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Saxifrage's avatar

I've moved over time from a mainly libertarian to a mainly conservative stance on most or many issues. There wasn't a step change but that has correlated highly with becoming a parent!

Our political debate on these axes seem to focus a lot on welfare as defined as financial/physical comfort (noting you also addressed equality issues for marginalised groups), and very little on what I will reluctantly term 'the soul'. By that I don't mean something separate from the body or immortal, but as a shorthand for something like the fundamental core of one's being as a human. Using the Haidt-Cowen axis you mention, Tyler thinks it will be good for aggregate human welfare (which he would define monetarily) to get those robots three years earlier whereas Haidt is saying 'what kind of life are these social-media addicted kids having'? The negative effects of social media won't show up in GDP so Cowen will discount them hugely, but it will profoundly affect the mental and social development of those young human beings. Where might this concern for 'the soul' fit into your taxonomy?

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Alex's avatar

Nice analysis. This classification is helpful

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