We need to move away from the #mainstreaming of mess because the current political and economic systems actively push this mess, while also avoiding dealing with any of the root causes of the problems they create by the mess they make. For decades, all our politicians support endless wars, military interventions, and the militarization of police forces. Pushing the global instability and domestic repression they say they are addressing. Despite constant claims of economic growth, people face stagnant wages that have not kept up with the cost of living, crippling inflation and skyrocketing rents are making it difficult for normal people to make ends meet.
The ongoing ecological crisis, record-breaking heat waves, wildfires, and extreme weather events, is a direct result of decades of environmental neglect and exploitation. All of our parties failed to take meaningful action to address climate change, prioritizing corporate profits over sustainable paths. The failure to address the ecological crisis threatens the survival of our selves and future generations.
The crackdown on social movements and mass incarceration are distraction and a tool by the state to maintain control and suppress dissent, stifling the potential for transformative social change. The growing anger and disillusionment with #neoliberal policies allow demagogues like Farage and Donald Trump to present themselves as alternatives. But their solutions are not progressive, rather rooted in racism, xenophobia, and authoritarianism, that only leads to growing fascism.
All the major political parties are inbred with corporate interests. They offer superficial solutions to systemic problems, seeking to manage rather than resolve the crises they have created. Real change needs organizing and building vibrant, diverse grassroots movements that can grow new forms of life and community outside the collapsing #mainstreaming structures. To seed change as faith in current institutions becomes irrelevant as they fail to address the fundamental issues facing society.
We need to step away from the #mainstreaming mess, reject “common sense” liberal and #neoliberal, #fascist agendas. Instead, focus on building a diversity of new societies to give people a real chance to step away. This likely requires a collective effort to organize, resist, and create alternative forms of social and economic to build more “nativist” humanistic societies.
In the #liberal approach to politics and economic systems, they have an ambition to save the world, they champion progressive causes such as climate change mitigation, social justice, and human rights. Their strategy to mediate the current mess involves leveraging the existing political and economic systems to achieve these goals, believing that reforms lead to significant improvements without changing the current structures.
We have “right” and “left” liberals, the right is blinded dogmatic worshippers of the #deathcult where the “left” uphold capitalist principles, regulated markets, private enterprise, and incremental reforms and are terrified of radical changes. At best, this creates a perception that they are trying to balance two inherently contradictory goals: preserving the status quo while also advocating for real progressive change.
Delusion or Pragmatism? Incremental Change vs. Radical Overhaul, for anyone with any sense, this balancing act is delusional because capitalism’s drive for profit and growth stands in opposition to the environmental sustainability and social equity that liberals say they seek. They do argue, with some merit, that incremental change within the system is more pragmatic and achievable in the short term, and that it can lay the groundwork for more substantial transformations in the future. Looking at historical precedents, significant social changes, such as civil rights advancements, labour protections, and environmental regulations, have come through gradual reforms rather than abrupt revolutions.
What this website keeps asking is the liberal #mainstreaming path fit for purpose any more, after 40 years of worshipping a #deathcult, might we actually require radical changes? The onrushing #climatechaos and hard shifts to the right, makes questioning this path the new building #mainstreming. We do need to question whether the current political and economic paths address pressing global issues effectively or at all. If not, more radical solutions need to be considered.
Back to the fluffy liberals. While maintaining the strengths of liberal democracy—such as civil liberties and political freedoms—it is worthwhile exploring and experimenting with alternative economic models that prioritize ecological sustainability and social equity more explicitly. This is in part what the current #openweb reboot is about.
Constructive dialogue about this between our “left” liberals and more radical progressives needs to lead to real, innovative options that draw on the basic humanistic strengths. While the liberal approach is contradictory, in its fluffier “left” path it represents a pragmatic effort to navigate the complexities of modern society. Whether this approach is sufficient to address our global challenges is a question that deserves ongoing discussion and active critical examination. This is at the heart of the fluffy/spiky debate.
The mess is a result of the socioeconomic outcome of the widespread adoption of #neoliberal policies and ideology. Neoliberal theorists like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman developed and promoted the ideas, emphasizing competition and market-based solutions to social and economic problems. Politicians like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan implemented neoliberal policies on a large scale, fundamentally altering over the last 40 years the role of government and the structure of our society.
