I don’t mean better for you or me but better in general. Do you believe our species will ever reach some form of enlightenment or will we destroy ourselves?
What is “better in general”? I don’t particularly mind the human species going extinct, it’s unlikely there’ll be no life left over. No one knows the nature of the universe.
In any case, it’s incredibly unlikely we’ll go extinct anytime soon. Maybe climate change etc causes extreme loss of life, but humans are so adaptive, some will surely survive.
No one can even define “enlightenment” either. Maybe we already are, maybe such a thing doesn’t exist. Currently, it’s just a story element.
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I think it’s gonna get a lot worse, but if we can hold it together then it’ll be smooth sailing afterwards. Basically, I think we’re approaching several “Great Filters” and if we can get past them then we’ll be good.
Either we progress to Socialism or we die out, that’s the filter. I am hopeful, though.
Here’s a bit of hope for you, scientists have figured out how to trick the body into producing any protein or antibody they want, through technology like gene therapy and mRNA vaccines. We’re about to cure a lot of diseases that used to be 100% fatal. Diseases that kill kids and adults alike.
Most things seem to be getting worse these days, but at least we’re making progress in other areas.
Too bad those advances will be monetized as hard as possible and limited to those that can afford it.
Unfortunately there’s a lot of truth in that statement, especially in the case of rare disease. It’s really difficult to convince a company to spend billions to develop a treatment that will only cure 1 in 100,000 people without letting them charge an arm and a leg, and giving them a very long exclusivity deal so they can continue to charge high prices. So much of that cost to develop is due to the dozens of other failed drugs and formulations they tried on their way to success.
I don’t have a solution for the problem, and I’m always a little suspicious of anyone who claims it’s easy to solve. I think the UK has a decent idea, the NHS basically decides if the cost of a drug will be covered by insurance by comparing the expected benefit and the current cost. If the ratio is too skewed, they refuse to cover the medication. In theory, this should be an incentive for a company to charge less. In practice, it leads to some companies choosing not to market in the UK.
That’s great and all but we’re going to be needing food and air conditioning.
Thanks, that’s good to hear. New scientific breakthroughs always inspire hope, at least for me, especially when they save lives.
Things will get better, eventually, if we work for it. Our time is the age of the death of the US Empire. The decay of Capitalism in the US and Imperialism abroad drives much of the division in the world over today, but if we know how to get past this we will succeed. I recommend reading Marxist theory, it can be very comforting to know how the world actually works, and how we can overcome it. I keep a “Read Theory, Darn It!” beginner reading list if anyone wants it, let me know if you have any questions.
Will admins/moderators block this communism spam?
The admins and moderators are Communists, so I doubt it, but they can feel free to let me know if I’m going too far and need to cut back a bit. I’ll act accordingly.
No
The way I look at it, things have to get better. Because if they don’t then we will destroy ourselves. Barbarism until socialism.
Yep, now more than ever is a great time to get armed, organized, and “Read Theory, Darn It!” I keep a beginner list complete with audiobooks on Marxist theory, which is critical in my opinion if we want to achieve Socialism.
Do you think things will get better?
Yes.
A lot of the problems we face are systematic, to do with how our society is organised rather than any human limit. They are solvable problems, and many have already been solved already in some countries. The reason they’re aren’t solved isn’t because we can’t, but because the few most powerful people are powerful because of this rigged system, and have a self-interest in keeping it that way by any means necessary.
History has shown us clearly that even kings, dictators and other broken systems can be overthrown AND stopped from coming back, provided the people doing it are politically educated and organized. That’s the key. If we just get angry without a plan, we will end up like the pitiful Jan 6 riot. But if we educate ourselves with lessons from history and work to create a mass movement, we can finally move forward beyond this frightening present situation.
They are solvable problems, and many have already been solved already in some countries.
This is a great point!
We have the potential for far better, yes.
The real question is, will enough people want for us to get better…
The short answer is yes, as conditions deteriorate due to Capitalism and Imperialism decaying, and decay they must, more people become radicalized every day. If these radicals read theory and get organized, eventually a tipping point will be reached. The very fact that conditions are decaying rapidly means radicalization is also rapid.
May whatever deity who may or may not be active hear you and decide that it’d be fun to watch!
