The obstacle is that people cannot see change and challenge

The failures of the liberal class, should be obvious, they are rooted in their worship of neo-liberal “common sense,” that has eroded our collective capacity for critical thought and solidarity. For 40 years, the #mainstreaming “left” have abandoned the principles of class struggle, leaving the majority of people isolated and alienated. Their complacency, steeped in postmodernist detachment, has created a vacuum that has allowed fear and hate to flourish. Over the past two decades, left identity politics—though well-meaning in its inception—has fragmented movements by prioritising narrow individualism over collective power.

The right wing has seized this opportunity to co-opt and distort progressive narratives, using them to fuel division and weaponise fear. This has paved the way for a shift towards authoritarianism and fascism, deepening the crisis of inequality, climate collapse, and social disintegration.

Yet, amidst this ongoing bleak reality, there is hope. The growing failures of the mainstream can be a turning point. They create the conditions for a return to #KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) class-based left-wing movements—movements grounded in shared struggle, solidarity, and common purpose. This shift needs to sweep away the current #mainstreaming crew, who refuse to lift their heads from #deathcult worshipping dogma, and consign these long dead ideologies to the compost heap of history where they belong.

As a community, we face immense challenges: The hard shift to the far right, surviving the next generation of #climatechaos, enduring social breakdown, and creating systemic change in the face of these crises. But the solutions lie in coming together, rediscovering the power of collective action, and rejecting the #stupidindividualism that isolates us.

The biggest obstacle is that many people cannot see this. Years of cultural conditioning, relentless propaganda, and the atomisation of society have blinded people to the possibilities of collective power. They are trapped in a path that convinces them that there is no alternative—that the only option is to keep their heads down, live inside the status quo, and hope for survival.

But history tells us a different story: when communities organise, they can and do change the world. This is not a time for despair—it is a time for action. The current economic systems are failing, but that failure opens the door to something new, something better. Together, we can take the paths to grow movements rooted in solidarity, justice, and sustainability. The time for change is now, and it’s up to us to make the challenge happen.

So lift your heads to see more clearly, and take action—not as isolated individuals but as a community. Together, we can not only survive, but create a future of growth and humanistic and ecological flourishing.

The #OMN is a social tech step on the path we need to take.

“Solutions” being pushed for the future of the #Fediverse are starkly #stupidindividualism which comes from #deathcult worship

The is real frustration with “solutions” for the #Fediverse leaning toward #stupidindividualism and the normal #deathcult path, especially as these approaches undermine the foundational ethos of the “native” #openweb. What different paths do we need to take:

Re-centre on cooperation and interdependence. This should be obverse, instead of treating the #Fediverse as a platform for fragmented individualism, we need to foster a commons-first approach. Mutual Aid Networks are a path by to encourage instances to form federated clusters based on solidarity, shared values, and collaborative governance. Instance Interdependence needs tools that make cooperation between instances smoother and beneficial, such as shared moderation practices, resource sharing, or even federated funding paths.

Reject platformification, one of the Fediverse’s strengths is that it doesn’t need to mimic the dynamics of corporate platforms. To ensure its future path is native, not corporate we need to stick to the alt path of protocols over platforms, to stay on this path and not get distracted by new shiny #techshit For this we need to prioritise the development of open, robust protocols like ActivityPub that support interoperability over creating “Fediverse apps” that compete to centralise users. Standardised tools for moderation and discovery, create federated discovery and moderation tools that don’t funnel people into centralised algorithms or trending feeds but support meaningful and self-determined connections.

Community-driven innovation instead of for profit and status, communities need to be more involved in defining what needs to be built. We need to mediate the power of tech communities and non-technical people. This ensures the solutions reflect diverse realities, not just the #geekproblem technocratic priorities. Public-good funding paths, to build sustainable funding for open-source tools without relying on venture capital or individual donations. Cooperative crowdfunding, grants from public institutions, or taxation-based paths could work.

Reframe individualism as collective empowerment, the problem isn’t individual creativity; it’s when it becomes detached from collective good. Some ideas to balance this is by highlighting and rewarding people who contribution to the wider social enhance of the #Fediverse e.g., not just code contributions, but admins, moderation etc. One path could be to develop ways to celebrate shared milestones across the network, rather than competitive “likes” or algorithmic trends.