Business interests, pushed neoliberal policies to restore their power and wealth, which had diminished during the era of “progressive” liberalism. Think tanks, academic institutions and university economics departments played a role in spreading and legitimizing neoliberal ideas.
The economic crises of the 1970s, stagflation and oil shocks, created an opening for neoliberal policies to be pushed as an alternative to existing redistributive social democratic economic models. This was then taken up by #mainstreaming political parties, including traditionally left-leaning parties, such as Labour in the UK, who pushed the same neoliberal agendas, contributing to the ideology’s total dominance across the political spectrum. The “mess” we are in is not the result of a conspiracy, more the failed #fashionista pushing of ideas, self-interest, and historical circumstances.
Over the last 40 years we have fundamentally altered how people, institutions, and governments see the world and their roles in society. This shift has led to social brake feed by “common sense” #stupidindividualism and market-based destruction of social goods and environment. The “common sense” pervasiveness of neoliberal logic made this thinking difficult to escape, even for people who profess to oppose it. This mess is proving to be a #deathcult in the era of #XR
What drives the rise of social justice movements and grassroots mobilization is simple: they begin locally. Movements grow from the lived experiences of people and communities directly affected by injustice – those with the motivation and need to bring about real change.
To help these movements expand and connect, technology must serve people, not control them. That means prioritizing open, decentralized networks like the #openweb and the #fediverse, which foster free, serendipitous communication. These digital commons give activists the tools to organize, share stories, and build collective power without being bound by corporate or state control.
Projects like the #OMN and #indymediaback are built with this ethos, tools for coordination, not domination.
But movements also need historical memory. We need to document and preserve the history of activism, its tactics, its victories, its failures, to educate and inspire new generations. Understanding the struggles of the past helps today’s movements avoid repeating old mistakes and build on hard-won gains. That’s the work of the #makeinghistory project.
Yet we face the ever-present threat of co-optation, when activist groups shift their focus to chase funding or institutional legitimacy, losing their roots in the process. Staying independent and mission-driven is hard, especially in today’s hostile environment, but it has been done before, so it can be done again. If you value this work, support us here: https://opencollective.com/open-media-network
Activism thrives when there’s a balance of spiky and fluffy – bold direct action paired with strategic planning and long-term vision. Pragmatism is key: we must address urgent needs now, while laying the groundwork for lasting change.
Let’s be clear: the relationship between grassroots movements and capitalism is fundamentally antagonistic. Capitalism erases history. It ignores the material realities of class struggle, slavery, debt, violence, ecocide, and oppression. It breeds a culture of #stupidIndividualism and fuels the #deathcult we now call “common sense.”
In its place, we should seriously consider other paths like – socialism and anarchism – not as abstract ideals, but as practical socio-economic paths rooted in public ownership and collective decision-making. These models offer a chance to distribute wealth and power more justly.
Capitalism is collapsing under its own weight.
“We all know the system we live under is destroying itself.
So what comes next? Fascism or revolution?”
Radical change isn’t a dream, it’s a necessity. The #openweb, the language of hashtags, and the memory of past movements offer us practical tools to build collective paths, connect communities, and organize resistance. These are our counterforces to the algorithmic mess of #mainstreaming. We already have the tools. Now we need the will.
A complex philosophical and cultural movement of the mid to late 20th century. At its core is a rejection of objective values and beliefs, scepticism towards the idea of absolute truth, and a distrust of grand narratives. Let’s have a brief look at this and Noam Chomsky view of why this movement is still pushing the intellectual and societal “mess” we try to live in.
Rejection of Absolute Truth:#Postmodernism challenges the idea that there is a simple truth. Instead, it posits that truths are only, subjective, and socially constructed.
Rejection of Grand Narratives: Postmodernists are critical of overarching narratives or ideologies that help to explain large-scale historical, social, and cultural phenomena. Arguing, these narratives suppress alternative perspectives and reinforce power structures.
