maxniederhofer

0. We'd like to see 0

Arguably charity is the primary moral requirement.

what exactly are you proposing as the mechanism of these power interests pushing this book?

> slating for reviews, inclusion on top lists, discussions on television shows, interviews with author etc.

Are you suggesting there are specific people who are actively pushing this book, who are not directly tied to the marketing of the book?

> yes

since they are "power interests" or some such

> Are you suggesting that power is not a legitimate criterion of social analysis? Just to understand the quotations

What does it mean that "cultural power interests that are interested in stability" (paraphrased) are pushing the book in a way that's more than just marketing?

> It means they are doing it because they don't care about the sales, they care about the message being spread widely.

I'm not saying it's coordinated. I'm not saying it's some sort of conspiracy. But yeah, it's clearly more than "some people like this book"

I think there's more to it than that. The book proposes a return to a classical rational-modern worldview with typical liberal values ("Enlightenment"). That optimistic view of the future would be one way out of the tribalist identity politics that, fueled by fear, are ruining Western society. There are big power interests, both financial and cultural, that are interested in stability. Pushing Pinker's book is more than just marketing.

Saving you a click: with 95% confidence, humans are predicted to go extinct between 5,100 and 7.8 million years from now.

The prediction seems neither very robust (normal distribution?), nor very useful.

Business models are very well defined. The online business models are product/service sales, subscription, retail, commission, advertising and digital licensing.

The pitch types listed are a good start, but are neither mutually exclusive, nor wholly exhaustive.

The main difference, to me, is that Doctorow has a less offensive way of making the case than RMS and hence might actually be taken seriously.

Even if all your arguments are true, there is absolutely no reason to believe that the "top tastemaker" also needs to be CEO of the company.

It's very addictive. One of the few use cases where I actually enjoyed the game-like features.