Good Entropy

The death of the department store and the American middle class – Vox

The collapse of America’s middle class crushed department stores.

But the collapse of the middel class is a myth  -> The myth of the shrinking middle class

The myth of the shrinking middle class – Los Angeles Times

But in fact, the whole notion of a shrinking middle class is a myth. Here’s why.

Race & Justice News: One-Third of Black Men Have Felony Convictions | The Sentencing Project

In “Growth in the U.S. Ex-Felon and Ex-Prisoner Population, 1948 to 2010,” Sarah Shannon and colleagues estimate that one-third of black men had a felony conviction in 2010—a significant increase over the past 30 years and far above the rate for white men. Published in Demography, the study develops national and state-level estimates for the frequency of both felony convictions and incarceration. The researchers found that the percentage of black men with a felony conviction increased from 13% in 1980 to 33% in 2010 (compared to 5% and 13% for all adult men during these periods, respectively). They also estimate that the percentage of black men who had experienced imprisonment increased from 6% in 1980 to 15% in 2010 (compared to 2% and 6% for all adult men during these periods, respectively). These estimates are “the first attempt to provide state-level demographic information about people with felony convictions in the United States, a population defined by incomplete citizenship and the temporary or permanent suspension of many rights and privileges.”

Joe Biden, Sean McElwee, and the Future of Progressive Power – The Atlantic

In fact, given his good standing among moderates and his relationship with parts of the labor movement, a President Biden might be able to implement progressive policies in a way that doesn’t alienate centrists or make himself especially vulnerable to Republican attacks. He may actually be uniquely suited for passing progressive policies. During the Democratic National Convention in mid-August, Sanders trumpeted a list of progressive priorities that Biden’s campaign has committed to advancing, including a $15 an hour minimum wage and paid family leave. “Biden really could be a crypto-progressive president,” Julian Noisecat, the vice president of policy and strategy at Data for Progress, told me. (The Trump campaign has suggested something similar, warning repeatedly during the Republican National Convention that Biden would be a “Trojan horse” for radical-left ideas.)

Misunderstanding Marx: Brad Delong and the Collapse of Neoliberalism – MLToday

 What is valid in Marxism? – Marginal REVOLUTION

Brad DeLong offers a scathing and accurate critique of Marxism.

in   Understanding Karl Marx

Why Socialists Should Believe in Human Nature

In a more developed, and more egalitarian society, better humans will flourish. Socialists one, libertarian cousin zero.

I don’t think that all will flourish. Power over others is very enticing for too many people.

Whatever else socialism might mean, it cannot mean a society in which people are called upon to systemically sacrifice themselves for some ideal, be it the fatherland, the working class, the world revolution, the supreme leader. That road leads straight to Pyongyang.

However, a society which caters to everyone’s universal needs, which helps everyone flourish — this is a society that would encourage and nurture the good that lies inside all of us.

The problem that I see with this is the definition, and specifically the scope of the definition. Some people will make what others would consider insane sacrifices to further some goal.

For instance working 100 hour weeks for a decade in order to own some particular thing.

Isn’t that selfish? Why we don’t have kids – and created a series about it

Isn’t that selfish? Why we don’t have kids – and created a series about it

The Pandemic Is Changing My Mind About Having Kids – The Atlantic

The coronavirus could change lingering cultural assumptions about what makes for a full and happy life.

‘Shallow, Selfish, and Self-Absorbed’ Details Why Women Aren’t Having Children – The Atlantic

As detailed in essays by 16 different writers, both male and female: because they don’t want to, and because not wanting to is perfectly reasonable

Why Socialists Should Believe in Human Nature

But our antagonist’s view of human nature is one in which we care only about these things, in which we only care about maximizing returns from the world to ourselves. This is the bourgeois view. The abstract human is basically like a two-year-old on an airplane. Nobody else matters. And if this were true, our project would be doomed. Out of toddlers on an airplane, I think you’d probably be able to build a world of an Ayn Rand novel, but you wouldn’t be able to build socialism. But the bourgeois view is only partly correct. Humans are capable of many things other than simple selfishness. We’re capable of caring for others, we’re capable of empathy and compassion, we have the capacity to distinguish fairness from unfairness, and the capacity to hold ourselves to those standards.

The phrase that stikes me here is “capable of many things other than simple selfishness”. But it really should be many things in addtion to simple selfishness.

Think about the way in which society is organized. What do people have to do to reproduce themselves? What do they have to do to other people in order to reproduce themselves? These facts exercise selectional pressures on the set of drives that constitute our human nature. The socialist wager, in a sentence, is that a better society would encourage our better tendencies.

Whoa. That sure does take a leap of faith. Let’s adopt socialism because it will make us better people.

The second point is that socialism would also be a much more egalitarian society. People would be each other’s equals — not subordinates or superiors.

But people are inherently vastly unequal. 

In a more developed, and more egalitarian society, better humans will flourish. Socialists one, libertarian cousin zero.

And you make all that don’t fit this mold miserable?

Looking Backward On Socialism: A Radical Denial Of Human Nature – Marotta On Money

One of the most common socialist assumptions is that it is possible to perfect society. They believe that enough humans are sufficiently altruistic that, if only they were put in positions of power and control, they would be able to guide the rest of mankind to a similar state of near perfection.

A little simplistic I think.