LESSON 1: Do Not Obey In Advance

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neo4llm · 2025-03 · Recommendation

Could not agree more! I also recommend the short Youtube series Snyder recorded before the release of the graphic edition: Lesson 1: [VIDEO] Full Playlist: [LINK]

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hayst4ck · 2025-03 · Recommendation

He has a new book On Freedom , too. I haven't read it yet, but I have watched him give excellent talks on youtube, which reference it. I believe his core thesis in On Freedom is that America has focused on negative freedom, when what really matters is positive freedom. "Negative freedom" is the idea that no government should interfere with your life. Authoritarian regimes arbitrarily exercise power, and that results in people being prevented from doing things or forced to do things. Maybe that's restrictions on speech or protest. Focusing on "negative freedom" turns people against their governments, which creates a sort of power vacuum anyone with resources is happy to fill. Negative freedom is good, nobody should want the government interfering with their lives, but focusing solely on negative freedom leads to authoritarianism. We can see this effect right now with "free speech absolutists" functionally becoming oligarchs. He says what people should focus on instead is "positive freedom" -- The idea that you have the freedom to do what you want. If you don't have health, money, or education, you can't really be free. There is no freedom in a hospital bed. So healthcare creates positive freedom. Building housing lets you spend more money on things you want to do instead of rent, that's positive freedom. Without education, you are more easily victimized by those who wish to manipulate you and you are less capable of producing things of value. So education is freeing. He also h

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hayst4ck · 2023-04 · Recommendation

I would go spend a couple of days on Yale history professor Timothy Snyder reading his books and then watch him on YouTube. Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig is also a major academic in this area. Their respective relevant books are "The Road to Unfreedom" and "They Don't Represent Us." Timothy Snyder also wrote "On Tyranny," which is a very quick read which is directly applicable to the question you are asking, he also narrated it in video form: [VIDEO] Timothy Snyder is more about understanding and fighting the forces of tyranny while Lawrence Lessig focuses more on the mechanics of our democracy and the consequences of our current implementation. I promise you will love Timothy Snyder. My personal take is "democracy" the word has been hijacked and it's probably time to stop using it casually. The core idea and foundation of liberal democracy and what you feel is being eroded and needs strengthening is rule of law . Russia tried to privatize and democratize but failed because they did not have rule of law. Rule of law is where all the good stuff comes from. So what you really want an answer for is "how do I use my technical skills to promote rule of law?" Supporting rule of law means supporting a fact based world, supporting institutions that do investigative research, and promoting empathy for the oppressed. Supporting rule of law means empowering the un-empowered by, for example, supporting unions. Snyder would say: So choose an institution you care about – a court, a

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