Nice progressives and mean reactionaries alike think everyone wants to be king. What if I told you there's a major world religion whose central virtues include "不敢為天下先": refusing to be emperor? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Treasures_(Taoism) …
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Replying to @St_Rev
You don’t even need to get that exotic with it. From good, plain old Christianity: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20%3A25-27&version=NIV …
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Replying to @johanatan @St_Rev
a variant on the idea pops up in everything worthwhile but you really don't even have to go further than American Founding Fathers mythos. Washington exemplifying the virtuous president as one who'll do the job if called to but doesn't seek it
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Replying to @schakalsynthetc @johanatan
It comes up contextually in many places, as advice to certain groups of people. In Daoism it's central: compassion, simplicity, and 'not daring to be ahead in the world' are the three treasures.
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Replying to @St_Rev @johanatan
ah good point, ya that's a real difference. I mean "the abrahamics don't contain the idea" is false (& I know you weren't implying otherwise) but the rest is "they contain the idea and, um, how's that working for them so far? [points to emperors claiming scriptural underwriting]"
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Replying to @St_Rev
"a central idea, not an item of narrative or contextual oh-by-the-way good advice incidental to the central ideas" is the "real difference" I referred to
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Replying to @schakalsynthetc @St_Rev
the sophomoric "have you ever heard of a Buddhist fundamentalist?" trope (uh yes I've heard of Sinhalese nationalism for one) noted & duly dispensed with, I actually was just thinking I honestly can't think of even a viable candidate for real example of tyranny under Daoist cover
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Replying to @schakalsynthetc @St_Rev
not that it matters much except as historical perspective given I already take "no noble idea is completely immune to motivated and malicious misuse" as axiomatic
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. Banned in Sweden. SubGenius, Zhuangist, white-hat troll. Defrocked mathematician. Brain problems.