Critique of Power Relations: Central to postmodernism is the analysis of how power operates within society. Postmodernists highlight how power is unevenly distributed and shapes people’s identities, experiences, and world-views.
Deconstruction: This involves taking apart and examining all the underlying assumptions, ideas, and frameworks that constitute texts, ideas, and social practices. To push the inherent contradictions and power dynamics within them into view.
Chomsky’s Critique of Postmodernism:
Obscurantism and Inaccessibility: Chomsky argues that postmodernist writing is overly complex and obscure, making it inaccessible to the public and academics. That this complexity serves to alienate and insulate postmodernist thinkers from actual activism and practical engagement.
Lack of Concrete Action: Postmodernism allows people to adopt a radical stance without engaging in meaningful action. That the focus on abstract theorizing detracts from any real-world activism and change to challenge the #mainstreaming mess.
Creation of an Academic Power Structure: Chomsky asserts that postmodernism created its own academic power structure, where material rewards, prestigious positions and conference opportunities are given to those who adhere to its complex and impenetrable discourse. Thus diffusing real voices of change and challenge.
Contradictory and Trivial Claims: Chomsky criticizes postmodernists for making contradictory statements dressed in complex language to appear profound. That many postmodern claims mix trivial truths with outright absurdities, diluting knowledge and understanding.
Detrimental Impact on Third World Countries: We need to highlight the negative impact of postmodernism in developing countries, where intellectuals who could have contributed to meaningful social and political change are instead drawn into the abstract and irrelevant debates inside the postmodernism mess.
A #fashernista look at this mess, do you think it’s helpful spreading this #dotcons fodder?
Postmodernism’s rejection of universal truths and grand narratives leads to intellectual fragmentation. Without a common framework, discourse become fragmented, making it difficult to build consensus or coherent strategies for social change. The complexity and elitism of postmodernist thought erode public trust in intellectuals and academics. When scholars are disconnected from everyday concerns, their influence and credibility diminish. Postmodernism’s emphasis on the subjective nature of truth leads to cultural relativism, where all viewpoints are seen as equally valid. This undermines efforts to address injustices and challenge harmful practices. The focus on deconstruction and critique leads to a paralysis of action. If all truths and structures are seen as flawed, it becomes impossible to mobilize collective action or propose constructive solutions.
Conclusion: Postmodernism has dug itself deep into contemporary thought, people don’t see any more the creating of its own establishment norms and power structures, but it’s still there pushing much of the current mess. This has pushed intellectual insularity, a lack of practical engagement, and a strong tendency to obscurantism, building, the current “messy” blocking of meaningful activism and clear discourse.
#Socialism is a socio-economic path where the production (factories, mines, machinery, tools, raw materials, land, buildings, means of transport, etc.) are owned and controlled by the public. The goal is to create a basic equitable distribution of wealth and power by reducing the disparities seen in capitalist societies. Socialism abolishes private control of the means of production, to transition to a system where goods and services are produced for use rather than profit. The guiding economic principle of socialism is “from each according to their ability, to each according to their work.”
Public Ownership: Big industries and resources are owned and managed by the people, democratic governance and cooperatives.
Economic Planning: Planning is used to allocate resources efficiently and equitably. With the digital transition and #4opens technology, this becomes practical.
Social Welfare: Social programs like healthcare, education, and social security ensure a basic standard of living for all people.
Reduced Income Inequality: The gap between the rich and the poor is reduced.
Democratic Control: Workers and the public control the economic decision-making processes.
Where #capitalism is an economic system run for private ownership of the means of production and profit. This includes capital accumulation, competitive markets, a price system, private property, and wage labour.
Private Property: Individuals and corporations own and control the means of production, and thus survival.
Market Economy: Goods and services are produced for and traded in competitive markets, where prices are determined by supply and demand. In today’s world, this means strong monopolistic control for private power and profit.
Profit Motive: The driving force behind economic activity is individual greed and the pursuit of profit.
Capital Accumulation: The accumulation of capital is central to economic growth and expansion. This leads to huge “external damage”, that’s the degradation of the poor and the environment we all live in.
Wage Labour: Workers sell their labour to owners of capital in exchange for wages. Over the last 40 years, this has seen a widening disparity.
