Notices by neil 🍄 (neil@social.coop), page 13

@dtluna So I'm using free marketeer in the sense of laissez-faire capitalism, which I'd always thought was the popular usage of free market. Even if it is acknowledged that it's a long way from an actual free market.

But you're using it in the sense of free-market anarchism, right? Not something I know much about, and should read up on - thanks for the book reference.

@dtluna Huh? Are you saying those things aren't compatible?

The funniest/weirdest bit is Curtis heckling Barbara Branden with a shout of “That’s altruism!” when she reveals she let Rand have an affair with her husband (Mr. Self-Esteem Nathaniel Branden) because she felt sorry for Rand. And Barbara Branden gets defensive, but it seems more at the accusation of altruism than at the marital complexities. Odd stuff.

I briefly ended up feeling.. sorry (..or perhaps pity) for Ayn Rand, which I certainly wasn’t expecting to happen. Not that she would want that, anyway.

It leads to the various market fuck-ups of the recent decades, along with state bailouts of banks, paid for by citizens around the world.

Bill Clinton makes a bit of a cameo, appearing generally useless, and responsible for letting the money changers into the temple.

So the theme in AWObMoLG pt.1 is individualism I guess, like Century of the Self. Main protagonists so far being Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan, and the early Silicon Valley tech utopians. I guess the thread is that Randian heroic selfishness bleeds into both finance and tech, leading to an overconfidence in algorithms, to free marketeers in positions of power, and the belief that weird financial shit like risks and hedging is all good for the healthy pursuit of one’s money.

All that said, it’s entertaining, and I’m sure there’s something of merit to all of his theses, and it definitely makes you think about the broad strokes of recent history and how they link together. And the soundtrack’s great.

Watched the first part of Adam Curtis’ All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace documentary.

Very enjoyable. I have to say that a lot of times in Curtis’ documentaries I feel like if it was a Wikipedia article it would say ‘citation needed’. And I’m definitely picking up on certain Curtis tropes the more of his documentaries that I see. (“They thought it was doing XYZ…….. But it wasn’t.” Discordant music, long shot on someone’s face. Quick cut to silly music and image. etc etc)

We had fun EvalApply meetup today - a little thing we started to work through the Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs together, AND chat about the effects of technology on society. Because.

https://doubleloop.net/2019/07/30/evalapply-30th-july-2019/

https://invidio.us/watch?v=ndIIYDL2mGs&listen=1

This has been on *heavy* repeat today. Machinedrum’s edit of Boards of Canada’s Untitled track from their performance at the Warp 10th birthday.

#NowPlaying

@nicksellen Another book I enjoyed was Inventing the Future. It definitely has its flaws, and from memory I don't think it even went that detailed into steps for bringing about change. I remember they called it a provocation rather than a detailed plan. But they did paint broad strokes of direction, which at least gives something to latch on to, whether it's to take it forward or to disagree with.

@nicksellen Definitely, Jackson Rising was a real revelation, it's like a handbook. We read it for the social.coop reading group a while back, wonder if the notes are still on the loomio.

Great point - maybe a book cant/shouldnt give all the answers. Bare minimum it definitely needs local organizing and discussion to supplement it.

Even with Jackson Rising, I imagine their thinking has probably changed, if a book is to be a handbook, it probably needs regular updating as context changes.

I had not heard of this...

"The industry is also adopting various forms of biometric profiling, including using keystroke patterns.  How we type is marked by minute differences, which can create a biometric profile of individuals..." (from Future Histories)

I guess I'm lucky that for me it can be filed under 'disturbing curiosity' rather than 'legitimate concern'.  But.  Honestly.  What a mess we're in that this is actually a thing.

“As the planet slides further toward a potential future of catastrophic climate change, and as society glorifies billionaires while billions languish in poverty, digital technology could be a tool for arresting capitalism’s death drive and radically transforming the prospects of humanity. But this requires that we politically organize to demand something different.”

Totally agree with the sentiment. But who is we? What organizational form should we take? What is the demand we should be making?

“As the planet slides further toward a potential future of catastrophic climate change, and as society glorifies billionaires while billions languish in poverty, digital technology could be a tool for arresting capitalism’s death drive and radically transforming the prospects of humanity. But this requires that we politically organize to demand something different.”

Totally agree with the sentiment. But who is we? What organizational form should we take? What is the demand we should be making?

“We need social movements that collaborate—in workplaces, schools, community spaces and the streets—to demand that the development of technology be brought under more democratic forms of power rather than corporations or the state.”

True enough. Although I am unaware of what form it would take. Who is in these social movements? To whom are the demands made? What are they exactly?

Like a lot of books I’ve read lately though, so far it’s heavy on the diagnosis, and light on the actual treatment. But I’m only at the beginning so I hope it will flesh out with some concrete action as I go along.

Really enjoying Lizzie O’Shea’s “Future Histories” so far. It’s really nicely written, and weaves together current social, political and economic technological quandaries with a reading of relevant ideas from history. I really like the historical perspective – it gives a nice handle with which to grapple with these problems.