Memetic Mandate: Make More Mini-Marxists!

In a previous post, I speculated that most memeplexes (collections of self-replicating ideas) which have proved effective at perpetuating themselves over time will likely have certain properties, such as a mandate for making more minds in mint-condition – prime targets for memetic imprinting.  Here, we look briefly at faith-based proscriptions on birth control or family planning as well as prescriptions in favor of creating children and passing on your beliefs to them. 

In these post-Marxist times, the Russian people are notoriously bad breeders, with a fertility rate between 1.2 and 1.4 babies per woman, that is, fairly well below replacement rate.  Of course, this has not always been the case.  Back in the day, the old Soviet regime adopted various pro-natalist policies in order to bolster the supply of new minds and bodies with which to construct their unprecedented workers paradise. 

The thrust of early Soviet policy involved the redefinition of women’s roles through a shift of functions from the family to the wider community. Early Bolshevik ideology drew on the Marxian distinction between “productive” and “nonproductive” activities in devaluing family roles, and linked the liberation of women to their entry into public arenas. At the same time, it was strongly pro-natalist in its assumptions, committed to procreation, if not to nurturance. Childbearing was emphasized as a uniquely feminine role: child-rearing, however, would be assumed by public institutions.

Decades later, in the 1970’s, Soviet demographers and policymakers revisited the possibilities for increasing fertility:

A series of different, though not mutually exclusive, policy options present themselves for the consideration of Soviet planners. A first possible approach would rely on legal and administrative measures to alter demographic behavior. Restricting divorces, and more importantly, restricting abortions, are obvious measures of this kind, insofar as abortion remains a major method of birth control In the Soviet Union today, whose incidence exceeds in many cases the number of live births, limitations might have a small but desirable effect on present birthrates.

[…]

Placing a share of the blame for low fertility on subjective factors, a number of demographers have called for a population policy specifically designed to reinforce pro-natalist values. Advocates of this second approach favor a massive effort to persuade the public of the desirability of early marriages, high marriage rates, fewer divorces, and larger families. A veritable campaign has been launched to persuade young couples to have at least two, and preferably three, children. Western studies that point to the advantages enjoyed by only children notwithstanding, Soviet commentators deplore the “hothouse” atmosphere of small families, which nurtures an egotistical individualism at odds with a proper socialist upbringing.

Yet a third approach to population policy emphasizes material incentives rather than pro-natalist values as the key to increasing fertility. Encouraged by opinion surveys that indicate a substantial discrepancy between ideal and actual family size, a number of writers have argued that economic constraints play a critical role in declining birthrates. Expanded child-care facilities, preferential housing for families with young children, better coordination of economic and social planning to prevent the development of cities with largely male or female populations, Increased supplies of consumer durables and everyday services to lighten the burden of domestic responsibilities—all these have been urged as possible stimuli to higher urban birthrates. Attention has also been directed to the variety of family assistance programs developed in both Eastern and Western Europe. Such comparisons implicitly dramatize the inadequacies of current Soviet programs and indicate that serious consideration is now being given to new social policies which might have a more powerful pro-natalist thrust.

Excerpted from Women in Russia by Atkinson, Dallin, & Warshofsky, pp. 130-133

Of course, as an adaptive meme complex, the phenomenon of Marxist/Leninist/Soviet ideology enjoyed the advantage of central planning backed by tyrannical force.   Memes for making more miniature Marxists may mandate motherhood more immediately than memes infecting individuals in free societies which are (by their very nature) more or less limited to reinforcing pro-natalist thinking in the minds which bear them.  On that note, my next post in this series will investigate memetic mandates for motherhood in Methodism.

Multiple Multifarious Memeplexes Metastasizing Most Maniacally

While listening to a debate between Alister McGrath and Daniel Dennett, I found myself wondering what it would take to engineer the perfect memeplex, a set of self-perpetuating ideas intelligently designed for replication. Suppose you wanted to design a set of ideas which replicate themselves effectively regardless of whether they comport with our usual notions of truth, justice, and the American way. You would have to engineer two crucial mechanisms into your box of ideas: A replication driver and a defense mechanism against other ideas. True and useful ideas, of course, do not need these mechanisms, as they will inevitably spread on account of their utility and can always resort to the defense of being true. What we are considering here is an intelligently-designed memeplex which does not care whether the ideas in its collection are true or false, the ideas exist only for the sake of creating copies of themselves, not for the sake of benefitting their host. They are, in other words, parasitic rather than symbiotic ideas.

In terms of replication, two basic pathways come immediately to mind:

• Make babies and pass on your memes to them
  
• Make converts and pass on your memes to them
  

This latter pathway may be further subdivided into persuasive proselytizing or military conquest, but these categories may well blur together, as when the missionary priests accompanied the colonial conquerors into South America and India. Note that neither of these pathways requires that the ideas passed on be true, merely that their carriers are highly effective at passing them on.

There are also two basic defense mechanisms for collections of ideas:

• Discourage apostasy by threat of force or sanction
  
• Encourage fidelity by promises of rewards
  

Again, notice that neither threats nor promises require that the ideas to which one must remain faithful be true, merely that the ideas be widely accepted.

