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There's a conservative meme going around mocking an antiracist education packet that lists a bunch of stereotypically "white" traits, which they find ironic because they think of those traits as objectively superior traits
One of those traits is "low time preference"
One of those traits is "low time preference"
I want to drill down on that one, because I very, very strongly believe that "low time preference" is a fucking scam
"Low time preference" is jargon for valuing the future as much as the present, "a bird in the hand is 1/2 as much as two in the bush"
"Low time preference" is jargon for valuing the future as much as the present, "a bird in the hand is 1/2 as much as two in the bush"
The thing is, having "time preference" -- I'd rather have the certainty of a reward now than an uncertain reward in the future -- IS COMPLETELY RATIONAL
For EVERYBODY
We all know this -- you could get struck by lightning this afternoon and your plans for tomorrow evaporate
For EVERYBODY
We all know this -- you could get struck by lightning this afternoon and your plans for tomorrow evaporate
"Low time preference" is a "pro-social" trait because it makes you EASIER TO EXPLOIT
It means that you BELIEVE bosses who say that they can't pay you up front but the check will be coming in the mail
It means that you BELIEVE bosses who say that they can't pay you up front but the check will be coming in the mail
Even in a world where contracts are completely enforceable and reliable (a "high-trust society") it means bosses still come out ahead
Every so often, someone gets hit by a truck or keels over of a heart attack before their paycheck was due, and you don't have to pay it
Every so often, someone gets hit by a truck or keels over of a heart attack before their paycheck was due, and you don't have to pay it
And most of us don't actually live in such a world
Believing you live in such a world is privilege, but I'd go farther and say that *actually* living in such a world is *extreme* privilege
Most middle-class strivers get told stuff about their 401(k) etc that's a crock of shit
Believing you live in such a world is privilege, but I'd go farther and say that *actually* living in such a world is *extreme* privilege
Most middle-class strivers get told stuff about their 401(k) etc that's a crock of shit
How many full generations of people actually did spend their whole lives paying into Social Security and pension funds and then lived long enough to cash them out
It's only like two or three -- the tail end of the Greatest Generation, the Silents, the Boomers
It's only like two or three -- the tail end of the Greatest Generation, the Silents, the Boomers
And they tell us "work hard and save money for your whole life and you'll be rewarded with stability and comfort in the end" is a *rule*, a *law of nature* that we should live by, when it's a human-built system that's barely survived one full cycle
We live in a time when everything is falling apart and the scolders and finger-waggers are still saying to sit on your ass, don't move, be patient and wait it out
Jam tomorrow, jam yesterday, but never jam today
Let the process work
Jam tomorrow, jam yesterday, but never jam today
Let the process work
"Why go out in the streets and tear the statue down by force? Why abrogate the social contract we all live under and depend on? Why not go through the proper channels and submit a request to the government the statue be changed?"
Because then nothing will happen
Because then nothing will happen
Like, both in the sense that if something eventually happens in fifty years it's of no use to me, who will be dead by then, and for whom it might as well have never happened at all
And because it actually WON'T happen in fifty years, it will never happen at all
And because it actually WON'T happen in fifty years, it will never happen at all
We're slowly coming around to the realization that in human power relationships, if nothing happens NOW then nothing is going to happen
Anyone who actually gives a shit about helping you will do something to help you NOW
Anyone who says otherwise is a fucking liar
Anyone who actually gives a shit about helping you will do something to help you NOW
Anyone who says otherwise is a fucking liar
So, yes, this valorization of "low time preference" or "future time orientation" is very much in the category of "white nonsense"
It's bullshit, and it's bullshit of a kind specifically crafted to help the assholes in charge stay in charge forever
Stop teaching it to your kids
It's bullshit, and it's bullshit of a kind specifically crafted to help the assholes in charge stay in charge forever
Stop teaching it to your kids
I think about this a lot with this discourse about trans kids and transition
"Why do you have to decide NOW, why can't you wait ten years or so and see if you still feel dysphoric"
Well aside from the fact that going through the wrong puberty leaves irrevocable scars PEOPLE DIE
"Why do you have to decide NOW, why can't you wait ten years or so and see if you still feel dysphoric"
Well aside from the fact that going through the wrong puberty leaves irrevocable scars PEOPLE DIE
LIFE IS FINITE, MORTALITY IS A UNIVERSAL TRUTH
Giving up even ONE year is losing something priceless you'll never get back, never mind ten
All of these "reasonable delays" mean some percentage of people will die unexpectedly and never get the reward at all
Giving up even ONE year is losing something priceless you'll never get back, never mind ten
All of these "reasonable delays" mean some percentage of people will die unexpectedly and never get the reward at all
Present Me matters more than Future Me, because Present Me exists *right now* and Future Me doesn't exist and may never exist at all
There's always a chance that you're asking a real person to sacrifice for some imaginary person who will never come into being
There's always a chance that you're asking a real person to sacrifice for some imaginary person who will never come into being
Future Me might regret any number of decisions I make right now but he doesn't get a vote because he's not real
I might get shot in the back while walking down the street tomorrow and Future Me who wishes I'd saved my money instead of blowing it on booze just won't exist ever
I might get shot in the back while walking down the street tomorrow and Future Me who wishes I'd saved my money instead of blowing it on booze just won't exist ever
