There's a very simple litmus test for whether an idea is right or left of center. If someone is trying to convince you that you have more agency than you think, it's rightist. If they're trying to convince you that you have less agency than you think, it's leftist. Both bad.
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You should have accurate calibration of how much agency you have, which is obviously going to vary by the position you have in society, so right off the bat, anyone trying to push a generic message trying to drive the agency estimate up or down has a societal agenda
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"You are more powerful than you think" = "I have to do less for you to get what you're owed"
"You are less powerful than you think" = "You should do what I tell you to get more"
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So your exact assessment of the amount of agency you have is right and the only not bad option? 🤔
Feels like centrism so edgy, it’s practically impossible.
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Knowing how much agency you actually have is the starting point for everything. It's not centrism. You might accurately think you have no agency or rule-the-world agency as emperor.
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There’s something here, but I’m not sure “agency” is the correct category. After all, the belief that you can change the world is the foundation of every social moment. Maybe the litmus test ought to consider injustice, compassion, responsibility, or optimism about solving evils?
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I mean specifically personal agency
If a litmus test considers all those things its hardly a litmus test :D
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Ever notice how leftists hate billionaires that create jobs (Bezos, Musk, etc) but never complain about those that just dump cash into politics? (Soros, Bloomberg, etc)
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Part of the problem is individuals and groups have different levels of angency. 1 million free agents doesn’t add up to 1 free population, not even close.
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Maybe this is because agency is just another word for the freedom/responsibility dyad.
The more responsible you are, the more choice you have, but you lose both if you choose poorly.
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