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Dagon's avatar

I'm not sure decay is best modeled as modal. I think of every system as a dynamic equilibrium, simultaneously changing, decaying, accreting, and growing. This dynamic nature does include shifts so severe that it fully collapses and no longer qualifies as a system, but it's not a mode switch that can be delayed or prevented, it's an equilibrium shift in that some forces change strength by enough that it stops working.

I do agree that there is reasoned human resistance to many types of change, including those that reduce systemic viability. But I think it also often resists positive and strengthening changes, and it's VERY hard from inside to know which is which.

I suspect that your hope in Amish and other insular communities is misplaced - they are resisting change, but I really doubt they're strong enough to resist it if some of the competitive pressures (for productivity, lifestyle, resistance to invasion/theft, etc.) from larger/denser groups start encroaching on their existence.

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JCambias's avatar

You mention Amish and Haaredim subcultures as "resisting" the monoculture, but in point of fact the differences between the Amish of the USA and their neighbors is relatively trivial in the grand scheme of things. They don't employ certain household devices, they are somewhat more traditional in family arrangements than modern celebrities and tech entrepreneurs, and they dress distinctively. But they support democracy, they participate in the market economy, they obey the laws. I don't see them as resisting the monoculture any more than Star Wars cosplayers or vegans. It's only because their differences are not commodified that they seem odd.

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