tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009275364559542169.post4644902867501890097..comments2023-11-02T03:41:11.028-07:00Comments on The Homeschooling Physicist: The World We Have LostPhysicistDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11111405959451703182noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009275364559542169.post-34635748206633495562011-07-30T16:56:40.543-07:002011-07-30T16:56:40.543-07:00Interesting you brought up Teddy Rosevelt -- have ...Interesting you brought up Teddy Rosevelt -- have you read The Imperial Cruise? Great Read!<br /><br />grevAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009275364559542169.post-23945829717585447352011-07-25T08:21:36.154-07:002011-07-25T08:21:36.154-07:00Excellent essay!Excellent essay!grevnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009275364559542169.post-21165654716496592512010-03-24T23:13:19.348-07:002010-03-24T23:13:19.348-07:00Rob K,
Thanks for dropping by.
I understand your...Rob K,<br /><br />Thanks for dropping by.<br /><br />I understand your point – as I said in my essay, the causes of the changes I mentioned form a complicated tangle that is certainly not easy to sort out.<br /><br />Is the collectivism – “groupism,” if you will – that is so widespread in American society today due to “progressive” educators or to militarism or to a loss of middle-class independence and self-confidence or to…?<br /><br />The true answer of course is all of the above and more.<br /><br />I’ve worked in the corporate world, and I have certainly seen a lot of this attitude in large corporations, as you say – managers who think that everything would be fine if everyone would simply blindly follow orders and not mention any problems or difficulties, even if the company is actually in a state of collapse.<br /><br />But that experience does suggest to me that this is not inherent to the corporate sector – at least not in a free-market economy.<br /><br />That sort of blind “yes-man” behavior is not really in the interests of the stockholders: in the long run, it produces a rigid, sclerotic corporation that is unable to adjust to new economic realities. That is <i>not</i> what corporations really need – although I admit that a disconcerting number of American managers <i>think</i> that this is what they need.<br /><br />(Of course, if the top corporate managers can manage to get some cozy government bailouts – well, then, they may keep the “see no evil” game going a bit longer, though not, I think, forever. But that is not a free-market economy, and pursuing that point would lead me astray into a discussion of the Bush-Obama corporate bailouts, etc.)<br /><br />This is a significant difference from the traditional military. Traditionally, the military has relied largely on army infantry, and, traditionally, the job of infantry was to blindly obey orders, march into enemy fire, and obediently kill or be killed.<br /><br />So, I do think this mindset is more innate to the military than to the economic world.<br /><br />Of course, the modern US military, facing “unconventional” wars such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, is now trying to change that mindset and encourage greater personal initiative: again, it is a complex issue.<br /><br />One of the reasons I mentioned the issue of militarism is that many of the points I made – about the breakdown of the educational system, for example – are generally considered “conservative” points, and I wanted to illustrate that the changes I discussed transcended the liberal/conservative divide.<br /><br />A related point is that much of the push towards conformity goes back to the Cold War, a crusade usually linked to the conservatives (although actually begun by the liberal Harry S Truman and opposed by some conservative leaders such as Bob Taft). I was born early in the Cold War, and I remember well the mind-set that unless we all pulled together and behaved like obedient clones, the Commies would overwhelm us.<br /><br />It turned out to be nonsense, of course: it was the greater creativity and individuality of the West as compared to the anthill life under Communism that led to the collapse of Communism.<br /><br />So, again, the causes of these changes are quite convoluted. But, the fact that they did occur is, I think, not debatable. And, I think everyone needs to rethink whether these changes were necessary or desirable.<br /><br />Incidentally, I do think that this rethinking is starting to spread among many Americans, and that this is a good thing.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />DavePhysicistDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11111405959451703182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009275364559542169.post-72331913337793493782010-03-24T11:41:10.775-07:002010-03-24T11:41:10.775-07:00Not just militarism requires the "group think...Not just militarism requires the "group think". Don't forget the other half of Eisenhower's Military-Industrial complex. Corporatism requires the same sort of cannon fodder. Interchangeable people with no real long term goals, strong allegiance to the company, and subsuming self for the good of the "whole".Rob Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15604826633798229422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2009275364559542169.post-3261795509885754012010-03-22T08:12:05.712-07:002010-03-22T08:12:05.712-07:00Interesting post--I will be back to read more!Interesting post--I will be back to read more!Hopewellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02510172065585770709noreply@blogger.com