Every now and then there'll be a story in the media about how scientists are finding the underlying physiological (or even genetic) reasons for differing political belief systems. It'll usually be about how the brains of liberals and conservatives are different somehow.
You know, conservatives are inherently fearful and power hungry, only capable of linear thinking. Liberals are just kinder, gentler beings who have brains that show a much greater level of intellectual flexibility, thereby allowing them to see other points of view ... That sort of stuff.
Here's another one along these lines: In a new book titled The Social Conquest of Earth eminent biologist EO Wilson proposes a theory of political evolution. It says that humans are doomed to an ongoing struggle between individuals and groups as well as inner competition between selfishness and altruism.
He seems to see human civilization a bit like a constantly evolving ecosystem:
In other words, Democrats and Republicans are not two sides of the same coin, but rather different parts of the same genome. One cannot dominate the other, nor can either live without the other. Like it or not, the two parties are condemned to coexist with one another.
It sounds interesting but I think he's made a big error in associating the left-liberal side of politics with altrusim. Sure, they've got the altruistic talk down pat. But they certainly don't walk that talk. Hell, they don't even crawl it most of the time.
I've watched liberals (we call 'em lefties here in Oz) close up for years on end and I have no doubt whatsoever that they're every bit as selfish as conservatives, probably more so. They demand responsibility from others but rarely practise it themselves. And morally, they're often all over the shop.
I believe that we're all selfish. Sure, we're capable of self-sacrifice but self-interest tends to trump it most of the time, let's face it. And we all seek power.
It's not pretty but it's the way we are. We heartless conservatives are just more honest and realistic about these potentially destructive aspects of human nature and seek to sublimate them with a worldview that rewards aspiration, self-reliance and self-possession. Basically, conservatives prefer a society in which we all have power over ourselves and ultimately freedom with responsibility.
Lefties, on the other hand, are basically spoiled brats who haven't grown up. And they will do anything to avoid looking honestly into their own hearts and minds, assuming themselves to be unquestionably virtuous and always motivated by the noblest of intentions. They bang on about compassion, tolerance, and fairness because this tactic gets them what they really want: power over others. No wonder they seek freedom from responsibility so much of the time.
These are some of the key characteristics of conservatives as opposed to liberals. Unlike so many boffins who reckon that such political differences arise from competing genes, I'll be a leftie this time and say:
No way! It's a question of culture, see. Society's to blame.
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
James Delingpole promotes Killing the Earth to Save It in Perth
James Delingpole, controversial climate change skeptic and writer of the book Killing the Earth to Save It, commenced his tour of Australia at the Royal Perth Yacht Club in Nedlands last night. I attended the event, which was organized in major part by Joanne Nova, seen here introducing the author.
The book promotion was well attended. I'm not sure of the exact number but there must have been around two hundred people there. What I found interesting about last night's audience was that while a majority were over fifty, there were also quite a few twenty somethings present.
This was not the case when I saw Christopher Monckton in Sydney back in 2009. At that debate -- in which he totally pwned Tim Lambert -- the vast majority were oldsters. This seems to be confirmation that climate change skepticism is getting through to more and more young folk -- clearly a good sign. (Sure, my statistical sample is small, but it's still bigger than the pool from which that widely touted 97% consensus figure was drawn, so I think this conclusion has some validity.)
Speaking of Monckton: Delingpole has now reached a comparable level of prominence. But he's very different as a public speaker. Monckton has a slick, theatrical and tightly scripted show that makes effective use of PowerPoint. He uses a lot of facts and figures, stats and graphs to blast holes in the case for dangerous climate change.
Delingpole comes at the issue in a different way. He's much more focused on politics and sheds light on the many motivations behind the global warmist movement, which he accurately describes as mass hysteria.
Unlike Monckton, he prefers to extemporize. Much of last night's presentation consisted of his responses to questions from the audience. By doing this he managed to cover a wide range of subjects, often punctuating his clear points with witty ad libs.
