This is a tool you can use, in the activism of the #openweb hashtag story, they can serve as tools to share complex ideas with social movements. On this site, I use a hashtag story to highlight both the positive and negative aspects of our current socio-political and technological paths. Here’s a guide to what some of these hashtags mean:
#deathcult: The pervasive influence of #neoliberalism, which operates invisibly in our minds, dictating aspects of society without us realizing it. Example: “The corporate-driven decisions affecting climate policies are a clear manifestation of the deathcult mindset.”
#dotcons: This highlights how we have been deceived into enriching a #nastyfew through the use of digital platforms and technologies. It’s a product of the #deathcult. Example: “Major social media platforms are the epitome of dotcons, prioritizing profit and control over people’s well-being.”
#stupidindividualism: This represents the peak of current social trends where extreme individualism overrides the balence of collective well-being to our detriment. Example: “The resistance to community-based solutions for climate change is rooted in stupidindividualism.”
#fashernistas: Flotsam influenced by fleeting trends and currents. In the #dotcons era, this refers to a large directionless majority. Example: “Influencers today are fashernistas, swayed by whatever is trending rather than contributing meaningful change.”
#4opens: A horizontal approach to technological development. Example: “Projects adhering to the 4opens principles build transparency and collaboration.”
#openweb: Refers to the decentralized digital network that revolutionized communication 30 years ago but is now pushed under by people’s use of the #dotcons. Example: “We must reclaim the openweb to preserve the internet’s native path of free and open communication.”
#stepaway: A safe method to break free from the addiction to #dotcons while maintaining connections with friends, one step at a time. Example: “By taking a stepaway, we can gradually reduce our reliance on exploitative digital platforms.”
#OMN: An #openweb project that has been in development for the last 20 years, based on the #4opens. Example: “The OMN initiative is a beacon of hope for creating a more democratic digital path.”
These hashtags offer a real perspective and a positive path in our needed digital and social choices. The negative hashtags (#deathcult, #dotcons, #stupidindividualism, and #fashernistas) point out the pitfalls and dangers we face, while the positive hashtags (#4opens, #openweb, #OMN, and #stepaway) offer pathways to more sustainable and community-oriented tech and social paths. By using and linking these stories, we build better, for real and meaningful change and challange.
#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 wide 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: Public planning is used to allocate resources efficiently and equitably. With the digital transition and #4opens technology, this becomes more 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 by the shrinking #nastyfew
Profit Motive: The driving force behind economic activity is individual greed and the pursuit of profit. This fits well into #stupidindividualism
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 today.
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 which will continue to grow on the current path.
It should be obverse to us all that capitalism leads to inequality and exploitation. Some Marxist theory on this subject:
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 very 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 any more, our “economy” is a god we worship. But this is a #deathcult
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 not by the workers them selves.
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.
We are in a mess with the building #climatecrisis due to our collective refusal to acknowledge reality, after 40 years of worshipping a real #deathcult The problem we now need to mediate is that I am not sure meany people know what reality is. What we’re experiencing now is a preview of what’s to come. It’s going to get far worse, and then it will keep on getting worse. Yet, the narrative pushed by the media and #mainstreaming politicians suggests the same consumerist delusions. That the climate and weather will simply shift to a different state, and we can adapt to it. This is not only lying – it’s dangerous.
To hide this building mess, the view is pushed that we can easily adapt to the ever-worsening #climatechaos, this is a fallacy. Adaptation becomes increasingly difficult as conditions deteriorate, especially when so much remains unknown. The failure to recognize that the situation will continually worsen isn’t due to a lack of language to express it – I’ve just articulated it plainly. No, this is a deliberate act of #gaslighting. It’s a wilful distortion of reality, designed to downplay the severity of the crisis and to reassure the public that adaptation will be straightforward and successful. The motivation of this deceit is clear, to avoid alarming the public into demanding urgent action. The tactic, to maintain business as usual, uphold the status quo, stifling the calls for systemic change.
