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Randolph Bourne (wikipedia.org)
20 points by Caiero on Oct 26, 2023 | hide | past | favorite | 7 comments



Bought a collection of his essays recently.


“broadening of people's views would eventually lead to a nation where all who live in it are united”

Is that what we’re experiencing?


Yes in places with a genuine broadening of views. The US would bot be nearly as well off if it weren’t for diverse immigrants given that even today they start 60% of your successful startups.


I’m willing to entertain that claim if you would be willing to point to one or two examples and define “broadening views”. From the data I’ve seen, violent crime is associated with urban areas. I think of the places where one might encounter the most broad set of worldviews (airports, subways, dense low income metropolitan areas with a mix of ethnic backgrounds) none of them seem increasingly unified in any meaningful sense of the word unified. We now treat citizens the same way we treat enemies, by spying on them, because some may be terrorists. That was the original justification at least. I don’t see much evidence of our “broadening views unites us”. Look at our universities for increasingly violent mob behavior where once there was a culture of debate (give or take the occasional fire poker incident). Increasingly there is focus on one’s identity group, as a means of self-distinction (ironically) and need for community.


> diverse immigrants given that even today they start 60% of your successful startups

nothing says diverse like tech company founders who are primarily: male, 25-35 years old, majority live in 2 or 3 cities, have the same educational backgrounds.

if you're trying to highlight the virtues of diversity and 'genuine broadening of views', i probably wouldn't use VC backed tech company founders as an example


Yes, the things you didn’t mention is the different races. Indians make up 50% of those.


> The US would not be nearly as well off

As long as the economy grows, all other concerns are irrelevant.




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