Education and advocacy are a core part of the #openweb to building awareness of the stakes and educating people about the principles of the #Fediverse and the #openweb. Some paths might be: Digital literacy campaigns to educate people about how the #Fediverse operates, its native values, and why it must avoid the #dotcons #closedweb’s pitfalls. Highlight success stories by amplify case studies of community-owned and commons-driven Fediverse instances to inspire others.

Design for long-term sustainability, any system that focuses on short-term growth or clout is doomed to fail. To build something durable, we need resilient federation models to address the scaling challenges that come with growing instances without resorting to centralised solutions. Decentralised governance is core, we need to explore and adopt models like the #OGB for instance and network governance.

Resist the #deathcult narratives, which thrives on competition, exploitation, and the idea that scarcity is inevitable. This needs constant push back, with abundance-oriented design to build paths centred on care, trust, and generosity – rejecting the zero-sum thinking of extractive systems. Radical openness is a good native path for, tools like the #4opens are core.

This “native” thinking are based on ideas to anchor the #Fediverse in the principles of mutuality, solidarity, and the commons while resisting the pull of #stupidindividualism and centralisation.

This is about the failed liberal class, with their heads bowed in worship of the #deathcult for the last 40 years, have abandoned critical thought. Their unacknowledged postmodernist complacency has pushed us away from class struggle, leaving us isolated and alone. Meanwhile, the last two decades of left identity politics have allowed the right wing to co-opt and weaponise progressive narratives, filling them with fear and hate.

Yet, amidst this bleak shift towards fascism, there is a potential positive: a return to #KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) class-based left-wing movements. These movements need to reclaim the ground from the current #mainstreaming crew, who continue to blindly worship neo-liberal “common sense,” while #blocking out and refusing to acknowledge its failures. It’s well past time to consign these dead ideologies to the compost heap of history.

What comes next is up to us. As a community, we face the real challenge of surviving the next generation of #climatechaos pushing social breakdown while driving forward the systemic changes these crises demand. It’s not as if we have a choice—change is no longer optional, and action is overdue.

A call to action, clear diagnosis

What a waste of public money, this #fashernista career-building projects.

When you think using social media is “natural,” remember you’re feeding #dotcons—platforms built on the worst parts of human nature. If you want civilization and society to have a future, you cannot keep supporting this. The #encryptionists sit at the heart of our current grassroots media tech disaster, while careerist #mainstreaming pisses from the other side. But shit makes good compost—and we have the shovels.

OMN is a path forward. Pessimism may travel faster than optimism, but only optimism holds the potential for real change. Feed the problem or solve the problem. There is no mythical “third way” out of this mess. What we have are shovels, #OMN, and shit for compost. Work hard enough, and you’ll get flowers and tasty vegetables. 🌸🥕

It’s well past time for composting. Let’s grow flowers. 🌱

Meany of our old friends in activism took the healthy internal stresses that once challenged projects like #indymedia and fed them to a #fashernista vampire class, building careers by draining the grassroots for 20 years. This is not a good look, and these are likely the people you have to talk through when you talk to “power.”

First step, clearly #stepaway from the #dotcons and return to the #openweb for our communication and news. #indymediaback and #OMN are solutions worth posting about, worth sharing, and worth doing. The #openweb lacks addiction algorithms. It will only thrive if you make it work. Gather like-minded people outside the #dotcons—it’s a solid first step.

We must stop pouring energy into pointless #techshit if we want a chance of surviving #climatechaos and escaping the grip of the #deathcult. Basic #KISS statement: What are you doing today that isn’t pointless?

On this, #indymediaback, #OMN, and the #4opens need more crew to make the rollout work. For decades, we’ve allowed the #dotcons to dominate our communication. Trump and Brexit aren’t the causes—they’re symptoms. We made this mess together, fuelled by unhealthy digital feedback loops.

