Suppose we switched from Patriarchy to Matriarchy?
If strength were the only consideration of superiority then gorillas would be the super race.
As far as intellect men may possess higher specialized brain functions but women beat men for a woman has a more general comprehensive genius rather than a mans expertise in a myopic subject area.
TM wrote:
puddingmouse wrote:
^ I take it you consciously think women are inferior.
My post was fairly simple to understand, when we look at history, the male dominated society is a fairly common constant among highly successful groups and nations, when this is the case one has to conclude that A: It works, and B: There is a reason for this model becoming the most successful one. If other societal organization models were competitive you would have a more varied distribution of models in actual life. You would have had egalitarian, matriarchal and patriarchal societies left and right, all thriving.
One of my main arguments in earlier debates on the female role in the modern world was that if females in the position of C-level executives, management and company boards lead to higher earnings, higher market capitalizations, or whatever measuring stick being used (although those two are the most common ones). Then women in those positions can be viewed as a source of competitive advantage and companies would either utilize this to their benefit, or lose out versus competition that did.
My approach to most things is "Does it work?" I'm not convinced that softer values have had a purely positive effect and that the continued emphasis on softer values in just about every field will produce a net gain based on the statistics I've seen. That is not to say that females are in any way inferior, just different. Female values work better in some areas, male values in others.
If it can be demonstrated that economic growth is better with male values at the helm, then that is how it should be run. If it turns out that you get better growth with female values, then that is how it should be run. If it is shown that it is better with a mix of the two, then that is how it should be run. That is not to say that economic growth is everything, but as Winston Churchill said " Some see private enterprise as a predatory target to be shot, others as a cow to be milked, but few are those who see it as a sturdy horse pulling the wagon." by large, the luxury that most of the western world enjoys at present is due to capitalism and innovation, two things that are notoriously competitive. We should not give up our competitive advantages in order to give lip service to "how it should be".
Naturally everything that has happened since the 1940s can hardly be attributed to gender politics, doing so would be an obvious fallacy.
Being competitive and analytical aren't traits unique to men, though I agree that they're the best way to run a business. I think we see these values too much as gendered. There is a biological element to people having preferences for different values, but this has been exaggerated by the fact that in earlier states of civilisation, we needed a tight, gendered specialisation of roles. I would argue that we don't now. At least if anyone tries to tell me to get in the gender box, I will tell them to GTFO. In earlier times, I probably would've become a nun if I had that option. I think it's in the interests of society now to give people ample wiggle room with gender roles.
LKL wrote:
GGPViper wrote:
puddingmouse wrote:
GGPViper wrote:
puddingmouse wrote:
^ I take it you consciously think women are inferior.
In what way?
TM's argument against women's superiority (which I don't believe in, either) is that all modern societies are patriarchal and that these patriarchal societies have been magnanimous enough to allow 'soft values' (which he says are damaging). Using his logic, if all the modern societies in the world are patriarchal, and that's a reason why women are not superior, it must stand to reason that men are superior, according to TM.
If all modern societies are male-dominated, then male superiority would be the most parsimonious conclusion from a purely scientific perspective.
The "soft values are damaging" argument isn't just an opinion, by the way. The available evidence suggests that hardcore free market capitalism is the best engine for economic growth...
Speaking as a biologist, you are incorrect. there is a difference between "dominant" and "superior."
Please provide a detailed rebuttal based on biology which is relevant to this discussion, then...
LKL wrote:
As far as economics goes, I am not an expert but I agree with a couple of nobel-winning economists that laissez-faire economics inevitably results in market crashes that take out huge proportions of the economy through no fault of anyone but the dominant (note: not 'superior') capitalists.
The currently available evidence supports that high levels of economic freedom, low barriers to international trade, low public expenditure and high human capital generates economic growth. (Both TM and I have elaborated extensively on this elsewhere on WP).
Sounds pretty laissez-faire to me...
