mediocracy: Just another ideologically motivated assumption

17 June 2007

Just another ideologically motivated assumption

Belabouring, for once, an earlier point.

Chris Dillow seems to think that increasing affluence is a principal cause of rising divorce rates.

... economic growth raises people's aspirations - it encourages the belief that you can have more, "because you're worth it." This in turn creates dissatisfaction, with the result that a wife with a mediocre spouse is less likely to stand by her man.

And, judging by the comments to my earlier post, James and Jeremy both seem to agree with him.

But where is the evidence, please?

1907 middle class: (a) fairly wealthy (servants, handmade furniture, private carriage), (b) attitude to divorce: conservative, (c) low divorce rate.

2007 middle class: (a) fairly wealthy (no servants, fancy holidays, two cars), (b) attitude to divorce: liberal, (c) high divorce rate.

Now this 'data' is not meant to prove anything. But to give some basis to the idea of a wealth-and-family-breakdown link you would have to show a correlation between affluence and divorce, having somehow stripped out the factor of changing social attitudes. Could I have a link to such research please? Because without it, this is just an opinion. And opinions, according to Chris, are "just worthless".

mediocratic meanings

Words or phrases in red should be interpreted with caution.

‘trash’
in a cultural context, was once thought of as:
output which emphasises the debased side of mass culture;

but nowadays may be regarded as:
the healthy expression of an egalitarian society.

‘right’ (adj.)
may mean:
honouring legal and moral obligations, or other ethical principles, such as not interfering with others against their will;

but may also mean:
supporting collective action against individuals, to comply with prevailing political ideals, breaking other principles – e.g. truthfulness – where necessary.

‘Conservative’
may refer to:
a politician who believes in free markets and minimal state intervention;

but may also refer to:
a politician who accepts the basic premises of socialism, without describing himself as left-wing.

‘individualism’
traditionally meant:
self-reliance and independence, including from the state.

However, it is now often used to describe:
behaviour that ignores the wishes of those affected by it, particularly one’s spouse or children, and which typically requires dependence on the state.

‘research’
may mean:
1. data gathered in the pursuit of truth, generating interesting or useful conclusions;

but may also mean:
2. output the primary purpose of which is to add weight to a publications list; or
3. output designed to reinforce the dominant viewpoint; or
4. output the stated conclusions of which are not supported by the data, but which aligns itself with the dominant viewpoint; or
5. output which looks like research in sense (1), in that it is technically dense, cites plenty of supporting references and appears in a journal, but which is otherwise vacuous and/or specious.

‘equality’
may mean:
the chance to compete on the same terms as others, without legal restrictions;

but may also mean:
proportional representation for each social group in each sphere of life.

articles

legal uncertainty and counter-terrorism
Proposed counter-extremism measures violate legal certainty.

legal certainty
Legal certainty is a defence against arbitrary state power. As a principle, it is at risk of erosion.

Merkel, Obama, Trump and liberal values The term ‘liberal’ has become meaningless through abuse, and should be abandoned.

‘free’ debate at ‘universities’ The No Offence incident at Oxford and its implications.

high-frequency nonsense Criticisms of high-frequency trading are misplaced. Competitive arbitrage is essential to markets.

lucidity and obfuscation Lucid dreaming as a topic, and potential key to understanding sleep, was pioneered by Dr Celia Green.

consciousness and the sausage factory The problem of consciousness. Why academia, as it stands, is unlikely to generate a solution.

consciousness and ... (part 2) Major intellectual progress requires special conditions. Recognition of this is on the decline.

egalitarianism caused the 2008 meltdown Was meltdown linked to inequality, as Bank of England argues, or to egalitarian housing policies?

Airstrip One, A.D.2014 Orwell-inspired satire on modern Britain, and the new and dangerous “closed material procedure”.

‘normal’ science Modern research teams seek cogs, not individuals. How mediocratic academics exploit the efforts of others.

tales from Bizarro-world money-printing – UK education policies – Fukushima – US surveillance – Celia Green & Oxford

French Polish The term “racism” is being broadened as a means of restricting free speech. How not to play Chopin.

weekend notes #12 Are Oxford students “rich thickos”? Should doctors be ranked? Was Margaret Thatcher exploited?

weekend notes #11 The theory of rising inequality oversimplifies, and avoids mentioning non-egalitarian explanations.

Diamond Bob and the biggest boson the expensive search for the Higgs boson – review of the London Olympics – retrophobia

the meaning of mediocracy Collectivism, masquerading as egalitarianism, is the dominant ideology – not individualism.

academia: style over substance Academia is adapting to the new hegemony. Technical complexity reigns, while content is often vacuous.

mediocracy

17 June 2007

Just another ideologically motivated assumption

mediocratic meanings

articles

Mediocracy – the book

Oxford Forum

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