Let’s compost this mess and seed real change. 🌱

Challenging “liberal trolls” and #encryptionist blindness

Addressing liberal trolls and the #openweb tensions, the influx of users following the #X (#TwitterMigration) has illuminated tensions on the #openweb, particularly the behaviour of “liberal trolls.” Who often advocate for performative inclusivity and impose hierarchical thinking, creating friction in existing decentralized paths. Their presence derails conversations, inhibit grassroots growth, and introduce mainstream patterns of control. What can we do with this mess making:

Reframing the debate: 90% Open, 10% Closed offers a balanced vision. It contrasts sharply with the #encryptionists’ push for 90% closed systems that prioritize secrecy over collaboration. To mediate this, we need to promote openness as resilience to foster diversity, adaptability, and innovation. This “native” path resists co-optation by authoritarian forces, a core concern of #encryptionists. Highlight success stories, examples where openness has thrived, such as Mastodon’s ability to scale post-Twitter Migration without compromising its ethos. Build Bridges to encourage conversations between open and closed proponents. Identify shared values, while challenging “common sense” that hinder collaboration.

Combatting liberal troll dynamics, liberal trolls to often wield performative outrage and self-righteousness as tools for control, sidelining radical ideas. To mitigate their impact: Community moderation with clear values, with moderation policies rooted in grassroots principles—collaboration, inclusion, and respect for dissent. Make these values explicit and widely understood. Empower the margins by supporting voices from underrepresented radical communities to counterbalance dominant narratives. Ignore the noise, trolls thrive on attention. Strategic non-engagement, combined with clear policies, reduce their disruptive influence.

Addressing the #geekproblem and blocking energy, the #geekproblem is characterized by a resistance to radical ideas and community-focused solutions, creating unspoken barriers to progress in tech spaces. We need strategies to overcome this by making tech accessible to non-geeks with user-friendly designs and intuitive experiences. This diminishes the gatekeeping power of overly technical communities. Distributed Leadership encourages non-hierarchical, collective decision-making. This prevents a few individuals from exerting outsized influence over grassroots tech projects. Education and outreach, equip newcomers with the tools and knowledge to navigate #openweb spaces, reducing reliance on geek-centric paths.

Resisting destructive cult paths, #NGO-driven power grabs and for “cult-like” behaviour needs to safeguard against by fostering decentralized power structures. Encourage healthy conflict by normalize constructive disagreements as part of openweb culture. This reduces the potential for groupthink and authoritarian tendencies. Recognize and resist co-optation by staying vigilant against efforts to co-opt grassroots movements for institutional and corporate interests.

Building radical resilience, to mediate the blocking energy and empower radical tech, we need proactive strategies. Create paths for experimentation, this might include enclaves where radical ideas can be tested without suppression and co-optation. Foster allyship by building alliances between radical movements and pragmatic reformers to amplify shared goals. Challenge “Common Sense” imposition of “practical” solutions that dilute grassroots paths and values. Embrace creative, “mad and bad” ideas to disrupt this status quo blocking.

In conclusion, the path of the #openweb depends on striking a balance between openness and security, grassroots experimentation and mainstream scalability, and decentralization and coordination. By mediating the mess brought into our spaces by liberal trolls, encryptionist ideologies, and the #geekproblem, we can create a more resilient digital ecosystem that is a path of radical innovation and community-driven change and challenge we need in the era of #climatechaos and social brack down. On this path, radical ideas are not only welcomed but celebrated #KISS

The #Fediverse is native to anti-common-sense governance

My view of this is passionate and grounded in years of experience, weaving together themes of grassroots activism, technology, governance, and the mounting challenges of #climatechaos leading to social collapse.

On this Alt path, the two often pushed liberal #foundation models, with their failures, can lead grassroots, community-driven projects to become corporate tools, diverting resources toward maintaining the status quo rather than fostering innovation and social change. Examples of open source capture, projects like OpenAI initially emphasized openness but became increasingly closed and profit-driven once corporate interests got involved. The highlights the ease of capture by “#fashionista agendas.”

These failures underscore the need for governance models that resist centralization and co-option. The DIY, bottom-up approach is a powerful counter to these trends. #OGB and #DIY as tools for resistance and grassroots empowerment. Why #OGB Matters, the path aligns with the fediverse’s ethos by emphasizing non-elitism, democracy, and simplicity. By prioritizing KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principles, it remains accessible and adaptable, ensuring that governance grows organically rather than being imposed.

The #Fediverse is native to anti-common-sense governance, centralized platforms like Facebook and Twitter impose governance that aligns with corporate agendas, prioritizing profit over social good. Decentralized networks like the Fediverse allow for experimentation with governance paths that are participatory and community-driven.

