pretty awesome, and entirely spacious, even if it’s a small house.

    Source date (UTC): 2014-05-21 03:09:00 UTC

  • INTELLECTUAL MALPRACTICE SUIT AGAINST JARED DIAMOND IN THE MAKING. Diseases are

    http://santiagotimes.cl/qa-european-contact-land-use-led-easter-island-collapse/ANOTHER INTELLECTUAL MALPRACTICE SUIT AGAINST JARED DIAMOND IN THE MAKING.

    Diseases are the best weapon ever.

    Fragility created by exceeding the limits of the institutions of cooperation from providing correct information and therefore incentives, followed, by shocks that collapse the fragile system.

    (Dear fragility makers. We are coming for you. And there is nothing you can do to stop it.)

    Source date (UTC): 2014-05-20 08:13:00 UTC