The Wayward Axolotl

This is a response to an article by JayMan: The Rise of Universalism . I am going to critique the ideas he presents in that article. If you don’t read his article first, this won’t make much sense. I will start with the notion of Universalism. He defines it as follows: Universalism is, broadly, the belief that all humans deserve the rights and recognition that historically people would only reserve for their own clan, own tribe, or at best, own countrymen. Let’s analyze this definition. Like all definitions, it depends on other definitions. It depends on the meaning of “rights”, for example. Does Universalism specify what rights people should have? Do those rights come with responsibilities attached? What exactly are these “rights and recognition”? This is an important point, because a claim of universality for an ideology/religion is not unique. Consider Islam, for example. Islam claims to be a universal religion and way of life. Any human being can be accepted i...

This essay is about the philosophy of efilism. Efilism is the view that life is bad. The term “efilism” is based on “life” spelled backwards. Efilism is the creation of Inmendham, an early YouTuber who promoted the philosophy on YouTube and other platforms. Most of his content is in video format. You can visit his website . Efilism is based on three premises: Hedonism: Pleasure and pain are the ultimate source of value. Experiencing pleasure has positive value. Experiencing pain has negative value. (By “pain” I mean all bad feelings, such as hunger, fear, etc., not just the “physical” pain of a stubbed toe. Likewise for “pleasure”.) Altruism: There is a moral imperative to do good for others. This applies to all others. Given (1), this means trying to minimize the pain and maximize the pleasure experienced by sentient beings. Sentient beings experience more pain than pleasure, on average. From these three premises, efilists derive the conclusion that sentient life has negative ...

Who wants a world in which the guarantee that we shall not die of starvation entails the risk that we will die of boredom? — Raoul Vaneigem, The Revolution of Everyday Life , 1967 This year is the 50th anniversary of the “Summer of Love”, the summer of 1967, when the hippie movement captured the hearts and minds of the young. The summer of love was a cultural tipping point. It was the point at which Western culture tipped from modernity to post-modernity. The sixties were the coming of age of the baby boomers. They had grown up in a period of relative peace and prosperity. The post-war years were a time of technological and economic progress. The US had defeated Germany and Japan in WWII. It was now the dominant military and industrial power in the world. Mankind was reaching into space. Diseases had been conquered. Food was abundant and cheap. People in the US, and the West in general, enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. The population was migrating from both the farms ...

In this essay, I will argue that the gap between blacks and whites in the US is almost entirely due to genetic differences. By “gap”, I mean all the race differences in behavior and social outcomes: income, crime, welfare use, single parenthood, etc. This is a strong position, obviously, but I will explain why it is the most reasonable position to take. I will also argue that most statistical differences between racial, sexual and economic demographics in developed countries are due to genes. Again, this is a strong position, but I believe it is the most reasonable one. Let me give the general outline of the argument first. It has two parts. Part 1. Modern civilization has created an environment of abundance. The material conditions of human beings have never been better than in modern, developed societies. Almost everyone has access to adequate nutrition, medical care and education. Modern civilization brings out the genetic potential of individuals. As a consequence, t...

I often use the term "ideology", so I thought I should explain what I mean by it. The Wikipedia definition is: A comprehensive set of normative beliefs, conscious and unconscious ideas, that an individual, group or society has. I use the term in a more specific way. My definition is: A system of ideas that defines a social and moral dichotomy between US and THEM, GOOD and EVIL. In this essay I will expand on my definition of "ideology". I will explain the function of ideologies and how their form derives from their function. I will start with my favorite example of group conflict, Easter Island. I have described what happened there before: population explosion followed by collapse. Imagine Easter Island just before the collapse. Let's say there were about 5,000 adults and 10,000 children living on the island. The children were growing up and eating more and more food. Teenagers eat a lot. The island could only support about 10,000 adults. There was n...

A lot of people are talking about the deep state these days, either to deny that it exists or to claim that it is attempting to overthrow the elected government of the US. I have been criticized for talking about such a crazy conspiracy theory. So be it. I do believe in the existence of the deep state, although I don't think it is run by reptilian Illuminati or grey aliens, or whatever. I think it consists of people who cooperate in covert ways to control the government. One reason why I believe in the deep state is that I don't believe in the myth of democracy. Before we can have an intelligent discussion of the way social power actually works, the myth of democracy must be debunked. The myth of democracy is that the government acts on behalf of the people because it is elected. First, let's review how democracy works. The people elect the top level of government, by choosing one politician versus another. The elected government has two main functions: to make laws and...

The story of Easter Island has always fascinated me. Not just because of the huge, enigmatic statues, but because Easter Island was (before European contact) a miniature analog to the Earth. It was a little world, isolated in the Pacific, colonized by human beings only about 1000 years ago, and within a 500 year period there was a population explosion, environmental destruction, and population collapse. I will retell that story very briefly, and then I will discuss some of its implications for human nature. The original colonists found a paradise of abundant food. They brought no diseases with them, so for many generations they lived lives free of disease, hunger and war. At first, they could easily kill dolphins and seabirds for food, so they did. The island was covered in a lush forest of huge trees, which could be cut down for canoes or timber. Eventually, the dolphins and seabirds disappeared, so the Easter Islanders switched to agriculture as their main source of food. As their ...