Delingpole speaks just like he writes, somehow managing to be brazenly provocative and pithy in a simultaneously disarming, almost self-effacing way. He clearly enjoys the controversy he's generated, saying that "if you're taking flak it proves you're over the target". His unique persona is one of the reasons he's getting so much publicity. I suspect that younger people who may be turned off by Monckton and Plimer are warming to Delingpole.
Among numerous subjects he covered the Climategate scandal, which garnered him a massive amount of publicity almost overnight. Interestingly the bloke who actually coined that term -- the memorably named "Bulldust" -- was also present at the event. I photographed him from behind to maintain his powerful aura of mystery and danger.
And he wasn't the only other well known figure in the war against warmism. Dr David Evans was also there, as was Paul Ostergaard, inventor of an iPhone app for climate change skeptics.
As Joanne Nova mentioned, Perth is a bit of a hub for climate change skepticism. The individualist culture of the place clearly has something to do with that -- as has the fact that Western Australia is pretty much bankrolling the rest of the country with its booming resources industry. The crowd were overwhelmingly supportive of the author, and he ended up selling a lot of books.
Delingpole is definitely worth catching when he appears in your city. Details are here.
You can buy the book online at Fishpond (affiliate link):
Killing the Earth to Save it: How Environmentalists are Ruining the Planet, Destroying the Economy and Stealing Your Jobs
The book promotion was well attended. I'm not sure of the exact number but there must have been around two hundred people there. What I found interesting about last night's audience was that while a majority were over fifty, there were also quite a few twenty somethings present.
This was not the case when I saw Christopher Monckton in Sydney back in 2009. At that debate -- in which he totally pwned Tim Lambert -- the vast majority were oldsters. This seems to be confirmation that climate change skepticism is getting through to more and more young folk -- clearly a good sign. (Sure, my statistical sample is small, but it's still bigger than the pool from which that widely touted 97% consensus figure was drawn, so I think this conclusion has some validity.)
Speaking of Monckton: Delingpole has now reached a comparable level of prominence. But he's very different as a public speaker. Monckton has a slick, theatrical and tightly scripted show that makes effective use of PowerPoint. He uses a lot of facts and figures, stats and graphs to blast holes in the case for dangerous climate change.
Delingpole comes at the issue in a different way. He's much more focused on politics and sheds light on the many motivations behind the global warmist movement, which he accurately describes as mass hysteria.
Unlike Monckton, he prefers to extemporize. Much of last night's presentation consisted of his responses to questions from the audience. By doing this he managed to cover a wide range of subjects, often punctuating his clear points with witty ad libs.
Delingpole speaks just like he writes, somehow managing to be brazenly provocative and pithy in a simultaneously disarming, almost self-effacing way. He clearly enjoys the controversy he's generated, saying that "if you're taking flak it proves you're over the target". His unique persona is one of the reasons he's getting so much publicity. I suspect that younger people who may be turned off by Monckton and Plimer are warming to Delingpole.
Among numerous subjects he covered the Climategate scandal, which garnered him a massive amount of publicity almost overnight. Interestingly the bloke who actually coined that term -- the memorably named "Bulldust" -- was also present at the event. I photographed him from behind to maintain his powerful aura of mystery and danger.
And he wasn't the only other well known figure in the war against warmism. Dr David Evans was also there, as was Paul Ostergaard, inventor of an iPhone app for climate change skeptics.
As Joanne Nova mentioned, Perth is a bit of a hub for climate change skepticism. The individualist culture of the place clearly has something to do with that -- as has the fact that Western Australia is pretty much bankrolling the rest of the country with its booming resources industry. The crowd were overwhelmingly supportive of the author, and he ended up selling a lot of books.
Delingpole is definitely worth catching when he appears in your city. Details are here.
You can buy the book online at Fishpond (affiliate link):
Killing the Earth to Save it: How Environmentalists are Ruining the Planet, Destroying the Economy and Stealing Your Jobs
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