It should be obverse to us all that capitalism leads to inequality and exploitation. Some Marxist theory:
Exploitation: In capitalism, workers do not receive the full value of their labour. Instead, the surplus value (the difference between what workers produce and what they are paid) is appropriated by capitalists as profit. We can see this plainly happening over the last 40 years.
Alienation: Workers are alienated from the products of their labour, the labour process, their fellow workers, and their own human potential because they work primarily for wages rather than for personal fulfilment or communal benefit. We have no idea how production happens anymore, our “economy” is a god we worship.
Inequality: Capitalism concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few, leading to significant social and economic inequalities. This builds social strife.
Instability: Capitalist economies push cycles of boom and bust, leading to periodic crises of overproduction and under consumption.
Means of Production The means of production are the physical, non-human inputs used for the production of economic value. This includes factories, machinery, tools, raw materials, land, and buildings. In a capitalist society, these are owned by private individuals and corporations.
Exploitation refers to how capitalists extract surplus value from workers. Workers produce more value through their labour than the wages they are paid; this excess value is taken by the capitalists as profit.
Surplus value is the difference between the value produced by labour and the actual wage paid to the labourer. It is a fundamental concept in Marxist economics, describing how capitalists generate profit by exploiting workers.
Capital refers to wealth in the form of money or assets that are used to produce more wealth. This includes investments in factories, machinery, raw materials, and labour.
Class struggle is the conflict between classes in society, primarily between the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production) and the proletariat (working class). This struggle is the driving force of historical development in Marxist theory.
Social Democracy vs. Socialism
Social democracy advocates for a mix of capitalism and socialism. It supports a market economy, but with significant government intervention to ensure social justice and equity. Policies include welfare programs, labour rights, and regulation of markets to reduce inequalities and provide public services.
Socialism transitions away from capitalism, to abolish private ownership of the means of production altogether. The goal is to establish a classless, stateless society where resources and wealth are distributed according to need.
Communism is the final stage of #Marxist theory, where the state has withered away, and a classless, stateless, and moneyless society has emerged. All means of production are owned communally, and goods and services are distributed based on need rather than market dynamics. The guiding principle is “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.”
To actually move on this path, we would need a #Revolution, to overthrow one class by another. In Marxist terms, a socialist revolution involves the working class (proletariat) overthrowing the capitalist class (bourgeoisie) and establishing a socialist state as a transition to communism. This process entails significant social and economic upheaval to replace capitalist structures with socialist ones. Understanding these concepts provides a clearer path for ongoing debates and action.
Our everyday, often dogmatic “common sense” in capitalism disregards the history of socio-economic material conditions, #classwar, #ecocide, debt, slavery, violence, and oppression. In this we are currently blinded by the myth that there is no alternative to the current crap and broken system, this willfull blindness blinds us and obscures the brutal realities on the edge of our “privileged” western lives. The narrative is one of inevitability, the market logic pushing us down the path of extinction is natural and unchangeable. So it becomes obverse that we need to change this “common sense”, how do we do this?
To understand why capitalism cannot be reformed into an ethical system, we need to delve into its history. Capitalism always thrives on exploitation and inequality, the wealth of the few is built on the backs of the many, over the last 40 years, after the decades of hard moving away from 20th century social democracy this has accelerated into view.
Class War: The division between the working class and the ruling class has always been stark, with the latter using their power to maintain and increase their wealth at the expense of the former. This struggle is not just economic, but also a political and social battle, deeply embedded in the fabric of our societies.
#Ecocide: Capitalism’s dogmatic pursuit of “profit” leads to environmental degradation, that grows at on an unprecedented scale with the pushing of #climatechaos. The logic of endless growth is incompatible with the finite resources of our planet. This drive for the illusion of total control leads to a legacy of destruction that we are now have to begin to reckon with.
Debt and Slavery: The modern economy is built on a foundation of debt, trapping people and nations in cycles of dependence and exploitation. This mirrors the historical use of slavery, where human lives were commodified and controlled to serve the interests of capital. While the forms of exploitation have changed, the underlying power dynamics remain the same. From colonial conquests to modern-day policing, violence is a tool of the capitalist system to suppress dissent and build control.