We’re given the illusion of democracies where the public’s will prevails. However, at the same time, we’re told that things can only be this way. The priests of the #deathcult who benefit from the current failing paths, the wealthiest and powerful, asserts that the system is immutable and that they will not permit any change. This is in stark contrast to the lies we’re constantly fed about the will of the people, democracy, and freedom. The simple truth, those in power dictate what is best for us, to our detriment.
What is real, that the current governments (and governments in general) do not exist to serve or protect the public. They are captured and shaped by vested interests, representing the nastiest, most wealthy and powerful factions. The party system, present in every country, acts as a filter, it systematically excludes representatives of the people who are willing to challenge the interests of the #deathcult. The #mainstreaming paths are about maintaining business as usual while asserting that this status quo is in the best interest of the public.
The contradiction, governments preserve the status quo rather than protect or serve the people. In every electoral option, the powerful and wealthy win, while the public loses. This illusion of public representation is simply an illusion. Governments may concede to public demands on issues to prevent revolutionary change, but are very resistant to anything that alters the balance of wealth and power. They are resolute on this point: it will not change.
There are limited options outside this mess, in the #mainstreaming independents are vetted, anyone whose views clash with the intrenched interests will be smeared and discredited by the corporate and oligarch-owned media. This is why we’re facing a social, climate and ecological emergency. Humanity and our civilization are on a path toward global suicide because maintaining this suicidal path serves the interests of the #nastyfew. This is why they are rich and grasping to power, and why they will fight to kill and displace billions of us to keep things exactly as they are. It’s a #deathcult we need to fight, best to be honest about this.
In the mess we live in, philanthropy creates the illusion of greatness by pushing wealthy people as saviours while ignoring any root causes of poverty and suffering. This is used to hide the systemic injustices and diverts attention from the #KISS structural changes needed.
Let take a moment to look at this. #Philanthropy is worshipping the #deathcult by reinforces the status quo. Philanthropy shifts blame to the poor, pushing the idea that they are responsible for their own situation. This story hides the influence that the wealthy class, too often the #nastyfew, wield over economic systems, entrenching inequalities and fails to see the structural inequalities in the global economy, where wealth is extracted from poorer countries to richer ones.
While honest capitalists prioritize personal prosperity over morals, more “progressive” philanthropists try to believe they are “saving the world” while giving back a fraction of what they take. This lack of transparency perpetuates the illusion of altruism. We need to challenge this, despite its charitable intentions, philanthropy hides the causes of poverty and perpetuates a cycle of dependency.
Philanthropy might sometimes offer temporary relief, but fundamentally just pushes the same inequalities, reinforcing the current worship of the #deathcult. Social change requires addressing real root problems, rather than relying on the goodwill of the wealthy few. People, get off your knees, please.
We need to understand that our shared #mainstreaming for the last 40 years has been built on the path of #neoliberalism a political and economic ideology that advocates for minimal state intervention in the economy, emphasizing free markets, deregulation, privatization, and a reduction in government spending on social programs. This path emerged as a dominant force in the late 20th century, particularly from the 1980s onwards, under the influence of #MargaretThatcher in the UK and #RonaldReagan in the US.
Historical Context
We can find the seed of this mess, after World War II, many European countries adopted social democratic policies, influenced by the pressure of strong socialist movements and the existence of socialist states like the #USSR, these provided extensive social benefits, full employment, free healthcare, and education. To avoid the very real potential of revolutions and maintain stability, European nations implemented social welfare programs internally while still externally engaging in exploitative economic practices in their former colonies.
Emergence of Neoliberalism
By the 1980s, the capitalist system faced renewed crises, including economic recessions, a decline in profitability. In response, the old fundamentalism of #classicliberalism renamed as #neoliberal pushed for a drastic reduction in government intervention and social spending. This shift was driven by the #nastyfew belief that previous social democratic concessions (the social safety net put in place due to the threat of communism) were no longer sustainable or needed and were now ONLY hindering economic growth and profit margins.
Definition and Principles
Neoliberalism is a set of policies and ideas focused on:
Deregulation: Removing government regulations to allow businesses total freedom in how they exploit people and the environment.
Privatization: Transferring public services, commons, and assets to the private sector.
