Why longtermism is the world’s most dangerous secular credo

Re:Why longtermism is the world’s most dangerous secular credo by jmyeet on Thursday May 11, 2023 @10:36AM (#35902738)

The fact that some of the world's most annoying people (eg Musk, Thiel) are throwing money at this should clue you in to the point: it is about maintaining the current economic structure and, in "ideal" world, living forever (eg transhumanism, mentioned in the article) to "enjoy" it for the very few on top.

Honestly I draw some comfort from our own mortality because the very worst people ultimately die too. If we ever achieve effective immortality, part of me believes that could be truly catastrophic for society.

> We can now begin to see how longtermism might be self-defeating.

Karl Marx talked abou tthe contradictions inherent in capitalism and that it was ultimately unsustainable in the 1840s through the over-accumulation or cconcentration of capital. Marx predicted a response to this being a revolution by the proletariat, which has thus far not come to pass, but the tool for squashing uprisings has been and continues to be fascism.

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Re:Why longtermism is the world’s most dangerous secular credo by ConfusedDog on Thursday May 11, 2023 @10:58AM (#35903135)

First paragraph - I don't like rich people; second paragraph - I like them to die like I would; third paragraph - rich people are facists.

Great. Thank you for your contribution.

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Re:Why longtermism is the world’s most dangerous secular credo by yadoomerta on Thursday May 11, 2023 @01:36PM (#35905490)

not the worst summary

just fyi - this is an extremely popular take among the young and non-rich

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Re:Why longtermism is the world’s most dangerous secular credo by goatlover on Thursday May 11, 2023 @11:12AM (#35903342)

Marx also failed to predict that communist governments would try to implement their take on Marxist policies and those ended up being worse than the capitalist ones.

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Re:Why longtermism is the world’s most dangerous secular credo by jmyeet on Thursday May 11, 2023 @03:40PM (#35907382)

Communism predates Marx (to the 18th century) and differs from socialism. Both seek to have labor own the means of production but communism also concerns itself with consumption (Marx: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs").

But really what you're talking about is what's called Marxist-Leninism as crafted by the Bolshevik in Russia in 1917 and beyond.

But what Marx is really known for is creating an analytical framework to be able to discuss these things. Abraham Lincoln's views on this pretty closely match Marx's, as an aside.

> ... those ended up being worse than the capitalist ones.

You really want to start comparing communist outcomes against Western colonialism and imperialism? The slave trade? And you can rightfully say a bunch of bad things about Stalin but he'll always get credit for killing Nazis and defeating Hitler (at an absolutely horrendous cost, as an aside).

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Re:Why longtermism is the world’s most dangerous secular credo by goatlover on Thursday May 11, 2023 @04:27PM (#35907934)

Mao and Pol Pot don't get credit. Colonialism predates capitalism. Imperialism is something empires have historically done, regardless of the economic system. Slavery existed in the ancient world. How about capitalism in the 20th century compared to communism?

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