Links to Consider, 4/13

Sarah Haider on gay marriage; Krzysztof Tyszka-Drozdowski on CBDCs; Heather Heying questions the consensus on AIDS; Jenin Younes on COVID censorship

Sarah Haider writes,

the question up for debate was whether marriage is primarily:

1. A social institution formed to incentivize the carrying out reproductive roles in a manner maximally beneficial for offspring and society

   OR

2. A public commitment between two people who love each other very much 

Let’s call #1 “traditional marriage” and #2 “sentimental marriage”. 

She points out that from the perspective of (1) gay marriage is problematic, but from the perspective of (2) gay marriage is legitimate.

Concerning central bank digital currencies, Krzysztof Tyszka-Drozdowski says,

CBDCs could lead, in the long term, to undermining of national currencies. Currencies that are less convenient or more volatile could be displaced by more stable ones. If the dollar or renminbi becomes easily available in digital form, national currencies of weaker, less prominent states could wither away. The era of digital currencies, which began with the dream of decentralization, may therefore end with even greater economic concentration. Let’s hope that won’t come to pass.

This is from an interview with Infovores. As of now, it can be difficult to move money across borders. This allows more countries to take advantage of the ability to print money. If everyone could use a preferred currency (still the dollar, as of today), then many governments would lose their ability to get people to accept their money. A digital dollar might give the U.S. and even stronger hold on the world’s financial system. For better or worse.

On another topic, he says,

The romantic, anarchist slogans and vague philosophy of May 68 had a profound impact on the intellectual atmosphere in France. …What is most striking about the victory of this ideology is its anti-productivist, ecological, anti-industrial dimension and a pronounced distrust of science. …Ideas have consequences, and anti-productivist ideas have the most serious consequences, undermining economic growth and technological progress, which then translates into erosion of national vitality.

Heather Heying writes,

What we believe is sometimes handed to us in the guise of science—here is the answer. Once we all agree on that answer, it can seem crazy, dangerous even, to question what is now understood. Obviously the Spanish Flu of 1918 was unavoidably fatal to young people. Or was it? Obviously mRNA vaccines against Covid are safe and effective.Or are they?Obviously HIV causes AIDS.Or does it?What is the evidence, and how thoroughly have the alternative hypotheses been investigated?

Farber’s powerful book addresses that last topic, along with several other questions pertaining to AIDS. Simultaneously, it reveals the tool kit by which the government and media suppress scientific curiosity, while enforcing orthodoxy and compliance on a largely unwitting populace.

Scientists ought to operate on the basis of prestige. You believe them because of the evidence they present. Instead, when they make dominance moves, you begin to have doubts.

Jenin Younes has an article on the dominance moves employed by the COVIDocracy.

Astute social media users noticed that censorship on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook escalated in tandem with the government’s threats, often yielding absurd results. For example, Twitter marked as misleading Dr. Martin Kulldorff’s April 2021 tweet stating that not everyone needed a COVID-19 vaccine, especially children and the previously infected. Dr. Kulldorff is one of the world’s most cited epidemiologists and infectious disease experts. That he was censored for speaking on the area of his expertise by someone almost certainly far less knowledgeable should concern any fair-minded person purely on the basis of preserving the openness that is required for educated scientific debate. (Last month, the World Health Organization revised its official recommendation, saying that children and teenagers may not need COVID-19 vaccines—a position deemed “misinformation” not half a year ago.)

Substacks referenced above:

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Suspension of Curiosity leads to Serious Adverse Events

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The Future of Nuclear War: An Interview with Krzysztof Tyszka-Drozdowski

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Did Gays Destroy Marriage?