Reduced Public Spending: Cutting redistributive government expenditures on social programs like welfare, healthcare, and education.
Tax Cuts: Lowering taxes for corporations and the wealthy to encourage renewed “investment” and extractive economic growth.
Free Markets: Promoting the idea that the #nastyfew defined markets are the most “efficient” way to allocate resources and solve social “problems”.
Ideological Dogma
Neoliberalism “common sense” asserts that the “free” market, left alone, will “naturally” regulate itself and provide the best outcomes for society. This belief extends to all areas of life, including education, healthcare, and social services, which they push should be subjected to market forces rather than people driven democratic, community or working people’s control.
Consequences
Social and Economic Impact
Increased Inequality: Neoliberal policies lead to growing income and wealth disparities as the rich benefit from tax cuts and deregulation while social safety nets are dismantled for the poor.
Reduced Worker Protections: Labour unions and pro-labour legislation are weakened, leading to lower wages and worse working conditions.
Privatization of Public Services: Essential services like healthcare and education become more expensive and less accessible to the poor.
Environmental Degradation: Deregulation leads to pollution and environmental harm as companies prioritize profit over sustainability. A urgent current example: We have pushed #climatechaos hard with this mess.
Global Impact
IMF and World Bank Policies: Developing countries are subjected to structural adjustment programs by international financial institutions, which require them to implement neoliberal policies in exchange for loans. This leads to severe social and economic hardship in the developing world.
Exploitation of Developing Countries: This leads to global inequalities by maintaining exploitative relationships between wealthy and poorer nations.
Criticism and Opposition
Critics show that neoliberalism prioritizes the interests of the wealthy and corporations at the expense of the environment, working class and the poor. Undermining democracy by concentrating economic and political power in the hands of a few, leading to increased social unrest and current right-wing shift and resulting political and environmental instability.
It’s very simple, the people pushing #neoliberalism, lied about economic efficiency and growth and the associated significant social costs, including increased inequality, reduced public welfare, and environmental degradation. Their focus on market solutions for all problems disregards the realities of social and economic life, leading to widespread criticism and calls for alternative approaches that prioritize real change and challenge.
In the era of #climatechaos, this shift to Neoliberalism has obviously been a #deathcult that sadly continues to shape our “common sense” and has been central to our lives for the last 40 years.
The challenges of today: #climatechaos, inequality, and the social impacts of #dotcons technology are a creating a very nasty social mess. However, there is a some potential for a positive transformation if we push the power of #openweb and #4opens technology and align it with progressive and radical “native” grassroots politics.
Addressing Climate Change with Technology and Revolutionary change
Renewable Energy: Solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources are becoming more than cost-effective and widespread. With strong political will, we can transition to a carbon-neutral economy. By reducing consumption and shifting this energy balance, we take a step to mitigating some of the effects of climate change.
Climate Resilience: Investment in both physical and social climate resilience infrastructure, flood defences and mediation, sustainable agriculture. This will shape and can protect vulnerable communities and ecosystems as we weather this transition. On the digital side, federation is a big step towards more #p2p native infrastructure, which will help to mediate the failing of our overly centralise #dotcons world.
Leveraging Automation for Social Good
Reducing Work Hours: Automation reduces the need for human labour, allowing for shorter work weeks and more leisure time without reducing productivity. This leads to improved quality of life and wider social and mental health benefits.
Universal Basic Income: #UBI provides a financial base for building sustainable alternatives, ensuring that wider groups benefits from increased productivity and technological advancements, rather than the normal #nastyfew.
Ensuring Equitable Access to Resources and Services
Universal Basic Services: By providing free and universal access to essential services such as healthcare, education, housing, and public transport, we create a more equitable society where people has the opportunity to thrive and build social good.
Socialized Finance: Redirecting financial resources from speculative markets to socially beneficial projects ensures that investments are made in areas that improve public well-being and infrastructure.
Fostering a Culture of Innovation and Inclusion
Inclusive Policy Making: Ensuring that marginalized communities have a voice in policymaking leads to more equitable and just outcomes. Participatory democracy and community-led tech initiatives like the #OGB drive inclusive development and the needed social challenge to become the change we need.