This is an opening and opportunities for anti-“common sense” tools, reputation networks, build trust through reputation rather than encryption aligns with human-centric approaches. This moves away from paranoia-driven models (“trust nobody”) to systems that foster community bonds. The Fediverse can be a template, with the decentralized, anarchistic roots of the fediverse providing a sandbox for developing governance models to influence broader #openweb paths.

Combating the #deathcult mentality, social collapse and climatechaos, the persistence of policies and behaviours that prioritize short-term gains over long-term survival, is a defining feature of the “deathcult” we keep talking about. Examples, governments doubling down on fossil fuels despite clear evidence of climate catastrophe. Corporate greenwashing that markets unsustainable practices as solutions.

In the #OMN and #4opens philosophy, simplicity matters, complexity often alienates the very communities that systems aim to empower. The OMN’s emphasis on simplicity ensures accessibility, fostering broader participation. The #4opens, Open Data, Open Code, Open Access, and Open Process form a foundation for transparency and trust, essential for building resilience against co-option.

Practical applications are reputation paths, tools that prioritize human connections over algorithms, to strengthen communities. Human-readable systems avoiding jargon-heavy and technical solutions ensures the governance model remains inclusive. Let’s keep this #KISS

Why does this matter?

This matters because the frameworks we live in—whether modernism, post-modernism, or the neoliberal #deathcult—shape how we understand reality, our place within it, and the potential for change. If we don’t recognize these structures, we remain trapped in illusions that prevent meaningful action.

The role of ideology, modernist ideology offers a foundation of human history and collective progress, but it’s been co-opted by right-wing propaganda (e.g., the #economist masquerading as “common sense”). Meanwhile, post-modernism undermines shared truths, leaving us with no clear path forward. Recognizing these dynamics is the first step toward regaining agency.

Understanding the tag of #stupidIndividualism, over the past 40 years, we’ve been conditioned to prioritize individual success over collective well-being. This focus on personal gain erodes community bonds and undermines our ability to work together for systemic change. The result? A fractured society that’s easy to manipulate and exploit.

The consequences of this inaction, we’ve endured 40 years of class war from the center—an assault on public goods, social safety nets, and collective action. The results are evident: #climatechaos, rising inequality, and a culture of apathy. Without a counterbalance, this path will deepen.

What can normal people do? Start small, reconnect with neighbours, support local initiatives, and rebuild trust. Collective action begins with shared experiences and mutual support. Engage with grassroots projects like #OMN, #OGB, and #indymediaback which offer practical tools and platforms for decentralized, community-led solutions. These initiatives challenge #mainstreaming narratives and provide spaces for alternative voices. Get involved, contribute your skills, and amplify their reach.

Challenge the illusions, by questioning the media we consume. Recognize propaganda dressed as “common sense” and seek out alternative sources on the path of community and equity. To find balance, in extremes—whether of individualism or collectivism—can lead to stagnation or authoritarianism. The goal is balance: fostering individual creativity within a framework of collective care and accountability.

Think beyond the #deathcult, by clearly rejecting the neoliberal worship of markets, privatization, and profit at all costs. A left-led class war balances pushback against extreme inequalities and injustices of the past 40 years. A first step is rejecting apathy and embracing balance, to create spaces where hope thrives and change becomes possible.

The challenge is real, so is the potential for change. There are grassroots paths. The tools can exist. The question is, will we act?

Best not to be a #deathcult worshipping #mainstreaming prat

Capitalism has meany sins, one worth shouting about is that it will displace billions and kill millions of people over then next ten years because it has left it too late to avoid unsurvivable 2/2.5°C of global warming with continuing blinded focus on perpetual growth, consumption, and resource exploitation. This significantly delays meaningful action on climate change, the inertia of emissions, feedback loops, and the continued expansion of fossil fuel industries mean that global temperatures will surpass the 2°C threshold, a critical boundary for avoiding widespread catastrophic #climatechaos.

Climate scientists and reports (e.g., #IPCC) highlight that without immediate, radical action, 2°C or even 2.5°C is locked in within the coming decades. Reports from global organizations consistently stress that incremental reforms are insufficient. They call for transformative changes to the political-economic systems driving ecological and climate crises. This includes shifting away from growth-focused capitalism toward sustainable, equitable models of resource management, prioritizing ecosystem restoration, and respecting planetary boundaries. The food for thought on this is that it starts to sound like socialism Without this systemic change, both biodiversity loss and abrupt climate disruptions are going to worsen.

