In other words, MM reads Stuff White People Like and has observations of his own to share. That’s, um, cute?
Seriously, signaling status through consumption always works like this; the lower-middle classes flock to the brands advertised as “upper-middle class”, which causes the actual upper-middle class to avoid those in order to stand out. Been said before. If MM’s social co-processor worked better, he would’ve known how ubiquitous this knowledge is.
Re: this “art” and its associated scene—it is, of course, a very convenient First World Problem to lay at progressivism’s feet, but how is it different from the art scenes of past metropolitan cities, like Edwardian London, or Paris under the 3rd Republic? Does Moldbug imagine that there was much less empty posturing and fashionable nonsense and inane pretensions back then?
He reminds me of one of Eleizer’s quotes that being profound is often simply explaining an unconventional idea clearly and simply. Moldburg takes fairly obvious assertions (e.g. class exists, society’s real power structures aren’t the same as the theoretical ones) and explains them simply from his own point of view with a few odd terms to make it seem more interesting.
But being able to make things sound interesting from a particular viewpoint doesn’t mean anything about he truth value of that viewpoint (e.g. Freudian thinking can illuminate some sexual or social dynamics, but that doesn’t make it true).
In other words, MM reads Stuff White People Like and has observations of his own to share. That’s, um, cute?
Seriously, signaling status through consumption always works like this; the lower-middle classes flock to the brands advertised as “upper-middle class”, which causes the actual upper-middle class to avoid those in order to stand out. Been said before. If MM’s social co-processor worked better, he would’ve known how ubiquitous this knowledge is.
Re: this “art” and its associated scene—it is, of course, a very convenient First World Problem to lay at progressivism’s feet, but how is it different from the art scenes of past metropolitan cities, like Edwardian London, or Paris under the 3rd Republic? Does Moldbug imagine that there was much less empty posturing and fashionable nonsense and inane pretensions back then?
He’s kinda spoiled in his cosy little bubble.
He reminds me of one of Eleizer’s quotes that being profound is often simply explaining an unconventional idea clearly and simply. Moldburg takes fairly obvious assertions (e.g. class exists, society’s real power structures aren’t the same as the theoretical ones) and explains them simply from his own point of view with a few odd terms to make it seem more interesting.
But being able to make things sound interesting from a particular viewpoint doesn’t mean anything about he truth value of that viewpoint (e.g. Freudian thinking can illuminate some sexual or social dynamics, but that doesn’t make it true).