You can certainly help 😉 I keep a “Read Theory, Darn It!” introductory reading list on Marxism if you want to check it out
Thank you, always good to have more lists! Been reading up on things like this for a while, among other things, and I’ve already noticed some unfamiliar names in your post!
Nice! Feel free to add feedback in the comments or ask any questions you like!
I think in one moment, when the capitalist world failed so hard that half of the world or more died because of it. The humanity will start to change to a better future. Like one solarpunk or such.
Eventually, the contradictions necessarily created by Capitalism, ie decentralized markets leading to centralized monopolist syndicates, will result in said syndicates being pulled from under the feet of the Bourgeoisie. Marx has remained correct in his predictions thus far. I don’t think it will take half the world dying either for the US Empire to fall. This better future will be Socialist in nature, Solarpunk is more of an aesthetic than an ideology but this Socialist future will most likely heavily rely on solar power among other renewables.
I made a Read Theory, Darn it! introduction to Marxism reading list if you want to check it out.
I think solarpunk is more than a ahestetic, its a way to live without wasting more than you produce. Living in a more slow way and conscious.
I go to read your article, thogh!
Thanks for checking it out!
As for Solarpunk, I think it’s certainly useful, but like any aesthetic-based movement it can be easily co-opted without a strong emphasis on theory. Namely:
- Why do we need Solarpunk?
- Who can push for Solarpunk?
- What is Solarpunk?
- How can we transition from our present conditions to Solarpunk?
- When can we transition to Solarpunk?
Those are a few questions (among others) that need to be consistent across the board for any real change to occur, simply having an image of a “good society” is Utopianism, and thus prone to failure like all previous Utopian movements.
I have an article for all those questions: https://lenses.alxd.org
I skimmed the article, but I find it unsatisfactory. It focuses very much on imagining a better future, and that by doing so, we can accept and work towards it. This is fundamentally Utopian and Idealist, it doesn’t emphasize a materialist foundation for how to get there beyond hoping and trying to modify the Superstructure deliberately so that the Base forms based on it. The problem with that mode of thinking is that the Base is constantly reinforcing the Superstructure projected from it, and thus the changes to the Superstructure you propose are going to be modified and even coopted by the Class in power, ie the Bourgeoisie, with little effort.
I like all the data and info you are telling here! Now I can think in a more structured way and logic about society structure. But you don’t think that being able to imagine a better and sustainable future is not superstructure and all the solar-energy base, and solarpunk prompts of the literature, imagining other ways of production more anarchic and horizontal interactions between people and slow only with the necessary is not a base? It talks about means of production and relationship of production. It’s already proven that better and more technology don’t make us life better, but more fast and contaminated.
An imagined, hypothetical base is not a real, existing base, and thus it can’t project the superstructure but be a part of an existing superstructure.
The current trend sucks, obviously.
But historically, we used to be so much worse to each-other.
There’s reasons (data and practicality) to have faith that things will continue to improve.
But it won’t be enough, for many of us, in many of our lifetimes, so let’s all stay angry and active.
If you are Elon Musk it is looking amazing right now.
I guess it depends on what you mean by destroy. Like literally population 0, I doubt it’ll ever get there. But losing 75% of population, I can see some nuclear war breaking out
But losing 75% of population, I can see some nuclear war breaking out
Seems pretty likely (eventually). I take hope that I’ll be in the direct blast radius, and not a mutilated horribly scarred survivor.
I choose not to think about this one much because it’s well outside my circle of influence.
Ya everyday another corrupt superpower is getting that much closer to weapons of mass destruction. I’m sure there’s bio weapons already out there that would destroy huge chunks of the population. But nuclear would also be up there though probably much more difficult to hide
“Do you believe our species will ever reach some form of enlightenment”
If there is anything history has taught me is that we repeat the same basic behavior over and over and have done so as far back as we can see. We are essentially very intelligent monkeys, obsessed with social status, manipulation, altruism and cooperation mixed with hostility and exploitation. I think the basic sociology of humans is baked into our DNA and the very nature of animal life. People have always imagined they can create some utopia on earth but it always ends up a failure because of the very nature of man and the impossibility of even defining a utopia for everyone.
The basic DNA of humans is that our ideas form from our Material Conditions, and the driver of this is the mode of production.
What “Utopias” are you referring to, here? The old, Utopian socialist of Owen’s kind, or the modern, Marxist form of Socialism (which rejects the term “utopian”)?