The challenge remains, moving from acknowledgment of these issues to implementing viable alternatives. Best not to be a #deathcult worshipping #mainstreaming prat on this.

A small step is the #OMN, we need bigger steps, but each journey starts with a simple step #KISS

Critique the ideological blindness of the tech world

The story often revolves around the #geekproblem and deeper ideological and structural issues in the tech world. There are internal conflicts in open movements. An example i like to talk about is the UK Indymedia project as a case study of ideological and technical battles between groups with different visions for open media. #Encryptionists: Advocated for security and privacy at the expense of openness, blocking aggregation efforts like RSS. #Fashernistas, sought control over media flows through proprietary yet “better” alternatives to open standards, undermining compatibility. #Openweb advocates promoted aggregation and widely adopted standards like RSS but were sidelined by other factions. The result was a self-destructive cycle that caused the UK Indymedia project to become irrelevant, exemplifying a broader failure to embrace shared, open solutions.

The broader #geekproblem, refers to the cultural and ideological blind spots of the tech community. A fetishization of privacy, encryption, and individualism, which serve market-driven ideologies rather than societal good. A failure to address systemic social and environmental issues (e.g., #climatechaos, #deathcult worship) in favour of isolated, tech-first solutions. The division between “open” (sharing power) and “closed” (hoarding power) reflects fundamental tensions between altruistic and exploitative visions of technology.

Society and technology, the story draws parallels between historical ideologies (e.g., capitalism’s greed vs. socialism’s altruism) and the current state of tech. Examples: Closed systems reinforce inequality, greed, and control. Open systems, guided by #4opens principles, prioritize cooperation, connection, and societal benefit. The problem of dogmatism on both sides of progressive tech (spiky vs. fluffy) hinders collaboration and slows progress.

Working grassroots projects need to return to basics, embrace openness, foster flow rather than blocking, and reject the destructive patterns embedded in neoliberal tech culture. The #4opens framework is a shovel to compost the ideological and technical mess, enabling meaningful technological change. Social movements and tech must integrate this change and challenge to prevent centralization and co-option.

It’s good to critique the ideological blindness of the tech world and suggests that only by fostering trust and openness can we build a sustainable future #KISS

Shifting tech culture toward collaboration, accountability, and sustainability

For a nuanced take on the #geekproblem, we need to highlight challenges and cultural dynamics in tech development. Standards as foundations, everything in tech is built upon layers of “open industrial standards,” which provide value and interoperability. Ignoring these foundations to create isolated systems is akin to “building sandcastles”—fragile and ephemeral. The process of defining standards, however, is itself flawed and sometimes exclusionary, reflecting broader social issues like tribalism or nationalism.

Tribalism in tech, manifests as innovation and community-building but can also create fragmentation, gatekeeping, and resistance to collaboration. Comparisons to nationalism suggest that, like nations, large #dotcons (e.g., Facebook, Google) exert power rivalling traditional states, creating their own “tribes” with significant social influence. Tribalism in tech isn’t inherently bad; it can build strong, purpose-driven communities. However, when it turns exclusionary and disconnected from real-world issues, it becomes counterproductive.

Critique of dotcons and deathcult, the dominance of for-profit platforms (#dotcons) and the neoliberal ideology (#deathcult) underpin much of the dysfunction in society, including within the tech world. Life “inside the dotcons” involves uncritical participation in harmful systems, perpetuating cycles of #stupidindividualism and environmental degradation (#climatechaos). Platforms like Facebook and Google exemplify prioritizing profit over public good. Moving away from this requires alternatives rooted in the #4opens: Open data, Open source, Open standards, Open processes. Projects like the #OMN exemplify this shift.

Mediating harm in tech development with the broader social and environmental impacts of technology, pushing against #stupidindividualism and toward collective, sustainable solutions. Much of the “blocking energy” comes from entrenched systems and social inertia rather than active conspiracies, though intent exists in places like #traditionalmedia. Developers have a responsibility to build systems that mediate harm and foster collective well-being. This means rejecting solutions that exacerbate individualism and embracing technologies that empower communities and address systemic issues like climatechaos.

The #geekproblem as dysfunction, the geekproblem reflects a 20th-century tribalism that fails to embrace the ethical, collaborative potential of the #openweb. Examples include failed projects like #Diaspora, which had technical merit but struggled due to cultural and governance issues. The dysfunction stems from a narrow focus on technical solutions without considering social or ethical dimensions. Bridging this gap requires integrating diverse perspectives into tech development, emphasizing simplicity and human-centric design.

