'The Fifth Wave' by Martin Gurri - new blog featured here

New blog on the sidebar: 'the fifth wave' by Martin Gurri. As often cited by Arnold Kling's blog.

"The same unmodulated whine about present conditions circled around and around, without even the ambition to achieve wit, depth, or originality:

    The internet is the enemy:  of rationality, of democracy, of truth.  It must be regulated by enlightened minds.

    The public resembles an eight-year-old who is always fooled by tricks and lies.  For its own protection, it must be constrained by a Guardian class.

    Populism is the spawn of lies.  Even if it wins elections, it is never legitimate, and must be swept away by a higher authority.

    Climate change is a scientific mandate for torturous economic and political experiments, implemented by experts. To deny this is worse than error – it’s a crime against humanity.

    Hate speech, offensive words, fake news, deep fakes, privacy violations, information bubbles, bitcoin, Facebook, Silicon Valley, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Brexit:  all must be controlled, criminalized, exploded, broken up, exposed, deposed, or repeated until the right answer is obtained.

None of this was up for discussion. None of it was uttered with the least semblance of self-awareness.  In the same breath, a speaker called for the regulation of the web and the education of children in “tolerance.” If I had pointed out the contradiction, the speaker, I’m certain, would have denied it.  Tolerance, for her, meant the obliteration of opinions she disliked.   ..."