Damn... this thread is moving *fast*. 3 new posts while I was writing this...
In a patriarchal society a man cannot really be satisfied working as a nurse because his job description would be too limiting. For these types of men being a combat medic would be a better fit.
In a matriarchal society female nurses are trusted and are not held back as glorified maids but have equal responsibilities as would a combat medic who is able to perform emergency surgical operations.
LKL wrote:
As far as economics goes, I am not an expert but I agree with a couple of nobel-winning economists that laissez-faire economics inevitably results in market crashes that take out huge proportions of the economy through no fault of anyone but the dominant (note: not 'superior') capitalists.
Speaking as someone with a little knowledge when it comes to economics, laissez-faire economics cannot result in market crashes of anywhere near the magnitude of the 1929 crash and 2008 crashes without massive aid from Government. What causes such a market crash is simply put when enormous amounts of in reality non-existent capital is allocated poorly. At some stage someone is left holding the bill for the party (the bubble) that preceded it and the size of this bubble is directly correlated with the supply of capital (which is controlled by government).
Government money printing, combined with low interest rates (cheap credit) leads to speculative bubbles. In embryo, the reason for market crashes and depressions are the boom and bust cycles in a country, or in the world, by the only entities that have the power to make an impact on such a wide scale, namely government(s). There is a reason why Keynesian spending tends to be the only thing that get economies out of a depression, the government is the only institution that has the power to fix their own mistakes.
So to repeat what I've said about 18 times on this board by now, here is what happened with the 2008 bubble:
A: Government pushes interest rates artificially low thus creating a ton of cheap credit.
B: Government creates housing programs which direct a great deal of this new cheap credit into housing.
C: Government regulators fail at making sure bank leverage is acceptable, that banks are liquid, etc.
D: The whole population (including the capitalists) prospers off the cheap credit, people buy things they cannot afford in 4 lifetimes.
E: Bubble bursts.
If capitalists are the alcoholics that went on binge and killed a hooker in a hotel room with a candle stick, the government paid for the booze, the hooker, the hotel room and the candle stick.
P.S The people who call what the U.S had and still have as a laissez-faire economy are the equivalent of the people who call Obama a communist.
TM wrote:
So to repeat what I've said about 18 times on this board by now, here is what happened with the 2008 bubble:
A: Government pushes interest rates artificially low thus creating a ton of cheap credit.
B: Government creates housing programs which direct a great deal of this new cheap credit into housing.
C: Government regulators fail at making sure bank leverage is acceptable, that banks are liquid, etc.
D: The whole population (including the capitalists) prospers off the cheap credit, people buy things they cannot afford in 4 lifetimes.
E: Bubble bursts.
A: Government pushes interest rates artificially low thus creating a ton of cheap credit.
B: Government creates housing programs which direct a great deal of this new cheap credit into housing.
C: Government regulators fail at making sure bank leverage is acceptable, that banks are liquid, etc.
D: The whole population (including the capitalists) prospers off the cheap credit, people buy things they cannot afford in 4 lifetimes.
E: Bubble bursts.
You forgot one.
F: Everyone (especially the government) blames everyone *else* for being responsible for the whole mess.
puddingmouse wrote:
Being competitive and analytical aren't traits unique to men, though I agree that they're the best way to run a business. I think we see these values too much as gendered. There is a biological element to people having preferences for different values, but this has been exaggerated by the fact that in earlier states of civilisation, we needed a tight, gendered specialisation of roles. I would argue that we don't now. At least if anyone tries to tell me to get in the gender box, I will tell them to GTFO. In earlier times, I probably would've become a nun if I had that option. I think it's in the interests of society now to give people ample wiggle room with gender roles.
I wasn't arguing that being competitive and analytical were traits unique to men, I know many women who are analytical thinkers and many men who are anything but. However the statistics I've seen from MBTI testing, seem to indicate that the Thinking, Intuitive and Judging traits which are primary business traits are more common in men.
