site banner
PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2123 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 2, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Do you think that the USA would have been in a better shape today if Hilary Clinton had won the Democratic primary in 2008? Whether she wins of loses the election itself is up to you.

I think that probably the social cohesion now would be higher and divisions somewhat lower.

Depends how specific you think a lot of things are to particular presidents and timing.

Does COVID still happen in 2020? Does Russia still invade Ukraine? What happens in Israel, we don't get the Abraham accords because we don't get Trump so we don't get desperate Hamas launching 10/7; but it's not like everyone would have just sat still in the meantime?

Does a more technically competent president ban or regulate Bitcoin in 2011? Does a bloodier minded president get more entangled with ISIS? What happens with Epstein?

Then you get into who follows Clinton. When does Mitt Romney run? When does Barack Obama come off the bench?

Does COVID still happen in 2020?

Yes

Does Russia still invade Ukraine?

Very likely, maybe even sooner as Hilary feels pretty hawkish but I don't know enough White House-ology to know if that is true or if she'd accelerate Maidan type shit or make the CIA go even harder

What happens in Israel, we don't get the Abraham accords because we don't get Trump so we don't get desperate Hamas launching 10/7; but it's not like everyone would have just sat still in the meantime?

Genuinely no idea what her Israel policy stance is but I bet a 10/7 still happens as the underlying trends still hold. The USA'S foreign interests are somewhat party agnostic and also driven a lot by the "deep state"

I think a super interesting question is what happens with China. I know Obama (?) actually started the "pivot east" but one of Trump's greatest accomplishments is single handedly shifting the Overton window of the west to make "Holy fuck China is getting swole and this is not good" acceptable and not "muh racism"

I think by now it's probably all the same, but China gets a few more years of runway

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats