I've read both a lot of Less Wrong (and the R:AZ book) and Soviet dialectical materialism (Marx and Lenin), and I've found a surprisingly large amount of overlap in the philosophical foundations. The way the notion of truth is handled, with the material world being the single-level territory, and the (conscious?) mind being the multi-level map of it, is surprisingly reinvigorating to read - especially when considering how different those sources are, separated by almost a century.
The insights about the epistemologically different modes of thinking of various groups of people under widely unequal material circumstances does shed quite a spotlight on both the "how we got here" question, and, more importanly the "where to go from here" one.
"Don't try to force it - it's like falling asleep" advice reminded me of vipassana practice - it does usually clear up my brooding, so that the "What's the point?" question dissolves into clarity of the source of intent in general. While still on the topic of history and politics - "Meditations On Moloch" by Scott Alexander is a great re-read.
The insights about the epistemologically different modes of thinking of various groups of people under widely unequal material circumstances does shed quite a spotlight on both the "how we got here" question, and, more importanly the "where to go from here" one.
"Don't try to force it - it's like falling asleep" advice reminded me of vipassana practice - it does usually clear up my brooding, so that the "What's the point?" question dissolves into clarity of the source of intent in general. While still on the topic of history and politics - "Meditations On Moloch" by Scott Alexander is a great re-read.