I'm not arguing genders or people, I'm arguing values (and to a lesser degree traits).
Myers-Briggs sources:
http://www.ashridge.org.uk/Website/IC.n ... %20edition)/$File/MyersBriggs.pdf
http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=174057
http://www.theanconas.com/MBTI/mfstats.htm
androbot2084 wrote:
If strength were the only consideration of superiority then gorillas would be the super race.
As far as intellect men may possess higher specialized brain functions but women beat men for a woman has a more general comprehensive genius rather than a mans expertise in a myopic subject area.
As far as intellect men may possess higher specialized brain functions but women beat men for a woman has a more general comprehensive genius rather than a mans expertise in a myopic subject area.
An initial assessment suggests that the Nobel Prize disagrees.
Oh, and a polar bear would probably shred a gorilla to pieces with ease... Size matters...
GGPViper wrote:
androbot2084 wrote:
If strength were the only consideration of superiority then gorillas would be the super race.
As far as intellect men may possess higher specialized brain functions but women beat men for a woman has a more general comprehensive genius rather than a mans expertise in a myopic subject area.
As far as intellect men may possess higher specialized brain functions but women beat men for a woman has a more general comprehensive genius rather than a mans expertise in a myopic subject area.
An initial assessment suggests that the Nobel Prize disagrees.
Oh, and a polar bear would probably shred a gorilla to pieces with ease... Size matters...
The "general intelligence", "general capability" or whatever defense people like to put forth in some cases, is in embryo just a way of putting those who know a little about a lot on the same level as those who know a lot about one subject. However, I've found that people who are experts in one field are often quite educated in other fields as well. The idea of a professor who only knows physics is quite a poor one.
androbot2084 wrote:
If strength were the only consideration of superiority then gorillas would be the super race.
African Elephants are the largest and strongest land animals and have no natural predators. So by your logic they should be be the dominant species on Earth but clearly they are not. Logic Fail.
Quote:
As far as intellect men may possess higher specialized brain functions but women beat men for a woman has a more general comprehensive genius rather than a mans expertise in a myopic subject area.
This is also false. Historic male geniuses outnumber female geniuses in any given field.
Last edited by AspieRogue on 31 Oct 2012, 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TM wrote:
LKL wrote:
As far as economics goes, I am not an expert but I agree with a couple of nobel-winning economists that laissez-faire economics inevitably results in market crashes that take out huge proportions of the economy through no fault of anyone but the dominant (note: not 'superior') capitalists.
Speaking as someone with a little knowledge when it comes to economics, laissez-faire economics cannot result in market crashes of anywhere near the magnitude of the 1929 crash and 2008 crashes without massive aid from Government. What causes such a market crash is simply put when enormous amounts of in reality non-existent capital is allocated poorly. At some stage someone is left holding the bill for the party (the bubble) that preceded it and the size of this bubble is directly correlated with the supply of capital (which is controlled by government).
Government money printing, combined with low interest rates (cheap credit) leads to speculative bubbles. In embryo, the reason for market crashes and depressions are the boom and bust cycles in a country, or in the world, by the only entities that have the power to make an impact on such a wide scale, namely government(s). There is a reason why Keynesian spending tends to be the only thing that get economies out of a depression, the government is the only institution that has the power to fix their own mistakes.
So to repeat what I've said about 18 times on this board by now, here is what happened with the 2008 bubble:
A: Government pushes interest rates artificially low thus creating a ton of cheap credit.
B: Government creates housing programs which direct a great deal of this new cheap credit into housing.
C: Government regulators fail at making sure bank leverage is acceptable, that banks are liquid, etc.
D: The whole population (including the capitalists) prospers off the cheap credit, people buy things they cannot afford in 4 lifetimes.
E: Bubble bursts.
If capitalists are the alcoholics that went on binge and killed a hooker in a hotel room with a candle stick, the government paid for the booze, the hooker, the hotel room and the candle stick.
