[ExI] The Catholic Impact (was Re: Origin of ethics and morals)

[Mirco Romanato]

Il 22/12/2011 11:02, Anders Sandberg ha scritto:
> On 2011-12-21 23:36, Stefano Vaj wrote:
>> To bring things back on topic, I would add that such deliberate effort
>> at creating artificial melting pots not only is openly aimed at reducing
>> cultural diversity in favour of a universal way-of-life, but it helps
>> slowing down, as it has always been the case in slavery-based economies,
>> technological innovation, which is instead a typical consequence of
>> highly-paid, scarce manpower in more communitarian environments.
> 
> I'm not entirely convinced. The US has been the main site of
> technological innovation for a long time, yet it has fairly cheap
> manpower and a not very communitarian environment. Certainly Scandinavia
> and Japan have been high-tech (expensive manpower and a communitarian
> environment), but it seems that the availability of capital in the US
> has been a far more deciding factor.

The US in the 1950-1960 had the best paid workforce and the best
innovations. The cheap workforce immigration started around the time of
the Great Society of Johnson (1964-1968) and its social reforms.

> Looking at Florida's studies of the creative class (and Charles Murray's
> mapping of human excellence in time and space) I get the strong
> impression that the truly creative environments are indeed melting pots
> - clusterings of talent, tolerance and tech infrastructure (interpreted
> loosely), likely supplemented by ready availability of money or other
> forms of investment into projects.

There is the need of a myth, also. A "we are building a great nation",
"We are the forefront of the future". This help leverage the freedom of
people that then self-select themselves

> Just like artificial silicon valleys rarely work, artificial melting
> pots rarely work - melting pots require people in them to make up the
> rules between themselves, not to have them imposed by ever so benevolent
> outside powers. This is often messy, and I suspect the majority of
> normal people do not actually want to live there.

In fact the different from some artificial Silicon Valley and the REds
in Honduras is the recognition that the government don't know how and
can not manage them. They will work and prosper only if they are free to
manage themselves.

Mirco