I’m wouldn’t interpret that word choice in terms of intrinsic human value, I would interpret it as a facet of class warfare. Mate selection isn’t even the only way in which social status screws men over; we don’t send rich people’s sons to the front lines of the wars they start either. Actually now that I think about it I wonder if those things are related; the bourgeoisie playbook has always heavily featured using masculinity as a way to push men towards violence for their own benefit. It used to be killing people in other countries, and now it’s shifted more towards keeping people scared to step out of line in their homelands (although it’s always been at least a little bit of both, and moves in waves). They need us to want to kill each other in some way or other, this is just one facet of that strategy. I forget who it was recently that actually said (a little too publicly) that if they don’t get us all back under control soon they’ll never be able to send us to war again.
I’m wouldn’t interpret that word choice in terms of intrinsic human value, I would interpret it as a facet of class warfare. Mate selection isn’t even the only way in which social status screws men over; we don’t send rich people’s sons to the front lines of the wars they start either. Actually now that I think about it I wonder if those things are related; the bourgeoisie playbook has always heavily featured using masculinity as a way to push men towards violence for their own benefit. It used to be killing people in other countries, and now it’s shifted more towards keeping people scared to step out of line in their homelands (although it’s always been at least a little bit of both, and moves in waves). They need us to want to kill each other in some way or other, this is just one facet of that strategy. I forget who it was recently that actually said (a little too publicly) that if they don’t get us all back under control soon they’ll never be able to send us to war again.