Education and Retraining: As the job paths shift, providing education and retraining opportunities helps people transition to new roles, ensuring that fewer people are left behind.
Utilizing Technology for Global Collaboration and Problem-Solving
Global Cooperation: Harnessing #4opens technology for international collaboration can address global challenges more effectively. Federated platforms for knowledge sharing and linking joint initiatives leads to real solutions for climate change, health, and economic development.
Data for Good: Using #openweb and #4opens data, metadata analytics to address social issues leads to more effective public planing, policies and resource allocation.
Conclusion: A vision of hope, in tech
There is a potential for a positive future when we combine technological innovation with radical progressive politics and a commitment to social equity. By addressing #climatechange, leveraging automation, ensuring food security, and providing universal access to essential services, we build a wider world of opportunity and basic justice.
This vision needs us to reimagine our current paths to prioritize humanistic well-being over profit. With the right policies and collective action, we can turn today’s challenges into opportunities for basic survival and a better global society.
The mess we build when public’s attention is being deliberately diverted by those in power. They want us to focus on national borders and other divisive issues, preventing us from addressing the real crisis #climatechange. This distraction tactic is designed to benefit the #nastyfew who continue to profit from the destruction of our planet.
As we approach, another election, the insidious #deathcult ideologies offered by the main political parties have gutted life for the majority, while vile conmen exploit our ignorance and anger, distracting us with racism and hate. To hide the underlying economic warfare waged against us by predatory capitalism.
We are at the most perilous point in human history. Future generations, if they survive the coming decades, will look back and think us insane for not having climate scientists and progressive agenda leading our countries. Instead, we allow fossil fuel agendas to dictate our policies.
Figures like Farage are human smoke bombs, generating clouds of xenophobia and culture wars to hide the economic exploitation pushed by the capital that funds their campaigns. Farage’s vision of a future is filled with labour shortages, crumbling public services, and deepened social divisions.
The fight against climate change is fraught with challenges, from powerful economic interests to political distractions. However, the voices of activists, scientists, and concerned people highlight the urgent need for action.
By pushing #KISS core issues and building grassroots #DIY alternatives as seeds to prioritize the planet, we can try to mitigate/weather the worst impacts of this growing global crisis.
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
Looking back you can see that trolls use all of these stages to deny the reality of #climatechange. With this in mind, it’s worth looking at the climate crisis and its broader implications for our liberals:
Understanding the Crisis
Climate Change Impacts:
Primary Effects: The direct environmental impacts such as floods, storms, and droughts, species loss.
Secondary Effects: These encompass the broader impacts like social breakdown, mass migration, fiscal crises, and conflicts and wars.
Soft Problem: Infrastructure Response
To affect the primary effects of climate change, we need to:
Invest in Resilient Infrastructure:
Develop, diversify and upgrade infrastructure to withstand extreme weather events.
Implement sustainable urban planning and disaster preparedness programs.
Promote Environmental Stewardship:
Encourage policies that protect natural ecosystems and biodiversity.
Support renewable down scaling with energy sources and totally end reliance on fossil fuels.
Hard Problem: State Stability and Security
Addressing the secondary effects involves:
Economic and Social Policies:
Develop political and economic policies that buffer against fiscal crises caused by climate change.
Strengthen social safety nets to support communities impacted by environmental changes.
Global Cooperation:
Foster international collaboration to facilitate the mass migration and sharing of resources.
Support global peacekeeping efforts to hold justice in place and prevent conflicts exacerbated by climate stressors.
Accountability and Legal Action
Prosecuting the #nastyfew is a start, individuals and groups for their direct roles in the climate crisis involves several considerations:
Legal Frameworks:
Establish clear legal standards for environmental crimes and corporate responsibility.
Develop international agreements to hold entities accountable for environmental damage.
Ethical Considerations:
Ensure that legal actions are grounded in social justice and fairness.
Avoid simple scapegoating and ensure that those prosecuted are responsible for significant harm.
Focus on Prevention:
Prioritize measures that prevent future harm alongside punitive actions for though who are found responsible.
