"Subscription-model capitalism", where you own nothing and just pay a monthly subscription forever (or until the corporation decides to make it unavailable), is especially funny after decades of "under communism you won't be able to own anything!" propaganda.
-- Wade Lahoda
#Capitalism #billionaires #Poverty #poor #CostOfLivingCrisis #RecordProfitsCrisis
Today, there are around 1.31 billion personal vehicles (cars, trucks, and SUVs) in the world. Of those, only about 2% are hybrid or electric. The other 98% are ICE vehicles burning gasoline/petrol.
By 2050, it’s estimated we’ll have about 2.21 billion vehicles in the world. That’s a HUGE number, almost 70% greater than today.
But how many of those will be electric? Instead of only 2%, it’s expected they will increase to around 31% of the total.
That sounds great! More EVs is a good thing, right?
Well, if 31% are EVs in 2050, that means the other 69% will *still* be ICE vehicles burning gas/petrol. So the number of cars and trucks and SUVs burning fossil fuels will go UP from 1.28 billion now to about 1.52 billion by 2050.
That’s… not so good.
We don’t *need* more cars, more traffic, more congestion, more pollution, more road damage, and more CO2 emissions.
What we need is:
- More bicycles
- More electric bikes
- More pedestrians
- More mass transit
- More light rail
NOT MORE CARS!!
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual
There's only so much you can "learn" from a movie, particularly one about dancing, but when I was young one of my formative experiences involved watching a flick called "Swing Kids." In many ways the film was typical Hollywood fare; a group of teens who love swing music and are alienated from the society around them are determined to dance the nights away even though adults don't understand and regard swing music as a dangerous moral perversion. The catch however, is that the teens are German, and the society they're alienated from is a country falling step by step into Nazism during the 1930's.
Like many movies loosely based on historical events, the film took a few liberties with the source material, but the part about it that stuck out to me is the way it depicted a fascist effort to target young people by simultaneously stamping out forms of expression that threatened Nazi cultural hegemony, and actively educating (and re-educating through coercion) German youth with fascist ideology, sometimes against the will of wiser adults around them. Unlike many films about Hitler's "Third Reich," Swing Kids didn't pretend fascism was something that "just happened" but instead actively explored the idea that racialized hatred, extreme nationalism, and fascist ideas were something you had to indoctrinate people into, and that the Nazis knew it would work better if they got to their targets while they were young.
Of course, it was just a movie; yet even then it instilled in me a desire to spend a significant portion of my life studying the question of "how fascism could happen." Astonishingly, when I later found myself studying the rise of Nazism in Germany, I discovered that this silly movie had in fact gotten that bit right; the Nazis succeeded in part by targeting German youth and teaching them to be the kind of monsters that could support Nazism without question and would even turn on their own parents.
I bring this up because I'm concerned that adults in the Pig Empire haven't been watching what fascists (of all stripes) have been doing to our education system and the young people we're sending off to be shaped by it:
https://truthout.org/articles/the-rights-push-to-whitewash-history-is-a-precursor-to-fascism/
The Right’s Push to Whitewash History Is a Precursor to Fascism
"Beneath this sweeping repression aimed at silencing dissent, free speech and critical inquiry lies a series of right-wing policies that threaten to undermine education’s role as a democratic public sphere and its commitment to fostering critical thinking. In this environment, we can expect a sustained assault on critical pedagogy, historical understanding, informed judgment, faculty job security, critical literacy, civic awareness, and any effort to connect learning with civic engagement and democratic values.
For instance, far right legislators in states like Florida, Tennessee and Idaho are banning books and prohibiting the teaching of concepts related to race, LGBTQ+ issues and social justice. Public and higher education institutions are being defunded, particularly if they address diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Many public school libraries are being stripped of resources, with some being transformed into detention centers. Students are bankrupting their future because of high tuition costs and staggering student debt."
While the quote I featured here naturally focuses on the fascist American right's attempt to erase history and thereby legitimize white supremacy, extreme nationalism, and the demonization of LGBTQ identities, it's important to understand that this transformation of education centers into a functional arm of a reactionary police state is by no means restricted to the Republican Party and its adherents. The transformation of American students and educators speaking out about and opposing extractivism, imperialism, and an unfolding US-backed genocide by Israel in Gaza, into criminals, terrorists, and "violent antisemites" is widely supported by so-called "liberal" administrators and lawmakers in the "brave new world" of our modern Pig Empire. Teaching and enforcing fascism via coercion remains the same, serves the same purpose, and produces the same results no matter who is doing it or what justifications they offer for doing so.
