There’s a difference between becoming a partisan colony and noticing that democratic institutions are being actively undercut. Becoming clear on this is actually a (fairly easy) test of rationality, which we should pass as a community.* Yes, the world is complicated and there have been some serious defections on both sides. Yes, some of the MAGA complaints are valid. ALSO, Trump is degrading democracy and his administration is very rapidly sliding towards authoritarianism (in their actions, which match years of clear rhetoric). It is possible to separate this from underlying trends toward increasing executive power on the scale of decades and recognize it as the active crisis that it is.
I expect that this reply will be downvoted, given the tone of existing replies, but I don’t think turning LessWrong into a partisan colony is a good thing. For one, it means that half of America will inherently view everything LW wants as enemy. It also incentivizes a lack of skepticism when a same-party source makes a claim that merits it. Reddit went this route after 2016, and a lot of previously interesting and vibrant communities are now composed almost exclusively of, for lack of a better phrase, political slop. Compare r/videos before and after theban on political content was lifted.
I find this equivocation annoying. Is your comment about messaging or truth-seeking?
*Some rationalists may acknowledge that Trump has authoritarian tendencies and approve—though I think his blatant disrespect for the truth contradicts most constructions of rationalist virtue. But we should at least be aware of what is happening.
There’s a difference between becoming a partisan colony and noticing that democratic institutions are being actively undercut. Becoming clear on this is actually a (fairly easy) test of rationality, which we should pass as a community.* Yes, the world is complicated and there have been some serious defections on both sides. Yes, some of the MAGA complaints are valid. ALSO, Trump is degrading democracy and his administration is very rapidly sliding towards authoritarianism (in their actions, which match years of clear rhetoric). It is possible to separate this from underlying trends toward increasing executive power on the scale of decades and recognize it as the active crisis that it is.
I find this equivocation annoying. Is your comment about messaging or truth-seeking?
*Some rationalists may acknowledge that Trump has authoritarian tendencies and approve—though I think his blatant disrespect for the truth contradicts most constructions of rationalist virtue. But we should at least be aware of what is happening.