Promote corporate and governmental accountability through regulations and incentives for sustainable practices and well as impotently building real alternatives.
Moving Forward
To effectively address the #climatecrisis and its security implications, a wide approach is needed:
Promote Public Awareness and Engagement:
Educate the public on the causes and effects of #climatechange.
Encourage community involvement in real sustainability initiatives.
Policy and Governance:
Advocate for robust climate policies at national and international levels.
Ensure that climate action is integrated into broader progressive security and economic strategies.
Innovation and Adaptation:
Invest in research and development of soft and hard technologies for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Encourage the needed adaptive practices in agriculture, industry, and urban development.
Ethical Leadership:
Foster community leadership outside the current #mainstreaming agendas, that prioritize long-term sustainability and ethical governance.
Promote #4opens transparency and accountability in society and climate-related decision-making.
We do need to see that addressing the #climatecrisis needs radical and balanced paths that combines immediate action with long-term planning, prominent legal accountability with widened ethical governance, and national efforts with wider global cooperation. By working and focusing on these areas, we try to work towards a sustainable future.
On this subject: The #EU Eurocracy are hopelessly incompetent on progressive social and tech issues – it’s our job to help them be less incompetent as best we can. The other, radical native path is more dangerous, to get rid of them, the dangers with this, which we are seeing, is the right-wing will take their place. This applies to changing most #mainstreaming institutions and people, so we are left with “challenge” as the safe path.
For decades, European social democracy has stood as a counterweight to the relentless logic of capitalism, proving that societies can thrive when they prioritize people and planet over profit. Yet in recent years, these ideals have been swept away by the rise of #neoliberalism and the slow creep of corporate capture. For some people it’s worth revisited the core principles, not as relics of a bygone era, but as seeds for the future? Let’s look at potential benefits of this approach, and why reclaiming its best elements might be help in rebuilding our world in the face of #climatechaos and growing inequality.
Reduced income inequality by challenging the hoarders of wealth, Social democracy actively fights against the extreme wealth inequality that fuels the #deathcult path of capitalism. By implementing progressive taxation on the ultra-rich and corporations, wealth redistribution to fund public services and social programs, outs limits on wealth accumulation to prevent runaway hoarding. This old #mainstreaming path treats wealth not as a private treasure, but as a collective resource. It challenges the idea that billionaires should exist at all while millions live in poverty, and asserts that the role of the state is to level the playing field, not deepen the divides.
Improved standard of living, a life of dignity for all, not only trying to mitigate suffering, this works to actively uplift people’s quality of life through: Universal healthcare that prioritizes public well-being over profit. Free or affordable education as a path to empowerment. Robust public services like transport, libraries, and childcare. By ensuring everyone has access to the essentials for a good life, social democracy shows that collective care leads to individual flourishing. It breaks the narrative that people must “earn” the right to exist and replaces it with the belief that dignity is a human right.
Stronger safety nets with protection from capitalist precarity, where markets rule, people are left vulnerable to constant boom-and-bust cycles. Social democracy disrupts this instability by creating social safety nets that catch people when they fall. Unemployment benefits to prevent destitution during job loss, Disability and sickness support for those unable to work, Public pensions to ensure people can retire in dignity. These policies directly challenge the capitalist threat that without endless labour, people deserve to suffer. Instead, they affirm the belief that societies are strongest when no one is left behind.
Greater economic security with power to the workers, social democracy strengthens workers’ rights and provides economic stability: Job protections & fair dismissal laws, living wage policies tied to actual living costs, Support for unions & collective bargaining. This redistribution of power away from corporate greed towards the workers who actually produce value is a radical shift from the top-down hierarchies of capitalism. It proves that economies don’t need to run on exploitation, they can be collaborative systems where workers share in the prosperity they create.
Increased political representation by reclaiming democracy, deepened democracy where people have a real say in how their societies function through, proportional representation to ensure every vote counts, publicly funded elections to reduce corporate influence, citizen assemblies and referenda for direct democracy. This expands democracy beyond just voting every few years, empowering people to shape the decisions that shape and impact their lives. It challenges the idea that politics is the domain of #nastyfew elitists and replaces it with the radical belief that people can and should govern themselves.