The uncomfortable truth here is that as our society becomes increasingly authoritarian across a bipartisan spectrum and as dictated by capital, this repression, indoctrination and assault on critical thinking is both a logical outcome, and a perquisite condition. After all, if you're going to kill billions of people as neocolonial capitalism boils the planet like soup for the benefit of ruling class billionaires, you can't rightly teach the next generation of leaders and drones that this is morally unacceptable and must be fought. How do you expect folks to make the trains run on time while that slaughter continues if you don't teach them to be fascists while they're young?
给别人讲道理这事儿的难度有多大，想必很多人都有感触。不仅艰难，而且收效甚微。
尤其，通过说教换来的支持即便能实现也极其不稳定。随时都会有更能“说”的人出现以改变“吃瓜群众”的想法。
因为，人们加入您的队伍并不是由于您说得多动听，而是，人们真正意识到了您的项目是针对性解决问题的可行方案。
那么如何才能做到这样？
我们中很多人至今都在忙于向身边人解释自己的想法和理论依据，甚为辛苦，却只是换来更多的争议和误解。是时候换种方式了。
您也曾经吃瓜吗？把瓜放下，就是革命行动。真的就是如此简单。
目前中国的长江中下游很多地区也正在洪灾中挣扎。希望本文阐述的经验和思想能为中国的无政府主义同志带来启迪和鼓励。
🧬《灾难已来临：大洪水不是"自然灾害"》- 「那不仅仅是 "不作为" 或失职的问题。那是一种正在进行中的有计划的针对性灭绝。」
https://iyouport.substack.com/p/c58
#洪灾 #直接行动 #无政府主义 #资本主义 #国家 #flooding #directaction #anarchism #capitalism #states
#HappyDisabiltyPrideMonth #fediverse
I'm celebrating by being slowly killed by #capitalism and #facism
Isn't it great to be a #disabled full-time caretaker for my elderly disabled mother and dying slowly?
What are you doing this #DisabilityPride Month?
Let me know, tell me all your secrets to #MutualAid and #SupportDisabledArtists
Yup... I'm a pissy bitch
$96/$600 Hotel *Due 07/25*
$330 Car Payment *Due 07/29*
-$169 July Deficit
$96/$1099 Weekly Goal
$1062/$5135 Raised Monthly Goal
Changing tracts for a moment; scientists have made an incredible discovery that alters not only how we understand the deep ocean, but also may alter what we know about the Earth's supply of the very oxygen we breathe - and unsurprisingly, capitalists are already working on fucking that up without the slightest care in the world for the harm it may cause our biosphere.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c728ven2v9eo
Oxygen discovery defies knowledge of the deep ocean
"About half the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean. But, before this discovery, it was understood that it was made by marine plants photosynthesizing - something that requires sunlight.
Here, at depths of 5km, where no sunlight can penetrate, the oxygen appears to be produced by naturally occurring metallic “nodules” which split seawater - H2O - into hydrogen and oxygen."
The article goes on to describe how we discovered these deep sea nodules which may take millions of years to form, what it means that oxygen is being produced without marine plant photosynthesis, and how this probably changes our understanding of deep sea life that likely depends on that oxygen (fish need oxygen, they just get it differently than we do.) Science lovers are encourage to read the whole piece.
What I want to focus on here however, is the fact that immediately after we've discovered this natural wonder, deep sea mining companies and resource-hungry capitalists are looking to literally rip these metallic nodules from the sea floor with virtually no concern for how that might affect our oceans, or even life on Earth.
"And because these nodules contain metals like lithium, cobalt and copper - all of which are needed to make batteries - many mining companies are developing technology to collect them and bring them to the surface.
But Prof Sweetman says the dark oxygen they make could also support life on the seafloor. And his discovery, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, raises new concerns about the risks of proposed deep-sea mining ventures."
Are life-giving, water oxygenating metallic nodules our only source of lithium, cobalt, and copper? Nope. Have deep sea mining companies studied the potential harm harvesting these nodules might cause? Nope. Might ripping them out of the water affect the delicate balance of not only ocean life but potentially how the oxygen we breath is distributed across multiple ecosystems and even the whole planet? Yeap. Does capitalism give a shit about any of that? Apparently not. The simple truth here is that we don't know how important these nodules are, and if the capitalists have their way we're going to start destroying them to make batteries before we even find out.
Look you can call me an alarmist if it'll make you feel better, but this story is merely a microcosm of the entire reason you're living on a boiling planet, facing down a mass extinction event that may well wipe out billions of people and destroy a habitable biosphere for countless other species as well.
We live in an extractivist culture, driven by the capitalist profit motive, where time and time again the need to keep stacking money for incomprehensibly rich ghouls is prioritized over not only nature, but the very survival of the human species. Capitalism is killing us, and literally nobody in the wealthy ruling classes, or the governments they've bought lock stock and barrel is doing anything about it, or shows any signs of even *trying* to do anything about it.
