Ive noticed that several of the top Austrians, like Peter Schiff, Tom Woods, Lew Rockwell seem like pretty smooth guys and it made me think.. is there an overlap, a significant correlation between austrians and the pick-up movement. In the pick up forums i see a lot of help yourself, work your own ass off, rugged individualism too, so it seems like a good ideological lifestyle match, and adds to the otherwise slightly dry axiomatic Austrian style. Should mises.org try to cash in on it or use it as an academic side branch to draw more visitors?
LRC and the Mises Institute appear to be catering to a more conservative audience. I’m not sure if this clientele would like to read material that promotes a promiscuous lifestyle, though I agree that a PU artist is probably more open towards libertarian ideas than your average Joe.
I don’t think the PU stuff is necessarily about being more promiscuous, although different people pursue it for different ends. There’s no direct overlap I think, but I think the better one is accustomed to social and sexual interactions, it can help broaden one’s perspective on to other things in life, in regards to how things can spontaneously and beautifiully arrange. For example, a lot of people go into the PU stuff I think wanting to get the “perfect recipe” or approach to get a girl into bed, but the whole point is to realise how fun things are when they are spontaneous, and you’re comfortable enough with yourself to honestly convey your feelings to others. And besides that, I think “real work”, when done conscientiously is the best way to improve these types of “skills”, I myself profited enormously from door to door sales work.
I also think an Austrian understanding of mutual gain in human interactions going from market to all kinds, including sexual can give one a really positive mindset with these types of things, and that’s half the problem solved, because many guys think they have to trick and fool a girl into bed. As a side point I also hate formalities which I think are a status symbol only necessary and reminiscent in bureacratic and guild-like organisational structures. But anyway, that’s enough hippy stuff for now, by no means am I an expert on this, but those are my thoughts.
I’m not going to lie. I used to be very interested in the pick-up techniques. But, I don’t really use it to draw people to libertarianism; on the other hand, it’s very useful for getting new pledges at my fraternity.
When I attempted college, the my first couple weeks the fraternities were throwing big parties with free alcohol and introducing us to friendly young women. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Then one day, after a few weeks, we were drunk and half naked in a room full of strippers, and they brought on the used-car salesman pressure to commit to pledge. That’s when something clicked in my head and I charged them what Stuart Wilde (who is also respected in the “pick-up” community, despite their professed disdain for woo-woo/wu-wu) calls the “wanting-it tax” and I got the hell out of there. All my friends who joined fraternities regretted the time commitment, the pressure over lifestyle choices, the many fees and dues, the responsibilities toward “brothers” who may not be so brotherly, etc.
I would have joined and not thought about it too much if they didn’t try so hard. Then again, I would buy a bridge or some swampland from JMFC.
PUAs are a bunch of positivists.
I think one would be quite surprised to find that libertarians tend to get laid a lot. We’re mostly basement-dwelling nerds, aren’t we?
Unlikely. Basement dwelling nerds would both be too distracted discussing Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons to care about politics, and would be far too tempted by the prospect of NEA funding for their Sailor Moon fanfictions to be of a liberal persuasion.
Nope, if you want a real libertarian stereotype, what’s on the menu pretty much begins and ends at gun-crazed survivalist redneck conspiracy theorist and strawman Objectivist (especially ironic, since Ayn Rand despised libertarians even more than communists). That, and those silly “21 Types of Libertarian”, but these are really more parodies of arguments than of actual people.
I don’t know about you…
But I show ALL the ladies my business cycle, if you know what I mean. They go crazy over it!
Quote by abskebabs:“But anyway, that’s enough hippy stuff for now, by no means am I an expert on this, but those are my thoughts.”
Lol no reason to downplay yourself I think you described it very well. As a general observation most people tend to put on a “mask” when interacting with others because for whatever reason they don’t know how to be themselves or think that they shouldn’t be themselves. I guess the Pick up artist stuff is letting men know that yes you have balls so go ahead and use them. Although I think some of it(like that Mystery guy on VH1) focuses way too much on putting on some kind of “act” to chat women up and seem interesting but I guess that is more of a primer for men who are just so absolutely shy and self-analytical that they need some type of instructions just to get used to speaking with the very beautiful opposite sex. Really nobody needs “pick up techniques” to trick a woman or anyone into liking them, that’s very fake and people who are perceptive can see through that game.
But when you’re authentically yourself you can say whatever you want and people will feel comfortable. I think pick-up lines and stuff are just crutches for those that are just totally socially handicapped.
Like for me, personally, when I first started going to job interviews years ago I was very robotic about it, super-ultra polite, and put on an act to get a job as if I couldn’t be myself(where I live, everyone uses street slang so I figured I couldn’t talk that way). This was pretty shitty in getting a job even when I had all the skills necessary because I just didn’t come off as an interesting/dynamic person that the employer would want around. I mean its New York City so finding another person with an Accounting degree isn’t that hard. Eventually I realized as long as I’m comfortable with myself, whoever I’m interacting with is comfortable as well and a lot of the time that’s all you need to get your foot in the door when it comes to almost anything.
Ha, that sounds like me. I spent a year doing what you’re describing and getting nowhere. Then I went on an interview thinking I wasn’t that excited about the job, and went in feeling more free to be myself. Once I got there, I realized I’d love the job, but had already begun to act like myself so I couldn’t switch to super-polite. I got the job (over 100 applicants) and have been there since.
I think Austrians are so good at smooth-talking girls because they know the interest derived from the investment is well-worth the cost.
Lol no reason to downplay yourself I think you described it very well.
Indeed, Austrians should be pro since we know it’s all about mutual exchange :P. When we’re at the bar, the girls want to have a good time and we want to have a good time, let’s make it happen, let’s talk, let’s flirt, let’s boogie!
Somehow my “I won’t rape you because I abide by the NAP” line does not go down well.