tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29763791.post689809505523701907..comments2023-10-31T05:07:19.353-04:00Comments on Delenda est Carthago: Geoffrey Miller on Assortative LivingDr. Φhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14086783503820477029noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29763791.post-20036524653558499502009-07-24T20:18:11.266-04:002009-07-24T20:18:11.266-04:00Very thought-provoking stuff. I'll be mulling ...Very thought-provoking stuff. I'll be mulling it over for a little while. A couple things immediately come to mind.<br /><br />First, this actually ties into a conversation at Hit Coffee about the near-impossibility of setting up a dorm-like atmosphere for non-college students. The biggest issue is that anything cheap enough for young people is going to be attractive to people that don't fit the desired demographic but are simply looking for a cheap place to live. The first apartment I lived in out west fell into that category. They were deemed "university appartments" but the all-bills-paid $300/month rent attracted... all sorts... and were ultimately unattractive to parents sending their kids to the college across the street. A whole lot of the "college experience" can actually be chalked up to the exclusion of people that don't attend the university.<br /><br />Second, Utah and San Fransisco strike me as pretty poor examples. Yes, anti-gay people can move to San Fransisco, but do they really want to? Some family friends of hours (very WASPy and Republican) moved out there several years ago for a job opportunity and high-tailed it back pretty quickly. Do gays really have to worry about social acceptance in their part of the city? Do they not have control over the social norms? <br /><br />Maybe not, but Mormons very much do in Utah. It's actually not all that far off from Miller's ideal. Conspicuous consumption in Utah (and Mormon Idaho) is relatively at a minimum. There are a lot of non-Mormons there, but outside of SLC and Summit County and a few other enclaves they have a parallel status system that you can't buy your way into. Despite the money that would come with being a doctor, we would still be on the outside looking in of the more desirable social circles if we landed there when her current tour is done. Notably, it's probably the most color-blind place that I've lived. Easier to be that way when there's a paucity of blacks, but those blacks that were there tended to be judged by religious markers the same way that others were. So, while non-Mormons can freely move into the area, they (like San Fransiscans, I think) do a pretty good job of being unattractive enough to outsiders. And successful at keeping those outsiders that do move in out of their way.<br /><br />That doesn't disprove Miller's point at all. But it's an extremely odd example for him to use.Trumwillhttp://hitcoffee.netnoreply@blogger.com