I don't know if tearing metallic nodules that produce dark oxygen from the ocean floor to make more Tesla batteries will compromise the planet's supply of the precious air we all breathe or not. But neither do the rich bastards that want to do it anyway. And you and I both know that if even if they did know, they wouldn't care.
At some point the human species is going to have to get serious about prioritizing life on Earth over the material demands of capitalists and rich people, or we're going to run out of life to commodify; or you know, the very air necessary to sustain our own existence as animals on a planet uniquely capable of supporting that life. One thing I *can* tell you is that after hundreds of years of capitalist predation of our shared biosphere, it is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither the capitalists, nor the states they own, are going to make the right choices to ensure our survival, for us.
Recently I've found myself engaged in multiple discouraging conversations about our rapidly unfolding climate catastrophe with a number of disheartened people ostensibly on the left. While none of these discussions have been unproductive, I've frequently found myself having to push back on the prevailing sentiment that "it's far too late" and "nothing can be done" to stop climate catastrophe, or even the extinction of human life on Earth. Setting aside the fact that this sentiment is both counter-productive, and ignores the scaling nature of the climate crisis problem entirely, a recent United Nations report indicates that these sentiments are likely a product of an active propaganda campaign designed to convince folks that preventing the worst case climate scenario is too difficult, if not entirely impossible. And who might be behind that propaganda campaign? If you guess "fossil fuel companies profiting directly from boiling our planet like soup," you win a gold star.
‘Massive disinformation campaign’ is slowing global transition to green energy
“There is this prevailing narrative – and a lot of it is being pushed by the fossil fuel industry and their enablers – that climate action is too difficult, it’s too expensive,” he said. “It is absolutely critical that leaders, and all of us, push back and explain to people the value of climate action, but also the consequences of climate inaction.”
He contrasted the perception of a backlash with the findings of the biggest poll ever conducted on the climate, which found clear majorities of people around the world supporting measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The survey found 72% of people wanted a “quick transition” away from fossil fuels, including majorities in the countries that produce the most coal, oil and gas. Green parties and plans may have suffered reverses in some parts of the world, he said, but in others they have gained seats, and seen policies that would once have been considered radical enter the mainstream."
Look, I'm not here to blow sunshine up your ass, and as I've written in the past, a simple transition from fossil fuel consumption to renewable energy isn't likely to solve *all* of our climate problems; at least in part because Pig Empire capitalism itself is unlikely to survive such a transition, and the rich people driving us all off the ecological cliff are fighting tooth and nail to preserve their wealth and power, which is itself underpinned by fossil fuel production and consumption. Despite these complications however, it's important to understand that combatting climate catastrophe is not impossible, it's not too late, and everyday people overwhelmingly support doing what must be done to preserve a habitable planet no matter how much our ruling classes and the capitalists who own everything in our society object to that proposition.
While it's true that taking action to fight the climate crisis sooner would have been better for humanity as a whole, and a certain portion of extremely negative effects on our society are already baked-in because of longstanding climate inaction, the idea that it's too late for our species and nothing can be done is not only inaccurate, but it's also being fed to you by folks who have a vested interest in continuing to burn the planet for profit, no matter how many people that kills. These people, whether they be fossil fuel executives or ruling class capitalists who're heavily invested in a fossil fuel driven world, want you to give up hope because it's worth trillions of dollars to them; to say nothing of the power over Pig Empire society the possession of all that money entails. If it truly were too late, if fighting back against the capitalist interests boiling us all for profit was truly pointless, they wouldn't be spending millions of dollars on propaganda campaigns and misinformation designed to get you to give up on the idea of fighting climate catastrophe and the capitalism that's causing it.
The plain truth, even if it's hard to recognize amid waves of disheartening propaganda, is that there is still hope for a planet habitable by 8B+ humans. Unfortunately however, that hope depends entirely on ending fossil fuel consumption, and the capitalist order that dominates all of Pig Empire society. Furthermore our leaders, who are wholly devoted to that capitalist order, and largely in the pockets of ultra-rich mass murderers who have every intention of killing billions to preserve their wealth and way of life, are at best unreliable partners (and at worst, an active impediment) to making the changes necessary to save our world, and the human species that lives on it. It's almost certainly going to take some type of global revolution to either convince them otherwise, or replace them with people who don't see murdering billions of people for the profit of a handful of billionaires as an acceptable option.
Literally the *only* story I'm going to share about the goddamn Olympics:
U.S. Rugby player Ariana Ramsey found out athletes get free healthcare in the Olympic Village and immediately booked a bunch of appointments for routine services many Americans living under our dystopian private healthcare regime simply can't afford:
"Like, what?” she said in a post on TikTok describing her new discovery: The Olympic Village offers free healthcare.
