PatrickC

The flagpole scenarios are sadly still here from time to time.. But for those more recent to the boards, you'll be glad to know, they're a lot less prevalent.. Man I sound like an old timer.. meh! grumble! & pah! Seems like a great epitaph for my now defunct and used up 2000th post... Grumble away trolls!

Yes, I took a hiatus from the boards for a couple of years during therapy. I also wouldn't be too worried, your issue isn't that uncommon and can be resolved with therapy, particularly since you have bravely admitted it. Best wishes withthe therapy.

Agreed, equality is one of these noble leftist ideas, that are impossible to reach. It's where vacuous arguments about checking ones privilege come from. It not only unfairly treats those with better skills and qualities, but elevates those above their own individual capacity. It's like every single leftist idea, it utterly destroys incentive.

You do realise that you are using an is/ought when you make this claim?

Hey B-64, I think you are discussing the corollary to UPB. That of APA I think. At least in part perhaps.

The separation comes with the terms or the language more precisely... One is 'universal', the other is 'aesthetic'. Aesthetic's are subjective preferences that come with exceptions. Universals don't have exceptions. Which is why for instance lying can never be a violation of UPB. Because expecting me to tell you where my wife is, with the intent of killing her, would be one important exception in this regard.

This reminds me of my own family mythology. You know, xelent's family were never destined for this that or the other. Only these vague appeals to the stars and tides apparently..

Hey Kody, if there is an issue (misleading one) with Stef or UPB we've overlooked.. I'd appreciate some brevity.. Point it out fella

As a European, that is frankly the least of my problems

That maybe so. But since when are US citizens facing criminal charges for hate speech or even trolling on social media. I'd say it has less to do with political power than it does cultural indoctrination. Europeans are firmly statist minded. Which is why the only libertarian interest you get is minarchist and political. In terms of thinkers and exponents of ideas around anarchism we are in a blistering desert out here.

If that was directed at me, I never said it was. However, regarding intellectual work. It does require a skill set that isn't always present in everyones character at the beginning of their work life. Social skills, empathy, negotiation etc. These were things I had to learn of course, whilst doing more menial/dangerous work beforehand. The point here, is that enforced poverty is not caused by doing menial or dangerous tasks, it's caused by the state standing in peoples way and holding a gun to their heads. menial dangerous tasks often need to be performed. If that gives a 17 year old enough of an income to stand on his own two feet, then so be it. It is better than trash searching and begging by far.

You really can't do much about individual privilege. It's just a fact of life. What you can do of course is not stand in peoples way. In that way the poor have a lot more incentive to become rich, than those that wish to remain rich. You only have to look at India and see the vast amounts of the poor moving into the middle classes. I left home at 16/17 and needed 3 jobs working upwards of 75 hours per week in order that I could pay my rent, buy food and clothes. That was a difficult time at first and there were occassions when I went without food. Some might call my experience privilege, whilst others might call it exploitation. To me, it was what I had to do in order to survive. Whether it was privilege or exploitation didn't much matter to me at the time. Thankfully for me, there was no minimum wage back then, that may have forced me to beg for food.

I'll be honest, I have no idea what this or your other questions (threads) are about either.. There is no context to take them seriously I'm afraid.

I don't know, maybe.. Only you can know how you experienced it. I'm just pointing to areas in which self knowledge might be more applicable.. It's like that old Socrates cliche, 'know thyself'.

As opposed to 'Leftist'?

Europe is sadly in the grip of cultural marxism. This means that we ourselves are probably the only agents of change I'm afraid.. However, I do find that a great and interesting challenge to tackle.

You got to wonder at the title of this thread and its content.. Not like it required much work, compared to the gospel of Stef. I've never understood the argument that to defend good ideas against bad ones was to lack objectivity and become bullying.

Your first sentence contradicts your last one. You are not being blocked out of users posts, if you are able to unblock them with one mouse click.

I am sorry to hear all that.Then it should be fairly apparent as to 'why' you might struggle with the concept of 'self ownship'. I find the philosophical concepts I stuggled most with were the ones that were routinely violated in my personal history. Understanding 'why' may still not help you understand the concept more fully at first, but it allows you to explore a more personal area of oneself. Hope that explains my reason for raising it.

Sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean by 'inconsistent'... How was your 'autonomy' respected by your family, might be a better question.

It's about time those damn Klingons behaved themselves.. ouch!

Good point ribuck.. I was generalising of course.

As I was reading this, I was thinking this....

Yes, it's certainly true that this is a disaster for Japan, certainly within a 100 mile radius of Fukishima. Chernobyl promised to bring all kinds of disasters to the shores of Europe, but it was mostly contained within the Ukraine. Certainly the risk of disaster is acerbated by nuclear power being in the hands of the state. But a lot of misinformation is propagated about the hazzards by certain enviromental groups. And as Worblux points out, nuclear power stations have improved vastly. However, I'm in agreement with LP. It's unlikely anyone would underwrite nuclear power without a state that can enforce it. Even though I would trust private hands better. But I imagine by the time we get to a position of considering to privately underwrite these power stations. We will probably have a cheaper, more efficient and safer forms of energy elsewhere. The trouble with existing energy resources is that most states are paranoid about being dependent on other states for those resources. Nuclear power has been seen by some politicians as a way of resolving that state made dilemma.

Yes, it's no suprise there are going to be problems with living in a different enviroment to earth. Particularly a weightless one. For the most part space is incredibly hostile for humans. Which makes colonising Mars or space stations an interesting challenge.Of course, if it were known that some large astroid was going to devastate earth at some point. Then colonising Mars might be our only option for survival, whilst we wait for Earth to recover from the impact.. Most people would probably accept the shortened lifespan. But agreed, this remains science fiction for now.