tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1991402668327441142.post4318510633833754258..comments2024-01-29T15:41:12.310-08:00Comments on Rich Puchalsky's blog: Theses towards a left ideologyRich Puchalskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543499708727953026noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1991402668327441142.post-64355895462427336882017-08-01T18:07:18.829-07:002017-08-01T18:07:18.829-07:00Hi Bruce, I tried to write a reply and some peculi...Hi Bruce, I tried to write a reply and some peculiarity of the comment screening (necessary to avoid spam) bounced it off my own blog. So I'll reply with an actual post. If I have the energy.Rich Puchalskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10543499708727953026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1991402668327441142.post-34592449830122582742017-07-30T18:47:42.671-07:002017-07-30T18:47:42.671-07:00Don't know what ecological value means, becaus...Don't know what ecological value means, because I don't know what value means.<br /><br />"It predictably produces the exact results that we see around us now." Inevitability? History only happens one way. Degrees of freedom, zero. Information value, zero.<br /><br />Interpretation of the configuration of the world as the latest step on a path with unknown destination is capable of yielding knowledge, but you have to work at it a bit more subtly than "what is, is of necessity". Notice coincidence, messiness. The world as it is, is many things, many of them the consequences of contingent choices made in ignorance of the world as it was.<br /><br />Past performance is no prediction, of course, but if what you want is to draw people into an hypnotic trance when you can feed them an ideology, you may need the fatuous more than knowledge. Actually understanding, which comes with a lot of painful doubt, and feeling a common understanding in social communion -- these go in different directions. Millenialism is stupid, but . . .<br /><br /><br />"There is no reason to use money" money is not about scarcity. Money is about time. And debt. And loose coordination of scale. <br /><br />Money you may need to 're-work, but if you are serious, money and debt are way too useful in the absence of scarcity in loosely coordinating activity to just chuck the challenge. If you really think ecological value is the proper ground, then there is your gold. And if you want to minimize centralization but still scale coordination, you need a central bank to backstop all the local scorekeeping. "Man owes a great debt to nature" may be just the fatuousness you need.<br /><br />Bruce Wilderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09631065564839959376noreply@blogger.com