P.S The people who call what the U.S had and still have as a laissez-faire economy are the equivalent of the people who call Obama a communist.
The United States government did not intervene shortly after the stock market crash of 1929. What followed was a "deflationary spiral" that plunged the US into the great depression. It's just DUMB of free marketeers to agitate for currency based on a commodity with a finite supply that cannot be increased directly the way paper money can be. You are correct that America is no longer laissez-faire and the great depression is exactly what changed that!
DerStadtschutz wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
Reading comprehension is fundamental.
And you're running out of straw.
my reading comprehension is just fine. You complained about having to work to support yourself. Welcome to the world men have been living in forever.
No, I didn't.
Reading comprehension fail.
Look up "sarcasm" and enlighten yourself.
_________________
"If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced."
-XFG (no longer a moderator)
AspieRogue wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
AspieRogue wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
blackelk wrote:
That's what I say. Feminists want all the freedom and rights that men do, but none of the responsibilities. A man in our society has greater expectations, more responsibility, and less sympathy.
Please send me the address of this magic land.
I'm tired of being expected to work 10-12 hours a day to support myself.
I want some of this free money and the privileged lifestyle all of the other Western women supposedly have.
It's called marriage, bb. If you aren't bad looking there is surely a man out there who will work 10-12 hours a day to support you so long as you spread your legs for him every night after he comes home to nice hot meal prepared by you.
No, most men are pretty useless when it comes to the "Prince Charming" gig.
I've never met a man who was the least bit inclined, or even remotely capable of, supporting me financially. Oh, and most emotionally well-adjusted women have no interest in being whores, mmmkkkay?
Oh, I owe 3K on my car. You're a man, so, are you going to send me a check? Didn't think so.
Personally, I'd rather be a white male teenager living in a Western country. No expectations, no responsibilities, and enough free time to sit around on the internet all day complaining about how oppressed I am because my Mommy didn't buy me any Mountain Dew.
How about about a white teenage girl living in a western country? No expectations, nor responsibilities, and enough free time when you're not at school to whine about how the "patriarchy" is oppressing women just because daddy won't buy you a fancy new car.

You're whining about having to support yourself financially like the rest of us despite having a job that pays enough for you to afford internet access. Boo f*cking hoo........GROW UP!
No, I'd rather be a white male teenager who's convinced he has a god-given right to stick his penis into a vagina and any of his personal failures are directly the result of "feminism."
_________________
"If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced."
-XFG (no longer a moderator)
XFilesGeek wrote:
AspieRogue wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
AspieRogue wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
blackelk wrote:
That's what I say. Feminists want all the freedom and rights that men do, but none of the responsibilities. A man in our society has greater expectations, more responsibility, and less sympathy.
Please send me the address of this magic land.
I'm tired of being expected to work 10-12 hours a day to support myself.
I want some of this free money and the privileged lifestyle all of the other Western women supposedly have.
It's called marriage, bb. If you aren't bad looking there is surely a man out there who will work 10-12 hours a day to support you so long as you spread your legs for him every night after he comes home to nice hot meal prepared by you.
No, most men are pretty useless when it comes to the "Prince Charming" gig.
I've never met a man who was the least bit inclined, or even remotely capable of, supporting me financially. Oh, and most emotionally well-adjusted women have no interest in being whores, mmmkkkay?
Oh, I owe 3K on my car. You're a man, so, are you going to send me a check? Didn't think so.
Personally, I'd rather be a white male teenager living in a Western country. No expectations, no responsibilities, and enough free time to sit around on the internet all day complaining about how oppressed I am because my Mommy didn't buy me any Mountain Dew.
How about about a white teenage girl living in a western country? No expectations, nor responsibilities, and enough free time when you're not at school to whine about how the "patriarchy" is oppressing women just because daddy won't buy you a fancy new car.

