moral fashion doesnt have election-shaped cliffs. this is state enforced morality the chart is showing when the authoritarians took power and when they lost it

@IterIntellectus I am equally concerned of when the pendulum swings too far on the other side. It'll be like when Oliver Cromwell came to power - a traditionalist backlash that stifles all social life.

@IterIntellectus @pmarca Imagine thinking corporate security disclosures are a leading indicator of anything. Let alone a government driven top-down mandate.

@IterIntellectus @pmarca What’s ironic about PaulG posting this is that he rejects the same critical thinking that lead to the end of wokeness in the first place. He’s riding the rollercoaster down and not understanding that Gravity is what brought society closer to Earth.

@IterIntellectus It was a mix of corporations toadying to power ("Ja, Herr Hitler! Ve vill totally make you your fighter-bomber to destroy both London *and* Stalingrad!"), and credit extortion via Larry Fink at Blackrock with his Karen soccer mom DEI criteria. Byzantine line-go-up.

It is a bit scary the relationship, though, between state influenced morality and what becomes morally fashionable. Absolute lemming mentality, and authority counts on power moves becoming social preference at some point. So we'll see social holdouts despite the loss of authority, as relationships and careers were built on all the craziness. But it's incredibly helpful to point to data that establishes the social gaslighting efforts that were happening by people in power.

@IterIntellectus There were 4 per quarter during biden? That doesn't sound like a lot at all. (Yes this is a comment on a shittily designed chart)

@IterIntellectus Tbf it does seem to start the rapid increase under Trump's first term

@IterIntellectus Fucking Obama, that raise was the beginning of the end

@IterIntellectus @mcnabbd @grok is this chart consistent with other moral panics? Are they this steep?

@IterIntellectus DEI still exists, they changed the name to BRIDGE.

@IterIntellectus That big drop is known as the Rufo Effect

@IterIntellectus Obama and Biden created woke with government propaganda. x.com/WillHavePeace/…

@IterIntellectus Unfortunately they’ll 10x the next time they get power, wokeism is not dead

@IterIntellectus State-enforced morality? You mean the way it shoots up after the Biden committee takes office?

@IterIntellectus It is also deceptive because many of the places that kept DEI policies simply rebranded them.

@IterIntellectus That’s cause “DEI” was never a term before 2021. The thing of the day the right wing was mad about was CRT. Which probably has a similar looking cliff as it came and went in a similar timespan

@IterIntellectus Morality can best be defined as a choice that causes you harm or impairs your advancement for the benefit of others. Therefore, you should never be guilted or forced into doing anything moral, it should be wholly of your own volition

@IterIntellectus Point, but state enforced morality can also shift gradually without clear election markers.

@IterIntellectus So why did Trump 1 start enforcing this?

@IterIntellectus Yep. It's like saying North Koreans live according to a popular moral fashion, nothing to do with Kim.

Up late and bored? Tap into live conversations.

@IterIntellectus Paul Graham was one of the woke ones.

@IterIntellectus some people will gaslight you and dismiss DEI policies as "moral fashion".

@IterIntellectus They didn't stop the DEI. They just changed the name and tactics. BRIDGE is keeping it alive and well. youtu.be/zsSeZSt0Zow?si…

@IterIntellectus Beg to disagree. You didn't look at the chart. The sharp rise happens before the sharp decrease. And therefore: "moral fashion doesn't have election shaped ramps". Someone forced this following your logic.

@IterIntellectus “Moral fashion?” What a dumb fucking term and what’s behind it. Also you can’t trust PG. As someone who has spent time with him on multiple occasions, he is not trustworthy. At all. You’ve prolly spent time with him too

@IterIntellectus Remember the Corporate Equality Index? That was a real fucking mess.

@IterIntellectus "I can't succeed on merit because I suck, therefore I should be promoted" -DEI "I fled from a failed country to yours, therefore my culture is superior" -3rd worlders "my religion is spread through rape & genocide, clearly it's the supreme faith" -Islam it's all the same thing

@IterIntellectus that's a very interesting perspective on moral fashion and its relationship with state power

@IterIntellectus This is the correct interpretation

@IterIntellectus Exactly

@IterIntellectus yup, election cliffs scream policy levers not culture drift. which lever here tho, agencies, proxy votes, HR scorecards, or courts?

@IterIntellectus They are also totalitarians

Relatedly, an alternative subtext here is that the corporate sphere is admitting that fake jobs, insincere rhetoric, and signaling political fealty are just part of the cost of doing business. Pragmatic fealty to prevailing power/orthodoxies is simply a calculated overhead no different from compliance or lobbying expenses.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ It’s beyond cowardly, but rational if you’re a snake that worships Mammon or a foreigner with no concerns for the natives. Executives grasp that such signaling however hollow secures preferential access to capital from usurious and political attuned financial institutions, favorable credit terms, and insulation against regulatory or political reprisals.

@IterIntellectus @pmarca The Brandonzeit