In terms of politics, which is mostly what I discuss on here, I once read a Cowbee post that actually made something click for me that I hadn’t understood, basically, that a socialist system should seek to nationalize industries primarily once they’ve become sufficiently developed that incentives for growth are no longer necessary or useful. Previously, my framework had been more along the lines of state-run for necessitities and private for luxuries, without consideration of the level of development, but Cowbee’s explanation clicked for me and connected the concept of enshittification to the question which transformed the way I looked at things.
Um. Other than that, for all the discussions I’ve been in, not a lot else comes to mind. I find it really difficult to have high level discussions with people I don’t already broadly agree with, because people just aren’t interested. Whenever I attempt to pose a real question, or pick people’s brains in a meaningful way, it just gets ignored. People just really like screaming at each other over the same like three topics forever, everything gets reduced to team sports, and those categorized as being on the other team get completely dismissed. Like honestly, that weird cult of “Soulism” that we have on here is at least more thought provoking and mentally stimulating that the 10,000th shouting match of “tankie!” “lib!” “tankie!” “lib!” “Genocide denier!” “Genocide enabler!” blah blah blah, it all gets so boring.
Sometimes I really miss being in school and writing essays, where I could know that someone was going to read it, think about it, and provide feedback. Trying to talk about anything high-level on here is shouting into the void. But everywhere else I know of on the internet is even worse! The only spaces where people actually engage with the sort of questions I’m interested in are spaces where everyone broadly agrees with my perspective already, which also gets boring.
Sometimes, I just need something interesting and challenging to mull over while working an understimulating job, and it’s hard to find that.
I’m not sure which post @Objection@lemmy.ml is referring to, but in simple terms, markets are useful in that they stitch together and connect production. This is a progressive development on disparate, unconnected production, be it for necessities or for luxuries. However, once production is all stitched together, it’s easier to see the whole and plan it, by which point the progressive aspects of markets have outlived their usefulness.
What’s key, though, is control. Class struggle remains alive until it ends. In order to maintain socialist control, the large firms and key industries need to be dominated by a working class state. This way capitalists cannot leverage control over the means of production and turn it into political power, they are kept to secondary and highly competitive industries in a birdcage. They may fly as they see fit within those bounds, but the owner of the cage can shrink it as they see fit.
Capitalism’s historic role is in connecting humanity. In other words, in socializing production. The working class’s historic role is socializing distribution as well, moving from the chaos of markets to a scientific plan gradually after siezing political control.
In terms of politics, which is mostly what I discuss on here, I once read a Cowbee post that actually made something click for me that I hadn’t understood, basically, that a socialist system should seek to nationalize industries primarily once they’ve become sufficiently developed that incentives for growth are no longer necessary or useful. Previously, my framework had been more along the lines of state-run for necessitities and private for luxuries, without consideration of the level of development, but Cowbee’s explanation clicked for me and connected the concept of enshittification to the question which transformed the way I looked at things.
Um. Other than that, for all the discussions I’ve been in, not a lot else comes to mind. I find it really difficult to have high level discussions with people I don’t already broadly agree with, because people just aren’t interested. Whenever I attempt to pose a real question, or pick people’s brains in a meaningful way, it just gets ignored. People just really like screaming at each other over the same like three topics forever, everything gets reduced to team sports, and those categorized as being on the other team get completely dismissed. Like honestly, that weird cult of “Soulism” that we have on here is at least more thought provoking and mentally stimulating that the 10,000th shouting match of “tankie!” “lib!” “tankie!” “lib!” “Genocide denier!” “Genocide enabler!” blah blah blah, it all gets so boring.
Sometimes I really miss being in school and writing essays, where I could know that someone was going to read it, think about it, and provide feedback. Trying to talk about anything high-level on here is shouting into the void. But everywhere else I know of on the internet is even worse! The only spaces where people actually engage with the sort of questions I’m interested in are spaces where everyone broadly agrees with my perspective already, which also gets boring.
Sometimes, I just need something interesting and challenging to mull over while working an understimulating job, and it’s hard to find that.
Did you bookmark the link, by any chance?
I’m not sure which post @Objection@lemmy.ml is referring to, but in simple terms, markets are useful in that they stitch together and connect production. This is a progressive development on disparate, unconnected production, be it for necessities or for luxuries. However, once production is all stitched together, it’s easier to see the whole and plan it, by which point the progressive aspects of markets have outlived their usefulness.
What’s key, though, is control. Class struggle remains alive until it ends. In order to maintain socialist control, the large firms and key industries need to be dominated by a working class state. This way capitalists cannot leverage control over the means of production and turn it into political power, they are kept to secondary and highly competitive industries in a birdcage. They may fly as they see fit within those bounds, but the owner of the cage can shrink it as they see fit.
Capitalism’s historic role is in connecting humanity. In other words, in socializing production. The working class’s historic role is socializing distribution as well, moving from the chaos of markets to a scientific plan gradually after siezing political control.
Hope that helps!
Unfortunately not, this was a long time ago. But I’m sure if you ask them they’d be happy to explain.