You're whining about having to support yourself financially like the rest of us despite having a job that pays enough for you to afford internet access. Boo f*cking hoo........GROW UP!
No, I'd rather be a white male teenager who's convinced he has a god-given right to stick his penis into a vagina and any of his personal failures are directly the result of "feminism."
Somebody hasn't been taking their midol!

And if you want me to send you a $3,000 check for your car payments, you're gonna have to give something in return. Did you really expect free money from me for having a uterus? Silly girls.
GGPViper wrote:
No sell.
My skill at running one hundred metres as swiftly as possible is inferior to the equivalent skill of Usain Bolt.
Strength (measured by relative and absolute muscle volume) in women is statistically inferior to the equivalent strength in men.
Brain size in women is statistically inferior to the equivalent brain size in men.
Grey to white brain matter ratio in men is statistically inferior to the equivalent grey to white brain matter ratio in women.
In other words, inferiority can easily be described in scientific terms (=objective).
My skill at running one hundred metres as swiftly as possible is inferior to the equivalent skill of Usain Bolt.
Strength (measured by relative and absolute muscle volume) in women is statistically inferior to the equivalent strength in men.
Brain size in women is statistically inferior to the equivalent brain size in men.
Grey to white brain matter ratio in men is statistically inferior to the equivalent grey to white brain matter ratio in women.
In other words, inferiority can easily be described in scientific terms (=objective).
No, "inferiority" or "superiority" are subjective value-judgements.
It's an objective fact that a car is faster than a horse. It is not an objective fact that a car is "superior" to a horse.
Of course, I've long ago lost faith in the ability of most humans to understand the difference between "subjective" and "objective," which this thread is a depressing reminder of since it consists almost exclusively of people putting forth opinions, speculation, and value-judgements as "objective facts."
_________________
"If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced."
-XFG (no longer a moderator)
AspieRogue wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
AspieRogue wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
AspieRogue wrote:
XFilesGeek wrote:
blackelk wrote:
That's what I say. Feminists want all the freedom and rights that men do, but none of the responsibilities. A man in our society has greater expectations, more responsibility, and less sympathy.
Please send me the address of this magic land.
I'm tired of being expected to work 10-12 hours a day to support myself.
I want some of this free money and the privileged lifestyle all of the other Western women supposedly have.
It's called marriage, bb. If you aren't bad looking there is surely a man out there who will work 10-12 hours a day to support you so long as you spread your legs for him every night after he comes home to nice hot meal prepared by you.
No, most men are pretty useless when it comes to the "Prince Charming" gig.
I've never met a man who was the least bit inclined, or even remotely capable of, supporting me financially. Oh, and most emotionally well-adjusted women have no interest in being whores, mmmkkkay?
Oh, I owe 3K on my car. You're a man, so, are you going to send me a check? Didn't think so.
Personally, I'd rather be a white male teenager living in a Western country. No expectations, no responsibilities, and enough free time to sit around on the internet all day complaining about how oppressed I am because my Mommy didn't buy me any Mountain Dew.
How about about a white teenage girl living in a western country? No expectations, nor responsibilities, and enough free time when you're not at school to whine about how the "patriarchy" is oppressing women just because daddy won't buy you a fancy new car.

You're whining about having to support yourself financially like the rest of us despite having a job that pays enough for you to afford internet access. Boo f*cking hoo........GROW UP!
No, I'd rather be a white male teenager who's convinced he has a god-given right to stick his penis into a vagina and any of his personal failures are directly the result of "feminism."
Somebody hasn't been taking their midol!

And if you want me to send you a $3,000 check for your car payments, you're gonna have to give something in return. Did you really expect free money from me for having a uterus? Silly girls.
According to you, women get free money all the time from a veritable horde of Prince Charmings, so, yes, the men around here should send me 3K to finish paying off my car (under your theory).
_________________
"If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced."
-XFG (no longer a moderator)