Comment on What the Technofascists and Religious Fanatics Have in Common: End Days Theology
aaron@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
Capitalism evolved in the period of greatest abundance humanity will likely ever experience (in terms of primary energy). What is likely to replace it when this energy source runs out? A return to feudalism is not a great leap.
Realpolitikaly speaking we have lost the battle for 3c at (or more likely before) 2100, and are beginning to lose the battle for 4c. Many people educated in relevant fields equate this to the deaths of billions and an end to organised co-operative international society as we knew it in the 21st century.
In light of the above, both silicone valley hyper-capitalists’ desire for, or expectation of a coming feudalism (where they are the lords) and many others’ expectation of an end-times (or at least end of fossil fuel powered capitalism) shouldn’t be considered all that wild.
AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
Okay, but consider that the ultra-rich technofascists are a group that has had a disproportionate impact on the continued pillaging of the climate. They aren’t just opportunists wanting to make the most of the fragments of society that will remain after climate disaster, but people who have been working to bring that scenario into fruition because it’s profitable in the short term whilst positioning them to take even more power.
I cannot emphasise enough that they want this, and that this ideology goes further back than the current wave of them. The reality of climate change is unfathomably dire, but I hope you understand why it’s necessary to resist these people as part of whatever climate resilience we can build. I’ll probably be dead before shit really hits the fan, climate-wise, so my goal is to do whatever I can to support the people who come after me. If those techno-assholes are allowed to inherit the fragments of society, the entire planet is even more fucked
aaron@infosec.pub 3 weeks ago
There is always a best and worse case scenario, so there is always a reason to try, but it is also very important not to waste energy on unimportant battles, battles that are already lost, and battles that are not already lost but also cannot be won. A lot of people are going to die unnecessarily shitty deaths after unnecessarily shitty lives because of climate change, for no good reason, and there is nothing I can do about it.
People like Roger Hallam in the UK have studied, devised, and are trying to enact a program for building a social movement against unchecked climate change. If he isn’t currently in prison I am pretty sure he has been sentenced to five years for doing so. I’m not convinced they have all of it right but if you are really interested maybe something like that is worth a look.
The most carbon intensive activity I can think of is warfare, and it looks like there is every chance that world war three hots up in the coming years. Good luck telling people not to burn fossil fuels should that happen. Or telling people across the ‘developing’ world they have to just sit there and die, rather than burn the fossil fuel reserves they have available to them. I am at peace with what I can and cannot change. I always found the Buddhist notion of ‘cause least harm’ as a useful mental tool to keep happy while dealing with my part in things. Making the decision not to have children for environmental reasons makes these decisions easier. I am not interested in what individuals like Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk think. Their role in society (somebody is going to fill those roles within capitalism, not necessarily them) is only of passing interest because I have better things to think about.