This is a special post for quick takes by Raemon. Only they can create top-level comments. Comments here also appear on the Quick Takes page and All Posts page.
This is an experiment in short-form content on LW2.0. I'll be using the comment section of this post as a repository of short, sometimes-half-baked posts that either:
don't feel ready to be written up as a full post
I think the process of writing them up might make them worse (i.e. longer than they need to be)
I ask people not to create top-level comments here, but feel free to reply to comments like you would a FB post.
It is very important that the threat of political revolutions exist – the fact that if the people get angry, they *will* overthrow rulers is the thing that keeps rulers in check. (This is relevant for countries as well as web forums and EA organizations)
But, actual revolutions are generally quite bad – they are very costly, and my impression is that a lot of the time they A) don't actually successfully build something better than the thing they destroyed, B) the prospect of constant revolution makes it harder to build anything lasting.
So, it's important for the threat of revolution to be real (to the point where if things get real bad you actually revolt even though it's probably locally negative to do so). But, still, it's better for all parties to fix things such that the threat doesn't need to get carried out.
(I don't have that solid a grasp on the difference between hypothetical vs counterfactual. The important point here is that IF the political situation doesn't improve, THEN there will be a revolution)
This is an experiment in short-form content on LW2.0. I'll be using the comment section of this post as a repository of short, sometimes-half-baked posts that either:
I ask people not to create top-level comments here, but feel free to reply to comments like you would a FB post.