So, if I wanted to create a highly effective memeplex, I would be certain to inject these four basic features into my box of ideas, along with whatever other ideas happen to be in the box. In my next post, we will look for these four fundamental features of effective memeplexes inside of several seemingly dissimilar idea boxes: Marxism, Methodism, Mormonism & Muhammadanism.

ACLU vs. BSA

Why is the ACLU "attacking" the Boy Scouts? Simply put, because they believe the American government (at every level) ought to cease subsidizing the BSA's longstanding pratice of religious and sexual discrimination against minority groups such as homosexuals and infidels. As ACLU Executive Director Linda Hills put it, "The Boy Scouts can't have it both ways. If they truly are a private religious organization, free to engage in any form of discrimination they choose, then they are not entitled to a government subsidy. Tax dollars should not be spent to promote intolerance."

Perhaps conservatives such as Steve Boggess would like to make the case for having substantial federal, state, and municipal subsidies to private religious groups, but it will be difficult to square such an argument either with existing federal, state, and municipal antidiscrimination laws or with the traditional conservative vision of minimal government in general and highly circumscribed government interference in the marketplace in particular.

Far from being "adamant in their goal of erasing God from not only this privately funded organization" the ACLU is trying to ensure that truly religious organizations remain truly private and hence free from both government subsidy and interference. The BSA is quasi-private and quasi-religious, yet they expect the American government to continue publicly funding their activities despite their flagrant disregard of uncounted civil rights laws. You can have the cake or you can eat it, folks. Take your pick.

: ACLU, Church & State

The view from the cheap seats

Spent an evening with my buddy, my kids, my father-in-law and the OKC Redhawks last night (they may be minor league but at least they’re triple-A). Naturally, I had a dog with mustard and relish, though I would have preferred a major league ballpark frank with all the toppings, as one might expect at a Cubs game. Cael ate leftover Dippin’ Dots™, which I suspect will not turn out to be the “ice cream of the future” after all.

Left after the 10^th inning with the score tied at 1-1. Figured the game was close, so we’d call it a win. Boo & I had to get home to bed down at a decent hour, it being Wednesday and all.

On the drive back, my father-in-law regaled me with stories of how his father would demand that he perform physical labor at all hours of the day regardless of circumstance, even if he had just finished a 12-hour shift. Certainly this puts his relationship with his youngest son in some perspective. I’d bet both of them were relieved to be going off to college, and for roughly the same reasons.

Speaking of my youngest in-law’s impending emancipation, I must wonder whether he is going to make good use of his newfound freedom. My wife tanked her GPA during her freshman year at OU, and her little brother is not quite so studious as she was at his age. I can only hope that he does a better job of prioritizing his studies over his social life, but given the nature of his current relationship, I doubt this is possible.

C.T. was easily my favorite of all my in-laws here in the city, and his effective separation (if not outright estrangement) from our family is one more item on my ever-expanding list of reasons not to bother living here any longer than absolutely necessary. I doubt very much that I'll miss this middle size town in the middle of the middle-west, with no name pitchers and local bands, and mustard and relish and all the rest.

Outed!

Evidently an incriminating (albeit doctored) photo on a certain .org site which I visit on occasion has had the effect of unintentionally outing an in-law of mine relative to certain in-laws of his. This is a problem for me and mine as well and all involved, but I stand by my insistence that intolerant kinfolk are those who must learn to adapt. I refuse to be shamed by their shameful insistence on conformity of thought and action.

Tornado watch

A tornado ripped through the southeast portion of the OKC metro area yesterday afternoon. At some point, it became clear that the storm was tracking more or less towards the massive windowless brick building where I work, that is, 3001 Staff Drive, on Tinker AFB.

Fortunately, I had taken the precaution of driving back across town a bit early in order to get home and out of harm's way. The wife was thrilled to find me home safe, and the whole family crowded around the television to track the progress of the storm while basking in the relative safety and comfort of our living room, situated as it is on the northwest side of the city.

While basking, we were informed by the nice folks at FOX 25 (who normally broadcast The Simpsons during that time of day) that the tornado was moving past the GM plant towards my place of employment. At this point I began praying fervently to all the gods and goddesses I could think of that the tornado would pass over my friends and smite my enemies. As it turns out, my incantation was only partially effective, for my friends were spared, but then too were mine enemies. Not a one of them was smote, not even a little bit. Alas and alack.

Probably the lesson here is to know ahead of time which gods and goddesses are more intimately connected with whatever natural disaster happens to be heading your way. If I could have focused my petitioning efforts only on those deities that deal directly with thunderstorms, I may well have been far more effective.

This morning, a friend of mine e-mailed me to let me know that he was okay. He obliquely mentioned the hand of fate in his life, “...had I left work five to ten minutes later, I would have been in the middle of it.” Now he must know that the gods and goddesses were looking out for him, and still he has yet to thank me for my intercessory prayers on his behalf. Ah well, there is always treasure in heaven.

Now that I think about it, had I left work nearly an hour later and taken a marginally roundabout route home (past the GM plant) I would no doubt have been struck by the full fury of the storm. So I suppose the deities are looking out for me, too. Probably I should send my mother a thank-you note for that.

As to those poor blighters that really got pounded, no doubt they had it coming to them. Nothing happens but by the will of the gods, and thus we may safely assume that they must have been transworld-depraved idolaters.