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Tag: Amish

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Aug 12, 2025
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Highlights From The Comments On Liberalism And Communities

32 min • 4,823 words • Comments pending • podcast (28 min)
Scott discusses comments on his previous post about liberalism and communities, exploring various perspectives on how wealth and societal structures affect community formation and maintenance. Longer summary
This post is a follow-up analyzing comments on Scott's previous article about liberalism and communities. He examines three main areas: theoretical discussions about community formation, specific examples of existing communities, and miscellaneous observations. The comments challenge and expand on his original thesis about wealth enabling community formation, with some arguing he underestimates existing communities while others suggest wealth actually hinders true community building. Scott identifies four different strategies for community formation and responds to various criticisms about legal barriers, sustainability, and the role of modern entertainment in community dissolution. Shorter summary
Aug 05, 2025
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Should Strong Gods Bet On GDP?

10 min • 1,513 words • 484 comments • 295 likes • podcast (10 min)
Scott examines Fukuyama's defense of liberalism as enabling tight-knit communities, and argues that economic constraints are what prevent more people from forming such communities today. Longer summary
Francis Fukuyama argues that liberalism isn't opposed to community but rather serves as a platform where different communities can thrive. Scott analyzes this claim by examining existing tight-knit communities in America, from the Amish to rationalists, noting they are exceptions rather than the rule. He suggests that economic constraints are the main barrier preventing more people from forming such communities, and argues that increased material abundance could enable more community-building. The post ends by connecting this to post-singularity scenarios, suggesting that economic freedom could allow people to form meaningful communities more easily. Shorter summary
Aug 04, 2022
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Slightly Against Underpopulation Worries

22 min • 3,281 words • 985 comments • 181 likes • podcast (26 min)
Scott Alexander argues that underpopulation concerns are overstated and likely irrelevant due to expected technological changes by 2100. Longer summary
Scott Alexander argues against worries about underpopulation, stating that while there may be some demographic shifts and challenges, they are not as dire as some claim. He presents data showing global population will continue to grow until 2100, and even countries with declining populations will still have substantial numbers. He discusses potential issues like age pyramid concerns and innovation slowdowns, but argues these are either manageable or likely to be overshadowed by technological changes. Scott concludes that long-term population projections are largely irrelevant due to the likelihood of transformative technological changes before 2100. Shorter summary
Apr 20, 2020
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The Amish Health Care System

28 min • 4,269 words • 557 comments • podcast (26 min)
Scott Alexander examines the Amish health care system, which costs much less than the American system while maintaining good health outcomes, and considers its implications for broader healthcare policy. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the Amish health care system, comparing it to the modern American system. He notes that the Amish spend much less on healthcare while maintaining good health outcomes, though they have slightly lower life expectancy. The Amish system relies on church aid and a simple insurance-like institution called Amish Hospital Aid. Key factors in their lower costs include collective bargaining, avoiding unnecessary care, not suing doctors, and price-sensitive consumption. Scott considers the applicability of this system to wider society and reflects on how healthcare costs have changed over time, suggesting a possible self-reinforcing cycle between rising costs and the spread of health insurance. Shorter summary
Apr 02, 2018
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Are The Amish Unhappy? Super Happy? Just Meh?

10 min • 1,521 words • 146 comments • podcast (14 min)
Scott Alexander critically examines conflicting studies on Amish happiness levels, finding the research too unreliable to draw firm conclusions. Longer summary
Scott Alexander examines conflicting claims about Amish happiness levels compared to modern societies and billionaires. He finds significant inconsistencies and methodological issues in the various studies, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions. The post highlights problems with data interpretation, study replication, and potential confounding factors. Scott emphasizes the unreliability of these early happiness studies, which predate improvements brought by the replication crisis in social science. He concludes that the research is not rigorous enough to make definitive statements about Amish happiness levels relative to other groups. Shorter summary
Jul 08, 2015
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Cultural Evolution 2: Thanks For The Meme-Rise

5 min • 737 words • 373 comments
Scott examines five potential mechanisms of cultural evolution, discussing their strengths and limitations, and concludes that they don't strongly justify preserving specific cultural features. Longer summary
This post discusses various ways cultural evolution can occur, based on comments from a previous post. It explores five scenarios: super-innovations allowing one culture to dominate others, differential breeding rates between groups, evolution of subcultures, accretion of beneficial practices, and prehistoric cultural evolution. Scott analyzes each scenario, noting their strengths and limitations. He concludes that while cultural evolution has potential to be interesting, it doesn't provide a strong argument for preserving specific cultural features without additional justification. Shorter summary