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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 6, 2023

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That’s replied to in my post: East Asian cultures have strong pressure to reproduce yet do not, which nullifies the social pressure hypothesis. Highly religious cultures will also reproduce regardless of social institutions, eg poor Muslims who have moved to France — and also, social institutions are usually formed consequent to desires: if there were a strong desire to have children then the social institutions would form as a consequence. We have social institutions for all sorts of desirable things from furry fandoms to Marxist communes to higher education.

Progressives who claim to have piles of self-love

They may claim this, but I think in actuality they don’t. They don’t believe that they as individuals are particularly valuable to the universe, they don’t believe that their culture is positive let alone God-ordained, they don’t believe they were specially chosen for anything, and it’s questionable whether they enjoy “just living” in the sense of the devout. IMO these people are usually attempting to cure the low-esteem that permeates their life, without much success.

Men in tribes that are 'hyper-competitive'

In nomadic cultures you mean? Like Bedouins? These culture heap pride and privilege on men, and there are religious rituals that create either an “equality among believers” or extreme affiliative pride. Which hyper-competitive tribe are you thinking about which doesn’t have a religious festival that enhances male self-love?