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The system is coming apart, shaking itself to bits because it's become unmoored from its foundations. It seems like a lot of different reasons because the syste

by titzer 5y ago

The system is coming apart, shaking itself to bits because it's become unmoored from its foundations. It seems like a lot of different reasons because the system is so complex that it's fractal; you can zoom in to any one part and still see complexity, so it's easy to pick out PhD-thesis-size problems and just get lost in it. But fundamentally, if you zoom out, it's really simple. It's greed. I'm not religious or spiritual, but I am really talking about a serious psychological/spiritual disease that has infected our society. It's not just about getting enough to survive, or even enough to thrive, but there are so many actors out there out to get as much as possible that they simply cannot be satisfied anymore. Their stomachs are bottomless pits. How else can you possibly explain multiple individuals being worth more than $200 billion (Sixty. Thousand. Lifetimes. Of Wealth), and yet it is not enough for them. They must command huge empires, the boards of which must "motivate" them with more money. These people have serious psychological problems. Like, please, just disappear to your islands and enjoy the rest of your short lives, please! The entire world economy has been just one massive casino, one huge get-rich-quick scheme. And TV too. Fame and fortune without working for it, getting famous with no talent or skills. Think of how many millions and billions of people worldwide have been programmed to think they can and should be millionaires and that it can happen at the drop of a hat? And now, a CEO has 1000x the pay of a median worker. They're all mini warlords, their plunder is bullshit bonuses and hollowing out business after business. A huge pump-and-dump scheme. Just a couple decades ago, people dreamed of simpler lives. Plumbers, electricians, doctors, lawyers, engineers, small business owners. People dreamed of a kitchen renovation and saved up money for years to afford a new garage or that nice car at retirement. They couldn't imagine becoming YouTube starts or overnight millionaires because of some reality TV show or viral video. Everything is fucked and it's because everyone thinks they are getting rich tomorrow. It's a mad dash to grab as much as possible, and people don't even enjoy the stuff they do have! Society is sick and decades of neglect are coming due; the blighted pillars are crumbling.

rackjack 5y ago
This has happened many times before, and it will keep happening because humans do not (cannot?) change their fundamental nature. Even if society as we know it dies, it'll just get reborn like a cursed phoenix. Every doomsayer seems to forget that there is nothing new under the sun, and society has "fallen" and picked itself back up over and over and over again, but this time "it used to be better" and this time "society will really die, because it's different!" Of course it's different, but humans don't change. > Just a couple decades ago, people dreamed of simpler lives. Plumbers, electricians, doctors, lawyers, engineers, small business owners. Please. The Roaring 20's? The Gilded Age, anyone?
- titzer 5y ago
  Things weren't so great after the Roman empire fell. The wreckage left in the wake of falling societies is never pretty. Look at Easter island. Things are bit different now. The economy is global, human impact on the planet is global and massive. We are beyond its carrying capacity and are quickly expending its energy reserves. But that's a different conversation. None of us were alive in the "roaring 20s", but I will point out that that was very localized to east coast cities. Trust me, there were no roaring twenties out on the prairie.

by titzer 5y ago

rackjack 5y ago

This has happened many times before, and it will keep happening because humans do not (cannot?) change their fundamental nature. Even if society as we know it dies, it'll just get reborn like a cursed phoenix. Every doomsayer seems to forget that there is nothing new under the sun, and society has "fallen" and picked itself back up over and over and over again, but this time "it used to be better" and this time "society will really die, because it's different!" Of course it's different, but humans don't change. > Just a couple decades ago, people dreamed of simpler lives. Plumbers, electricians, doctors, lawyers, engineers, small business owners. Please. The Roaring 20's? The Gilded Age, anyone?

titzer 5y ago
Things weren't so great after the Roman empire fell. The wreckage left in the wake of falling societies is never pretty. Look at Easter island. Things are bit different now. The economy is global, human impact on the planet is global and massive. We are beyond its carrying capacity and are quickly expending its energy reserves. But that's a different conversation. None of us were alive in the "roaring 20s", but I will point out that that was very localized to east coast cities. Trust me, there were no roaring twenties out on the prairie.