Capitalism creates socioeconomic inequality by concentrating wealth and power among a select few, perpetuates systemic oppression, inherently exploits labor which leads to alienation and a lack of worker autonomy, prioritizes profit over social needs, and exacerbates environmental degradation and resource depletion. We aren't the problem. Capitalism is the problem. #capitalism#inequality#exploitation#anticapitalism
"Abolish private property" doesn't mean we're coming for your toothbrush. It means no one should be allowed to hoard the things everyone needs to survive and thrive. #Capitalism isn't a law of physics. It's a human decision. We can make other decisions.
There are some hot and appropriate takes going around about the "leadership" at the top of major fediverse projects, and its imminent failures. One of those leaders literally describes himself as a "dictator". Well, now his technology has a new dictator, one who has no credible pretense to benevolence.
It seems there are two kinds of FOSS-folk among us. One contextualizes their technical work with a political understanding; be it anarchism, socialism, or some variant of an oppositional outlook, which posits FOSS in an anticapitalist, antiracist or liberatory context. They know there's something out there to stand against, and aspirationally, replace. I salute them and hope we can all build together.
The other, while more-or-less into FOSS, seems to be motivated by nothing deeper than a "tech is neato" ethos. One could argue that it's this second type that has brought us to the crisis.
If tech has any chance to facilitate liberatory - or even alternative - agency (and it's arguable if that chance exists), it has to be about something more than itself. As we watch ActivityPub, Mastodon and Pixelfed get recuperated into the Zuckerverse, here's hoping we can figure out a way to sustain and support those developers of next-gen decentralized and peer-to-peer social networking who understand this
This fantastic Manifesto by @MediaActivist does the difficult task of comprehensively and clearly outlining the systemic crises we face in late stage capitalism - including climate crisis, the ongoing pandemic, rise of right wing authoritarianism, hegemony of corporate capitalist companies etc. - but also at the same time making you still feel a sense of hope, resilience, to do something to fight back, together, through anarchistic praxis. Please visit, digest, share!
“What I wish to challenge here is a rarely examined prejudice that sees population aggregation at the apex of state centers as triumphs of civilization on the one hand, and decentralization into smaller political units on the other, as a breakdown or failure of political order. We should, I believe, aim to ‘normalize’ collapse and see it rather as often inaugurating a periodic and possibly even salutary reformulation of political order… The ‘collapse’ of an ancient state center is implicitly, but often falsely, associated with a number of human tragedies, such as high death toll. To be sure, an invasion, a war or an epidemic may cause large-scale fatalities, but it is just as common for the abandonment of a state center to entail little if any loss of life.”
— James C. Scott, Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States
Never underestimate the deep levels of malevolent greed the wealthy have and commonly act on, at the clear detriment of the Earth and Humanity. Heartlessness is only their appetizer. If humanity were a sinking ship, they would only save those who could pay the most... Our Earth is being killed and humanity is starved to the edge of death. But they only ask, "What are the profits?" The stolen "labor-value" due to so many...
Anarcho-Communist envisions a society rooted in the rejection of capitalist structures and values. We reject individualism. We reject private ownership. We reject hierarchal structures. We reject competition. We reject profit-making. Instead we promote the good things: community-centered living, communal ownership, horizontal non-coercive organization, mutual aid, and focusing on meeting the needs of all individuals! #communism#mutualaid#horizontalorganization#anticapitalism#solidarity
Private property, especially in the means of production, leads to inequality and exploitation. Property is theft because it enables a privileged class to accumulate wealth and power at the expense of others who are deprived of access to essential resources. Abolishing private property and establishing common ownership is the only thing that can eliminate these inequalities and create a more just society. #anticapitalism#communism#privateproperty#capitalism#meansofproduction#silentsunday
I recently noticed the government uses 'customer' when communicating with me regarding my social security. It is a good example of how central commodification and marketisation is to state power and the delivery of what are essential things everyone needs to live, such as food, shelter and water. We are instead atomised with the hegemonic social relations shaped by market, consumer, conditional and punitive concepts, when for our own and the planet's survival, and also to flourish, we need social relations based on unconditional care, our collective shared needs, collectivism, solidarity, interdependence, as typified by mutual aid. #EverythingForEveryone#Anarchism#AbolishMoney#AbolishTheState#AntiCapitalism#MutualAid
"This phrase represents standing up to those in power, and holding them accountable on behalf of the less fortunate. As can be seen with the protest in Beverly Hills, “Eat the Rich” gives the less-privileged the strength to fight their oppression, whether it is classism, racism, sexism or another injustice. In my mind, this is what social justice is all about."
Scientists must understand that fanatical zealots among industrial and political powers actually want to hasten the "end times" — apocalyptic accelerationist doctrine, as @Wolven puts it (https://ourislandgeorgia.net/@Wolven/111307805336499187). Christian Zionism is another such example of apocalyptic accelerationism.
So we MUST stop thinking climate alarms and emergencies actually deter them or would encourage them into action.
It's the opposite: bad news actually emboldens them and tells them their strategies are working. They probably think it's easier to go to heaven by ending the world than it is to actually save it from their own capitalist bullshit.
Stockpiling, prep, and mobilisation for months of worldwide strikes, refusal to pay bills, and not buying anything. As a radical pacifist who is also an eco-socialist, this highly appeals to me.
Scientists must revolt instead when big journalism, big oil, and other such industries are stacked against us.
I've talked about this intersection before, but Our Changing Climate has put out an awesome primer on how #capitalism won't - and more importantly can't - save us from climate change. (23:58)
Capital is now intrinsically linked to burning and extraction of fossil fuels, and never-ending consumption for 'growth'.
(As made clear by Vivek Ramaswamy at one of the Republican debates)
Imagine being a venture company that believes it "protects democracy by finding and proving out projects that (a) have traction, (b) can scale, and (c) can produce votes much less expensively than existing methods."
Imagine the principal funding and advising a bunch of #Fediverse projects to advance his pissweak milquetoast liberal capitalism, er I mean dEmOcrAcy.
He's not the only one around looking to turn the place into the next big thing for the U.S Democratic Party electioneers. The others stay in the shadows like true democrats 🙄