(I would also invite you to look up the meaning of the term oxymoron, because I do not see how it even fits the sentence here.)
4,984 karma · joined May 5, 2025
(I would also invite you to look up the meaning of the term oxymoron, because I do not see how it even fits the sentence here.)
We either get torn apart between the major powers or we become a major power ourself. To deny this simple fact is suicidal and I do not wish to be pulled to ruin with you.
How perfidious of them! Enlisting the US executive in their evil plans!
The conspiratorial thinking on display here is unreal.
If you're more interested in the actual theory, I'd recommend Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy [0].
In that book, these are particularly relevant:
The introduction
This is basically a systems thinking level analysis of the economy and a good primer.
The note about machinery, production and capital [1]
This talks pretty much exactly about machines increasing productivity, the implications for the worker and even speculates about workers one day just becoming "regulators of automated systems".
(2) General relation between production, distribution, exchange and consumption
Talks about the mechanisms behind the "frenzy". Heavy on the philosophical theory.
[0] https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/grundrisse/
[1] https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/grundrisse/...
As AI automates more, the "value" of a single line of code drops. To stay profitable, capitalism forces you into a "frenzied" race to produce massive volume at breakneck speed.
You're effectively turned from a craftsman into a manager of machines - alienating you from the actual act of creation.
Stepping back to "think" could be argued is nothing less than you being a good Marxist - rebelling against a system that only ever asks "how much" instead of "why".
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendency_of_the_rate_of_profit...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation
Not so fun when the shoe's on the other foot, is it?
Have you ever had a Polish Sausage? Did it make you Polish?
That's why I'm a socialist and I would invite anyone who thinks things might not be going in the right direction to consider that as well.
I have a feeling most folks here will disagree though.
There's a potentially civilization-ending disasters looming over us (the climate crisis, increasing escalation between the major powers, rising risk of insurrection due to mismanagement and inequality) and what are the smartest people of our time doing?
Making sure you click that damn ad or create technology that lets you create slop ads more easily.
But I suppose change needs both strategies.
> because all the money has gone into casino economy not capacity building
What you're describing is referenced to as Fictitious Capital in Marxist thought: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_capital
Super happy with that thing, only real downside is battery life.
I don't consider them more trustworthy at this point.
This is the central power lever of the EU and one that is frequently underestimated.
European power projection doesn't work through tanks and aircraft carriers. It works with regulations, trade deals and economic incentives. Remember how a few years ago everyone was scrambling to get GDPR-compliant? That wasn't some random event. That was the EU projecting power.
Why do iPhones have USB-C now? European soft power.
Why are things like Champagne and Prosciutto di Parma protected brands that can only be sold if they're from the actual region? And I mean not just in Europe itself, but everywhere it has deals? Canada, Japan, India, China, Mercosur, etc etc? European soft power.
The EU is playing a different game from the other major players. Not one of brute force, but one of shifting the foundational rules of commerce in their favor. And they're very good at it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/epstein-files-reveal-prosecuto...
> Richard Stallman explains about hackers who program:
> What they had in common was mainly love of excellence and programming. They wanted to make their programs that they used be as good as they could. They also wanted to make them do neat things. They wanted to be able to do something in a more exciting way than anyone believed possible and show "Look how wonderful this is. I bet you didn't believe this could be done."