We do need a call for change, addressing these challenges head-on, with ethical interventions rather than drawn-out or overly complex solutions. The geekproblem highlights the limitations of tech communities in balancing their technical expertise with broader social responsibility. Ultimately, the solution lies in rekindling the spirit of the openweb while actively composting the “shit heap” of the dotcons. One path is addressing the geekproblem, to shift tech culture toward collaboration, accountability, and sustainability, to create tools that serve people rather than profit.

Laying the groundwork for a future worth building

Tieing together the threads of agency, ecological awareness, and social cohesion helps to envision a transformative path forward for the #openweb. Focusing on “Us” Over “Them”, focusing on “us” rather than “them” is grounded in practicality. We have influence over our own communities and movements, while exerting control over entrenched corporate powers like the #dotcons is limited and fraught with risk.

Mandating interoperability bridges systems, breaking monopolies and fostering open collaboration. However, #mainstreaming lobbying and PR by corporations are significant risks to these paths, so any legislative push must come with robust grassroots advocacy. Privacy/data laws, could backfire under corporate influence. This strong open community involvement is essential to avoid harmful outcomes that entrench corporate power while undermining freedoms.

The ecological and social metaphor, analogy of composting connects the ecological and social crises. “Common sense” as capitalism or conservatism is a shallow construct, rooted in entrenched power structures and outdated norms. Composting represents the transformative process needed to break down this “shitpile” and nourish new growth.

Human “leaking”, people inherently “leak data and metadata” is insightful. Instead of trying to prevent this natural behavior, we focus on mediating and redistributing control of these flows in ways that are healthy and liberating. Fighting over these flows, as we see in current “#geekproblems,” only blocks human society, hindering the change and challenge needed to address issues like #climatechaos.

The rise of postmodern relativism and bad faith actors is a significant barrier to social change. Mediating this problem resonates, as unchecked postmodernism erodes trust and creates endless cycles of cynicism. The #4opens as a constitution, by embedding the #4opens into the DNA of projects like the #OMN, you can create a framework that:

Anchors trust and transparency in a “post-truth” world.
Supports diversity and pluralism while resisting co-option by bad actors.
Encourages collective agency by providing a stable foundation for digital commons.

To escape the current “common sense,” we need to build alternative spaces grounded in social value. The #OMN, driven by the #4opens, can act as a scaffold for this transformation, fostering digital commons where meaningful change flourishes.

Steps we can take: Invest in bridge technologies: Expand the use of #ActivityPub and #RSS to connect people and platforms organically. Focus on Localism: Strengthen community-run servers and federated systems to build resilient networks from the ground up. Challenge Corporate Narratives: Advocate for laws and systems that prioritize interoperability and openness, while resisting harmful privacy/data policies. Normalize Composting as a Metaphor: Encourage broader acceptance of composting as both an ecological and cultural imperative—breaking down the “shitpile” to nourish growth.

Emphasis on liberating spaces and fostering creativity as a foundation for a thriving, equitable #openweb. By composting the failures of the past and focusing on collective agency, we lay the groundwork for a future worth building. 🌱

Metaphors matter, composting the current paths in #AI

This #AI-meets-copyright consultation is another wave of opportunistic grafting, much like the #crypto mess before it. The rhetoric about leveraging AI to “grow the economy” and “improve public services” is justification for a “commons” grab by nasty interests. It’s another pushing in the ongoing path of #deathcult worship, 40 years of #neoliberalism, digging us deeper into a hole we desperately need to climb out of.

The metaphor of composting captures the urgent need for discernment, what cultural and technological artefacts still serve us in the onrushing era of #climatechaos, and what is toxic and must urgently be composted. People ask what do we mean by this, in its cultural sense, composting is about adapting the remnants of the deathcult into something fertile for a radically different way of life. This is achievable only if we act swiftly to embrace radical change while there’s still time for the metaphor to remain metaphorical. Delay, and #climatechaos will render the metaphor physical—turning our cities, infrastructure, and economies into literal waste piles, where the nasty few will be left to fights over the scraps.