The United States, of course, does not. So in the days following her victory, Ramsey made appointments with the Village gynecologist, dentist and ophthalmologist. According to the Paris 2024 organizing committee, the Village also offers cardiology, orthopedics, physiotherapy, psychology, podiatry and, of course, sports medicine—all at no cost to the athletes. (Paralympic athletes will also have access to dermatology.)"
The best part of the story is that Ramsey not only convinced a bunch of other U.S. Athletes to take advantage of the program, but after realizing how beneficial having access to free healthcare is, she's decided to become an advocate for Universal Healthcare in America.
On a personal level and as someone who has spent time in multiple countries that offer free healthcare to their citizens, I honestly cannot stress how much it improves not only health outcomes, but also quality of life for labor class people; from increasing your lifespan, to freeing workers from dependence on bad employers just to keep their health insurance, this is one social policy that has ripples throughout almost every aspect of the lives of everyday people. And it says a LOT about the priorities of the American ruling class that they'd do almost anything to keep you from having access to universal healthcare.
HEADLINE: "Heat claims more than 175,000 lives annually in Europe, latest data shows"
__________________________
A staggering 175,000 people die from heat-related causes every year in Europe, and that figure is set to soar in line with our steadily warming planet. The UN World Health Organization says European countries are seeing temperatures rise at around twice the global average.
__________________________
Meanwhile, Business As Usual proceeds uninterrupted.
LEARN MORE -- https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1152766
#Europe #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual
As society battles pervasive climate nihilism, the UN reveals that the fossil fuel industry is behind propaganda designed to convince you it’s too late.
https://www.ninaillingworth.com/2024/08/18/nina-bytes-induced-hopelessness/
Nina-Bytes: Induced Hopelessness
"While it’s true that taking action to fight the climate crisis sooner would have been better for humanity as a whole, and yes, the beginnings of some extremely negative effects on our society are already baked-in because of longstanding climate inaction, the idea that it’s too late for our species and that nothing can be done is inaccurate; it is propaganda being fed to you by the same ghouls who have a vested interest in continuing to burn the planet for profit, no matter how many people have to perish. Whether they be fossil fuel executives or ruling class capitalists heavily invested in a fossil fuel dependent world, these greedy death-clowns want you to give up hope because it’s worth not just trillions of dollars to them, but also the power over Pig Empire society that their syphoning of it enables. If it truly were too late, if fighting back against the capitalist interests boiling us all for profit was truly pointless, they wouldn’t be spending millions of dollars on propaganda campaigns and misinformation designed to get you to give up on the idea of fighting climate catastrophe and the capitalism that’s causing it. The best time to fight fossil fuel induced climate catastrophe was sixty years ago, but the second best time is right now; billions of people’s lives are depending on it, and it’s not too late to save them."
#ClimateCrisis #Capitalism #FossilFuels #ClimateNihilism #NotTooLate #Propaganda
“Media giant Cox Media Group (CMG) says it can target adverts based on what potential customers said out loud near device microphones, and explicitly points to Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Bing as CMG partners, according to a CMG presentation obtained by 404 Media.”
https://www.404media.co/heres-the-pitch-deck-for-active-listening-ad-targeting/
#CMG #ActiveListening #surveillance #capitalism #adtech #SiliconValley #PeopleFarming #Facebook #Amazon #Google #Bing
I haven't slept more than 2-3 hrs a night for about 3 or 4 weeks now
We (Mom our #ESA and I) aren't eating well as support for our #MutualAid has been dwindling over time
Tbh I don't think it's changed much at all but I've been running on fumes trying to keep us save from the death machine of #capitalism for over a year now
More in next #hoot but have this in a new tab
Mao Zedong planted the seeds of people's power, while Chiang Kai-shek* pruned the old dying branches of bourgeois and reactionary nationalism.
*Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975) was the leader of the Republic of China from 1928 until 1949 and then as the leader of the government in Taiwan until his death. He was the head of the Kuomintang (KMT), or the Nationalist Party, which was opposed to the Communist Party of China (CPC).
3 step guide to become a #socialist by recent scientific evidence!
1 - #Inequality is connected to social issues: https://equalitytrust.org.uk/evidence-base/the-spirit-level-at-15/
2 - #capitalism is the cause of the rising inequality: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_in_the_Twenty-First_Century
3 - the #needs of everyone on Earth could be met with 30% of our current economic output: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292924000493
Apparently Libertarian Marxism is a thing. And I must say Iike it!
#amreading Yanis Varoufakis - Techno Feudalism: What killed capitalism
Everyone should read this book. Especially MAGA. But they won’t, since they have been emotionally programmed to think neoliberalism is capitalism & Marx’s economic theories only apply to communism.
#bookstodon #capitalism #economics #marxism #libertarianism #cloudcapital #technofeudalism #memes #yeschad