The liberal attempts to reform capitalism have failed because the system’s core is fundamentally unethical. Reforms serve to placate dissent without addressing the root inequality and exploitation. This band-aid approach leaves the structural issues intact, allowing them to fester and re-emerge in new forms we see today.
Economic Inequality: while making lives meaningful for meany people, wealth redistribution measures, such as progressive taxation or social welfare programs, do little to challenge the accumulation of capital by the worst people. When the cycle of boom and crash comes round, these measures are rolled back and undermined, highlighting the difficulty of enacting lasting change within the capitalist path.
Environmental Initiatives: Green capitalism, focus on sustainable business practices and eco-friendly products, fails to address the systemic drivers of environmental degradation. It results in greenwashing, where the appearance of sustainability masks ongoing ecological harm. It’s not working and is not going to work.
Social Reforms: While social justice movements have achieved victories, they face fierce resistance and are limited by the capitalist context in which they operate. True social change requires a fundamental shift in the distribution of power and resources #KISS
We are at a juncture, the choice is simple: continue down the path of capitalist “common sense” with its smoke and mirrors and building crises, or embark on a journey towards a different, equitable, and sustainable future. This shift requires collective action, imagination, and the courage to change and challenge entrenched holders of power. The revolutionary calls for a new global movement established outside the collapsing system, ready, willing, and able to build examples of this alternative, so people have options to move away from the current blinded “common sense”. In this change, we don’t actually have a choice.
For millennials lost after the mess of 9/11, the wars, economic upheaval, digital division, and social atomization, #TED was an appealing #mainstreaming alternate vision of a society where ideas had currency, and a wider group of people could identify with the intellectual vanguard. This vision was delusion, but it easily overtook the norms of drift and disconnection in our failed alternative culture.
To have been young and thoughtful in the late 2000s was to be a citizen of TED nation – a community of dreamers more than doers, united by a common creed: that ideas matter, that inspiration is power, that the future belongs to those who can capture imaginations. This naivety was an easy path to take for the children of the #deathcult. TED’s prominence shaped the aspirations of a generation, it shaped how we thought about ourselves. This #stupidindividualism pushed the blinding possibility: you, too, could have an idea worth spreading. You, too, could be special.
TED defined the poverty of the blinded intellectual spirit of this era, a profoundly millennial idea: that we are each of us main characters and have an individual calling and a mission to “change the world” in some vaguely indefinable generally pointless way. And while the reality fell well short of the rhetoric, the animating spirit was strong and likely sincere for most people.
The priests of the #deathcult pushed #TED as class war, it was not a youthful indiscretion of a generation, a rite of passage on the road to hard-earned intellectual growth. Rather, it was a smoke and mirror mess pushed by a “progressive” #fahernistas class. In the post TED world we are back to where we were 20 years ago, the messy reality of class war, unfriendly and unwelcoming.
PS. it’s interesting to remember that #TED tried to be #openweb native at the start, they only turned to #dotcons when that path was abandoned by our #fashionistas and lead to the mess we are in today, what a mess.
We face stark choices, the liberal centre is not holding, we don’t have time to try fascism, there will not be time for a second go to repeat this mistake if we make it. We either stop this hard right shift, or we’re likely stuck on the fascism path, a millennium of violence, disease, starvation, and—ultimately—extinction, brought to you by fossil fuel psychopaths and the politicians and journalists they pay for.
The current mess is that fossil fuel corporations get to own the political parties for a tiny part of their annual profits. This is the same story for journalist who doesn’t challenge this, who are pushing the collapse of our civilization and the killing of billions of people, they are not journalists, they are acolytes of the #deathcult, propagandist profiting from this mess.
Let’s not make this election about demonizing desperate people fleeing countries decimated by our fossil-fuelled system, focus please #KISS. The #mainstreaming news media ignores and trivialises the story of climate breakdown in a global context during one of the final elections before fossil-fuelled societal collapse happens, where even our deeply corrupted democracy ceases to function. Yes, it’s a mess.
