The review critiques Haidt's 'The Righteous Mind', praising its contributions while highlighting flaws in its moral foundations theory and political predictions. Longer summary

This review critiques Jonathan Haidt's 'The Righteous Mind', praising its contributions to moral psychology while highlighting significant flaws. The reviewer appreciates Haidt's defense of group selection and moral intuitionism but criticizes his confusion between normative and descriptive claims. The review argues that Haidt's moral foundations theory fails to predict political alignments just a decade after publication, suggesting that political tribalism drives moral intuitions rather than vice versa. Despite these criticisms, the reviewer recommends the book for its thought-provoking nature and its role in advancing empiricism in social science. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the role of slack in evolutionary systems, arguing that a balance between competition and cooperation often leads to optimal outcomes in various domains. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of slack in evolutionary systems, using various examples to illustrate how balancing competition and cooperation can lead to optimal outcomes. He discusses how slack allows for the development of complex adaptations that might not emerge in environments of intense competition or total absence of competition. The post covers topics such as monopolies, tariffs, strategy games, stock exchanges, corporate organization, and the evolution of ideas, showing how the principle of slack applies in each case. Shorter summary