Links to Consider, 10/13

Niccolo Soldo on porous borders and populism; Rob Henderson on elite privilege; Peter Gray on the long decline of children's play; prediction of IQ from brain waves

Note: we are returning to our regularly scheduled programming, so to speak. This post was originally supposed to go up yesterday.

Niccolo Soldo writes,

At present, there are 8 German NGO “Charity Rescue Ships” in the Mediterranean engaged in human trafficking.

The “legal, humanitarian, and moral” NGO heroes go above and beyond the call of duty, by helping these migrants learn to lie to authorities in Europe once they wash ashore in order to prevent them from being deported. Some even publish manuals that are handed out to migrants on the “Charity Rescue Ships”:

…Mass immigration into both Europe and the USA is an elite project that does nothing for the ordinary citizen. This is why the ordinary citizen is never asked to vote on it in a direct referendum.

The impetus to migrate will not disappear until the quality of life in the West drops to Third World levels. Voters would like to see a different plan.

Here in the United States, Adam Ellwanger writes

The federal government’s immigration policy, as it relates to Texas, amounts to the following premises:

• The federal government will not secure America’s border with Mexico.

• The State of Texas may not secure its border with Mexico.

• The federal government will not deport illegal immigrants.

• Texas may not deport illegal immigrants.

• The federal government can distribute the new arrivals to whichever states it wants, whenever it wants, as it sees fit.

• Texans must keep people who illegally cross the border in Texas.

The immigration issue is one with classic Three Languages of Politics framing. Progressives see the migrants as oppressed, and would-be enforcers of the border as oppressors. “We believe that on one is illegal.” Conservatives see large-scale illegal immigration as a undermining our civilization. Libertarians see immigration restrictions as nothing but the state exercising coercive power over individuals.

I don’t worry about the libertarians, because no one wants the whole libertarian package of open borders with little or no welfare state. I do worry about the Progressives, because it seems to me that they are indulging in what Rob Henderson calls “luxury beliefs.” Possibly related:

Rob Henderson writes,

A study from 2014 found that strong support for a policy among the middle class has virtually no effect that a policy will be adopted.

In contrast, strong support among Americans in the top income decile—those who earn at least 173 thousand dollars a year—doubles the probability that a policy will be adopted.

But these individuals, the people who wield the most influence in policy and culture, are often sheltered when their preferences are implemented.

…Most people didn’t want to defund the police; but the most affluent sector of society did. And thus it was implemented into policy.

Peter Gray writes

The societal changes that reduced children’s opportunities for independent adventure after about 1950 include the arrival of television, the rise of adult-directed kids’ sports, the gradual exclusion of kids from public spaces, the declining opportunities for gainful employment or meaningful contributions to the family economy, and, finally, the increased mandate that kids must be constantly monitored and protected.

I think that an offsetting factor from the end of WWII through the 1960s was the baby boom. With so many kids, it is easier to let them play. They can all gather in one yard. Older siblings can keep tabs on younger siblings. And if parents have 4 or more children, it is logistically impossible to supervise and schedule them like 21st-century kids, even if you wanted to do that.

It’s when the baby boom is over that the other factors really kick in.

A. H. Jahadin and others write,

Findings indicate that the distinct intelligence quotient groups can be classified from the brainwave sub-band power ratios with 100% training and 88.89% testing accuracies.

Pointer from Alexander KruelI think that this points in the direction of IQ being innate. If environmental factors are important, this effect would have to be mediated through changes in brain wave patterns.

substacks referenced above:

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Links for 2023-10-08

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D4. The Decline in Kids’ Freedom from 1950 to 1990 was Gradual, with Multiple Causes.

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Luxury Beliefs Have Consequences

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Deluge