Antiwork

Sometimes I think Marx was just the first "conspiracy theory loving podcast bro" but he didn't have any of the material to distract him. He also was very privileged and did not have to spend his entire life delivering Taco Bell for Uber Eats. But for some reason he still had that same fundamental need to find an explanation for what we all feel so strongly today. It's punching us in the face.

Like, Marx gets a lot of credit because he and Engels wrote the best criticisms that have stood the test of time. But, if you lived in that time, most writings were about class conflict in some form. Hell, the "father of capitalism" (Adam Smith) was even extremely critical of obvious contradictions and was very critical of landlords.

As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed, and demand a rent even for its natural produce.

The last century has been mostly about trying to scare the working class into submission. Pointing to "failures" of socialism as if they existed in a bubble; and not the reality of every necessary resource of the capitalist class going to fighting it.

This is primarily done in developing nations. The US ensures it installs dictators or makes the conditions of the countries impossible through embargos (Cuba/DPRK). But in the US it's mostly controlled by distractions. The conspiracy theories, toys, drugs, etc.

But the imperial core control is failing. And, my hope, is even if we don't see progress in the west. That the internal chaos we experience will finally allow the nations the west oppresses to break free.

The alienation we feel needs to be understood in this context. We hate our jobs because they serve no other purpose but to allow us to afford the available distractions we are allowed. Distractions that are becoming less and less meaningful as our material conditions decline and we become more connected to all workers of the world.