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The Orwell vs. Huxley debate is over.. Vonnegut wins.

posted by InnocentBystander on politics

Orwell feared a Best-Korea like fate for the west. Either he succeeded with his warning, delayed our fall, or maybe(unlikely) was wrong.
Huxley feared we would be drowned in irrelevance and noise, then be lost in nihilistic hedonism. He's more or less correct about that, but the consequences are not what he expected. We are unlikely to ever divide our classes based on merit or ability. And while the traditional family is being abandoned, control of the children is not going to wind up in government hands.

Vonnegut wasn't even a contender in this race, but Harrison Burgess is coming true.
His story, and even more so, the movie version. His story was short, the movie expanded on the ideas.
President Trump
Our current economic outlook is unfolding as we watch. We may be a couple years behind the movie, but things are moving as predicted.

A movement criminalizing exceptional performance, does seem like a logical next step. Equality of outcome instead of equality of opportunity, can only be enforced by handicapping the exceptional.

Disagree? Debate me bro

Edit: fixed link

Orwell feared a Best-Korea like fate for the west. Either he succeeded with his warning, delayed our fall, or maybe(unlikely) was wrong. Huxley feared we would be drowned in irrelevance and noise, then be lost in nihilistic hedonism. He's more or less correct about that, but the consequences are not what he expected. We are unlikely to ever divide our classes based on merit or ability. And while the traditional family is being abandoned, control of the children is not going to wind up in government hands. Vonnegut wasn't even a contender in this race, but [Harrison Burgess](https://www.hooktube.com/watch?v=XBcpuBRUdNs) is coming true. His story, and even more so, the movie version. His story was short, the movie expanded on the ideas. [President Trump](https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=uJCqF_1523914420) [Our current economic outlook](https://www.hooktube.com/watch?v=1gfwo4GuwpM) is unfolding as we watch. We may be a couple years behind the movie, but things are moving as predicted. A movement criminalizing exceptional performance, does seem like a logical next step. Equality of outcome instead of equality of opportunity, can only be enforced by handicapping the exceptional. Disagree? [Debate me bro](https://www.hooktube.com/watch?v=V4qAqy4fgSQ) Edit: fixed link

7 comments

[–] fusir 2 points (+2|-0)

Who is John Galt?

[–] [Deleted] 0 points (+0|-0)

I think about this all the time. The reality is you need to acquire enough wealth to be a John Galt and fuck off.

[–] fusir 1 points (+1|-0)

I guess my real point is that the author with a correct prediction was Ayn Rand.

[–] [Deleted] 0 points (+0|-0)

I share her vision, but I don't see her being correct as yet. I took her as the earners will take their ball and go home. I haven't seen that happen. The crony capitalists are still in play and there doesn't seem to be much to do about stopping it.

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[–] InnocentBystander [OP] 0 points (+0|-0)

John's a myth. A symbol of what could be, but never will. Too many years and too many joints for me to remember much about the character, but that's what I recall thinking.

People like to think of themselves as wolves, but we're sheep.
We want to be a part of a herd, and every herd needs a Shepard. The unfortunate reality is that people will trade freedom cheaply if it comes with some sense of security. It doesn't have to be real security, just the appearance. There's more to it than that, but in a nutshell we tend to be happiest when we have someone telling us what to do.

People often say otherwise, but their actions do the more important speaking.