I mean that’s in there, but the real issues we’re facing right now are the same exact issues that we’ve seen topple democracies across the world for the last couple centuries.
People are being radicalized to support a system that benefits the stakeholders at the very top who are trying to secure a lasting empire of wealth and power by manufacturing hate and culture war with invented enemies. I can point to examples of this happening over and over as a prelude to authoritarian takeover, from Germany and Italy in the 30’s all the way on through recent “strongman” elections in places like the Philippines and Argentina, and a wealth of famous stories in between.
You can certainly talk about the role of society shifting around development and technology, but the heart of the issue is human greed and desire for power, as it has always been, as it will always be. People aren’t out there scared of immigrants and voting their rights away because they understand how AI is going to threaten their jobs, they’re terrified of brown people because FOX news implied that the scary foreigners and trans kids are going to take away everything that makes America feel like a stable home, and that people asking for kindness and empathy are actually literal baby-eating demons.
I mean that’s in there, but the real issues we’re facing right now are the same exact issues that we’ve seen topple democracies across the world for the last couple centuries.
People are being radicalized to support a system that benefits the stakeholders at the very top who are trying to secure a lasting empire of wealth and power by manufacturing hate and culture war with invented enemies. I can point to examples of this happening over and over as a prelude to authoritarian takeover, from Germany and Italy in the 30’s all the way on through recent “strongman” elections in places like the Philippines and Argentina, and a wealth of famous stories in between.
You can certainly talk about the role of society shifting around development and technology, but the heart of the issue is human greed and desire for power, as it has always been, as it will always be. People aren’t out there scared of immigrants and voting their rights away because they understand how AI is going to threaten their jobs, they’re terrified of brown people because FOX news implied that the scary foreigners and trans kids are going to take away everything that makes America feel like a stable home, and that people asking for kindness and empathy are actually literal baby-eating demons.
Excellent summary. The 1% have created this culture war and push the propaganda for it constantly.