The #mainstreaming does not create culture, this is almost always from the alternative, but they do consume culture, and shape it to their agenda. It’s not that weird to see billionaires sitting in luxurious ayahuasca ceremonies (facilitated by #neocolonial white guys) to do “personal development” instead of funding the actual regenerative movement that we all obviously need. This social conditioning runs deep, during the “Dark Ages,” this was a story of the church. Today, it is media, algorithms, influencers, and corporate science, operating in service of the #mainstreaming#deathcult. We’ve simply replaced god with the unregulated market, our new age capitalist hippies are trying to bring “god” back to obscure the mess they are making
There’s little cognitive dissonance in this “common sense” because of the norms of dogmatic individualism, for personal merit, and toxic positivity. This behaviour is the new normal—racial, social, economic, and new age. The social conditioning that blinds us is profound. We’ve been pushed to believe that the market will provide answers, much like the church once did. Yet, those who have grabbed the means to make the most significant changes push deluded personal enlightenment rather than the collective progress we urgently need. You could see this from the hippy side, as karma for past lives of greedily grasping power. These people are crap, we can’t afford to wait for them to change, they are not going to change. Yes, it is a mess that needs composting, let’s get to it.
We all now know the system we live under is destroying itself. So, what comes next? Fascism or revolution? We all know it’s coming – the revolution. The signs are all around us, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that a significant shift is on the horizon. The question is no longer “if” but “when” and “how.” So, what’s the plan? How do we prepare for this transformation in a way that ensures we come out on the other side stronger, fairer, and more resilient rather than dead. We need to come together and think seriously about this. The time for passive hope is over; the time for active planning has arrived.
Identify Issues and Goals: We need to define what we are fighting for, what does the future we envision look like? What are the core issues that need to be addressed to get there?
Develop Strategies and Tactics: It’s not enough to know what we want; we need to figure out how to achieve it, practical strategies and tactics that can be implemented on the ground.
Build Networks and Alliances: The revolution will not be won by isolated groups working in silos. We need to build strong networks and alliances that can support each other and work together towards common goals.
One of the key outcomes we hope to achieve is the rebooting of an international organization like the #PGA. These organizations need to be dedicated to creating and supporting frontline collective efforts. To build a federated network for resources, information, and coordination, helping to unify and amplify our efforts.
The coming revolution is from a spiky perspective, about destroying the old or a #fluffy perspective composting the old; and building new and better in its place. The fluffy crew at #XR are on a mission to do this https://www.r21c.net what more #spiky path do we have?
This site is both a personal journal and a platform for broader discussions, this is a path that reflects a deep engagement in grassroots media, #4opens technology, and the mess we make with #neoliberalism and consumer culture. This tapestry of reflections, critiques, and ideas centred around technology, media, activism, and society is what you make of it, what are your thought-provoking, intersections of technology, society, and activism? It’s also outlining concrete projects to make the change and challenge we talk about here happen.
Open Media and Decentralization: a strong advocate for open media networks and decentralized paths.
Critique of Neoliberalism: our worship of the #deathcult leads to social and ecological decay.
Technology and Society: The impact of technology on society, especially the role of big tech companies (“#dotcons”) in shaping our lives.
Activism and Social Change: Deeply rooted in activism and social movements.
Hashtags and Digital Story’s: Hashtags are a feature to weave complex narratives and critique of the current digital mess. Hashtags like #deathcult, #openweb, #4opens, and #geekproblem are central to discussions.
Personal Reflections and Metaphors: Personal anecdotes and metaphors convey points to make the posts accessible and relatable, to help compost “#techshit” into fertile ground for new ideas and social change.
The primary purpose of the site is to challenge the “common sense” status quo and inspire people to think, and more importantly act differently about both technology and society, to provoke thought and then action. Candid, reflective, and polemical, not shying away from prodding #mainstreaming perspectives and offering alternatives grounded in experience. The flow of hashtags, metaphors, add a layer of depth to posts, inviting people to think critically by linking the issues. Whether you’re a technologist, activist, or simply interested, please take the time to read and then join the weave to knit the compelling narrative on the importance of open, community-driven media and technology to grow a different world.
