Peterson is completely right to point to male depression and suicide rates being very problematic.
It is true that the traditional roles are dying, and no new roles are offered up. This is a problem.
He just happens to be offering bad solutions.
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Ironically this doesn't seem to be much of a problem in Norway, both as it is and as I remember it, so I can understand if it's a confusing premise.
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I do think that part of his appeal is coming at that question directly. The moment in the NYT piece where he tells that young client “of course you are depressed, your situation sucks” is very affecting.
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Exactly. I've wondered about doing the same thing, minus the conservative crank angle, but, in an ironic echo of Peterson, I hadn't thought my life was together enough to qualify.
Maybe in a decade or so.
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Out of curiosity, why is the popular answer to this question typically something about taking responsibility for yourself, and not about making the bigger system better?
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In honesty, I was thinking something more in the vein of a genuine social movement than the Peterson model of an extended book tour.
Hence my point about not being sure if qualify to do something like that, especially given I've only just gotten my bearings in my own life.
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Genuine social movements are way more fun to plan than actually try & execute.
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get into it, and you'll find it more fun than you think if you're the focal point. Emotional energy is very real. Peterson's flying high on it right now.
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Exactly why I'm wary of making the attempt.
It seems Peterson thought he was a fairly principled guy. He wasn't as right as he thought he was.
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fear of misusing power cripples too many people. You don't have to be great, you have to be better than the alternative.
Pre-set some bright red lines "if I do X, I've gone wrong" and proceed.
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Duly noted. But do you really think I'd have nearly that level of impact? That seems... unlikely.
Or are you stating some variation of "spectacular failure is better than evasive speculation"?
Highly unlikely, but who knows. Stuff like this is a crap shoot. You throw the dice and see what happens. Spectacular success is always about a lucky match, even when engineered you can only improve the odds, not make them good.
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but sometimes people can catch the Zeitgeist, and sometimes people even understand it.
Very few people can stay with the Zeitgeist as it changes, however. That sort of genius is truly rare.
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