This urgent need for sorting what’s salvageable from what’s dead weight, requires critical thinking and collaborative effort to work, we need projects like the #OGB to build affinity groups of action, to balence radical action with consensus-building. While consensus about the failures of the last 40 years is important, we need to avoid falling into the trap of endless sterile deliberation. The urgency of the moment demands bold, practical actions to balance the needed intellectual and rhetorical critique.

The metaphorical shovel is right there—let’s use it. What we need, is a clear framework (#OMN) to identify what is compostable (ideas, tools, and systems that can support a degrowth future) and what must be discarded to the compost heap. A part of this is cultural agitation to shake people out of their complacency, as the economy of thinking must shift radically. This has to be shaped as a positive path to community resilience, building networks capable of mutual support, rooted in trust and regenerative practices, not the default #deathcult’s control/fear paradigm we are currently walking.

The push to #AI is part of a “last binge” of neoliberal exploitation, its largely irrelevance currently to the path we need to take, we need to urgently ignore and shift #mainstreaming conversations. The challenge is to redirect the narrative, how can we use our technology to empower grassroots alternatives to build a post-deathcult world? We need this in tandem with radical action to ensure the future remains fertile for new growth. Delay, and we’ll find ourselves buried under the non-compostable remnants of a civilization too slow to adapt. Time to grab that shovel. #OMN

Why ideas matter

The important tension in the current state of social change efforts: individualism vs. collectivism, vertical vs. horizontal structures, and the challenges of maintaining fragile consensus. These dynamics have direct implications for how we approach systemic problems like #climatechaos and the creation of alternatives through projects like the #OMN.

On this subject, it’s important to understand why #stupidIndividualism is dangerous, which can be seen in the failure of individual solutions. Relying on individual action (e.g., recycling, personal carbon offsets) shifts focus from the systemic nature of crises. The climate emergency, for example, is primarily driven by industrial-scale emissions and unsustainable policies—not individual behaviour. This emphasis on individualism undermines collective action, which is the only scale at which meaningful change and challenge can occur.

Blind spots in vertical thinking, hierarchical (“vertical”) structures dismiss and fail to understand the dynamics of decentralized (“horizontal”) systems. Vertical systems are focused on control and clarity, at the expense of collaboration and diversity, which horizontal structures thrive on.

The dangers of certainty, consensus vs. certainty, pushing for “certainty”, rigid clarity often destroys consensus. Consensus, while fragile and imperfect, is the foundation of all functioning societies. It is built on compromise, flexibility, and mutual understanding. The insistence that “my view is right” fractures the trust necessary for cooperative systems to thrive.

Why this is destructive, the breakdown of consensus leads to polarization and inaction, both of which are catastrophic in the face of crises like #climatechange. Certainty-driven narratives ignore the complexity and nuance required to address interconnected, systemic issues.

Ideas for moving forward, focus on processes, rather than direct outcomes:

Build systems (like the #OMN) that prioritize open, participatory processes over prescriptive solutions. The #4opens—open process, open data, open licences, and open standards—offer a starting point for structuring this.
Encourage horizontal thinking, foster decentralized systems where power and decision-making are distributed. This creates resilience and allows diverse voices to contribute meaningfully.
Embrace ambiguity and iteration, instead of pushing for rigid clarity, accept that solutions evolve through experimentation and iteration. Social change is a dynamic process, not a static goal.
Reframe certainty as trust, replace the need for certainty with a culture of trust-based collaboration. Trust allows for flexibility and creativity within systems, enabling them to adapt and respond to changing circumstances.
Use crises as opportunities for solidarity, crises often push societies toward authoritarian responses. Instead, frame crises as opportunities to build solidarity, emphasizing shared struggles and collective goals.

This is why ideas matter, the urgency of the #climatecrisis, paired with the inertia of entrenched systems, makes it tempting to lean on familiar, hierarchical solutions. However, transformation comes from collective, decentralized efforts that prioritize flexibility, trust, and inclusion over individualism and rigid control. Projects like #OMN and frameworks like the #4opens are tools for navigating these challenges while staying grounded in the #KISS principles of solidarity and mutual aid.

The Seven Stages of climate denial:

1. It’s not real
2. It’s not us
3. It’s not that bad
4. We have time
5. It’s too expensive to fix
6. Here’s a fake solution
7. It’s too late: you should have warned us earlier

Trolls use all of these stages to deny the reality of #climatechaos