Subnostr

The biggest problem with tyranny is how it degrades the human spirit. I've been listening to "A Lodging of Wayfaring Men," narrated by nostr:nprofile1qqst0mtgkp3du662ztj3l4fgts0purksu5fgek5n4vgmg9gt2hkn9lqpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsz9mhwden5te0wfjkccte9ehx7um5wghxyctwvshsz9mhwden5te0wfjkccte9ec8y6tdv9kzumn9wshs54zrlx (who does a superb job of it), and the most striking thing about the novel is just how *good* the people are. They're not unbelievably good - they're humans, and they have natural human desires, one of which is to do the right thing. I think that's entirely natural. But I know that if I was writing this novel, I wouldn't be able to create such good characters. What is it about me that prevents me from seeing the good in people? I think its the culture that produced me. We have an assumption that no one can be trusted. How has America, with its wonderful ideals, produced a culture of automatic distrust?

I think the answer is : tyranny usually appears patriotic.

☕

#gm #books #culture

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Discussion

Duncan Cary Palmer 1y ago

The book mentioned below was authored by Paul Rosenberg, a man with wonderful insight.

nostr:nevent1qqs0anrxhqywdrxjetsj94sdafntv2gwnjzjdgn2rl9sau9r35rldnspzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5hsygz474emv5007dgak4asvqwjxq3d33fjlxp9mvg22ue7huumuj4zrvpsgqqqqqqskrt7fe

Please be sure to check out Paul's website:

https://freemansperspective.com/

Max 1y ago

That's a striking observation!

I haven't met many people as fundamentally optimistic as Paul Rosenberg, his talks and writings are an exceptional joy to read.

Checkout production vs plunder if you want more.

Comte de Sats Germain 1y ago

He wrote more? Excellent!

Max 1y ago

Yes!

He probably has 30+ books, most of them are on electrical engineering. His great Cypherpunk books are: A Lodging of Wayfaring Men, The Breaking Dawn, Production vs Plunder, The New Age of Intelligence.

Also his weekly newsletter is a joy every time.

https://freemansperspective.com/

Hazey 1y ago

Tyranny teaches you to trust institutions and distrust your neighbors.

Comte de Sats Germain 1y ago

Yep. It also exploits divisions. The real genius of the modern state is how it can turn division into power. Previous versions of statecraft - monarchy and theocracy - couldn't maintain power over divided people. But now, with legitimacy derived from the will of the people, while those people are even more disempowered than ever in history, the more divisions, the better - from the oligarchs' perspective.