Notices by M. Grégoire (mpjgregoire@mastodon.club), page 24

@FssOfDeath Comme tu veux...

@FssOfDeath Je t'invite à considérer la citation suivante :

"The various modes of worship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by the people, as equally true; by the philosopher, as equally false; and by the magistrate, as equally useful." — Edward Gibbon, *The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire*

#religion
#EdwardGibbon
#Rome

@xvu After some reflection, I'd say that *On the Incarnation* is more of good book to start with for Christian /theology/. For Christianity per se, *Mere Christianity* by C.S. Lewis is a better introduction for a modern person.

@xvu
Twentieth Century history: *Modern Times* by Paul Johnson
Christianity: *On the Incarnation* by St Athanasius

@xvu
Human history: *Guns, Germs and Steel* by Jared Diamond
Human nature: *The Blank Slate* by Steven Pinker
US politics: *Parliament of Whores* by P.J. O'Rourke
Parliamentary system: *The English Constitution* by Walter Bagehot

@manu Bien, mais il semble que seulement trois personnes ont répondu...

@manu SVP partager les résultats.

En fait, je suis neutre par rapport à cet acte.

Pour : on ne devrait pas confondre l'état avec la religion; ça me vexe à voir un symbole de ma foi traité comme un œuvre d'art, vide de son vrai sens; ça ne reflète pas le Québec actuel.

Contre : peut-être ça rappelle aux députés qu'il y a des matières plus importantes que la politique; on devrait se souvenir que le Québec était anciennement une société croyante, et pourrait la redevenir, si voulu par ses citoyens.

#qcpol
#laïcité

Having spent some time today arguing there's not really such a thing as "Progress" in politics or society, I wonder if I was wrong about society. What about #StevenPinker's argument in *The Better Angels of Our Nature* that human violence is declining? That could be a long-term historical trend, and a positive one too.

I guess I should read that book, see whether its evidence seems plausible and what is proposed as the driver of the trend.

@DialMforMara @gemlog @Canageek All done now. Sorry to bother you.

@Canageek @gemlog @DialMforMara
(I hasten to add that science and technology do have a direction: we gain more and more power over our world and we add truths to our current stock. This has been mostly a gain for humanity so far, but of course climate change or nuclear war may yet wipe out humanity...)

@DialMforMara @gemlog @Canageek
Even good political changes are not Progress, because there is no direction forwards in History.

@Canageek @gemlog @DialMforMara
And this is true, I believe, for politics and society in general. History is not a path with a direction, that sometimes we go forward on and sometimes backwards; it is just a record of change, sometimes good, sometimes bad. We should argue for policies on their merits, not on whether we think they move us closer to what the future will be.

@DialMforMara @gemlog @Canageek
Maybe free trade is good in general; maybe free trade is bad in general; maybe one can’t make a general conclusion, because it is only good or bad for particular cases. But you can’t really say that protectionism is Progress, or that free trade is Progress, because there is not evidently a historic trend.

@Canageek @gemlog @DialMforMara
In the mid-19th century, tariffs were reduced, a change driven by the left (e.g. Cobden). In the early 20th century, tariffs were increased (e.g. Baldwin, Smoot-Hawley). In the late 20th century, taiffs were reduced (e.g., GATT, NAFTA), this time mostly supported by the right. Presently it seems that protectionism is on the rise on both the right and the left (e.g., TPP, Brexit).