Environmental protection by defending the future from #climatechaos. Social democracy recognizes that the health of the planet is inseparable from the well-being of people. That’s why this path champions investment in renewable energy & public green infrastructure, strict environmental regulations & corporate accountability, sustainable development policies that balance human and ecological needs. Rather than treating nature as a resource to be exploited, this path sees the environment as a common inheritance that must be preserved for future generations. It directly challenges the short-termism of capitalism, which sacrifices the future for the sake of immediate profits.
Investment in public goods for the collective good, instead of pouring public money into private profit machines, social democracy reinvests in the public commons through infrastructure development for sustainable transport and energy, public research & innovation for collective progress, cultural and community spaces to foster connection and creativity. This long-term public investment shows that societies thrive when they share resources, not when they sell them off to the highest bidder. It dismantles the myth that privatization is more “efficient”, and proves that public ownership can build lasting prosperity.
What this means for radical media and the #openweb, The principles of solidarity, collective ownership, and democratic control, overlap the values that grassroots projects like the #OMN and #indymediaback embody. But instead of waiting for governments to catch up, we can start building these systems and paths now. Decentralized media platforms to break corporate control of information, open-source technologies governed by communities, not corporations, digital commons where people can share, learn, and organize freely.
The #4opens already provide the blueprint for a more democratic and sustainable digital ecosystem. It’s an easy path that by combining the best aspects of the older #mainstreaming social democracy with the “new” power of decentralized tech, we can bypass broken #deathcult institutions and start creating the future from the ground up. The old story of social democracy showed us a path, now it’s time to take it further http://hamishcampbell.com
Throwing ideas into the air to see where they land, this is a sketch, not a blueprint – a thought experiment. As if we’re serious about using the #openweb to challenge #mainstreaming, and build alternatives to failing capitalist status quo, we have to start somewhere. So let’s ask: what does a world built around the #4opens look like?
We’re talking about a soft move away from capitalism, not an apocalyptic collapse or utopian leap, but a pragmatic, grounded shift in how we live, relate, and build together in the digital era. A society governed by openness, not profit, future rooted in collaboration, not control.
The End of Money as the Primary Motivator
In a #4opens world, exchange is no longer driven by the blunt instrument of money. The logic of scarcity fades when information is abundant and freely shared. With open data and transparent process, value can be tracked, distributed, and balanced – not hoarded.
Imagine a path where you give not to accumulate, but to re-balance. Where you’re recognized and supported for what you contribute, openly. This doesn’t mean the end of value, it means the end of commodification as the only language for it. Capitalism made money sacred. The #4opens world breaks that spell in the digital paths, which can then be used as a lever to re-balance this in the more physical world.
Radical Reductions in Inequality
The current digital economy centralises control in the hands of the #nastyfew, the platform owners, the server landlords, the data hoarders. In contrast, a #4opens world puts common infrastructure – physical and digital – under #FOSS democratic stewardship.
Open code, open governance, open data, open processes. These tools dismantle the gatekeeping logic of closed silos. We stop renting access to our lives and can then stop working to make the rich richer. What results is not just a redistribution of resources, but a recomposition of power. Rich and poor stop being natural categories, we start down the path of inequality becoming a historical memory.
Ecological Transformation via Digital Abundance
In this world changing, we break the toxic loop where growth = progress. As digital goods expand – freely shareable, replicable, adaptable – the material basis of economic growth shrinks.
Instead of growth for its own sake, we can choose to sift focus to ecological outcomes. Energy systems localise, circular economies flourish. The planet breathes again because we’ve stopped mistaking consumerism for culture. On this post-consumption, we can meet human needs without destroying the biosphere.
Real Community, Not Algorithmic Spectacle
When your networks are open, knowable is modifiable, you stop being a metric or a data point. You become a person in a community again, who can re-build networks of care and trust. The #4opens give us tools to know each other better, to collaborate without permission, and to keep relationships alive across distance and time. We escape the isolation of the #dotcons by remembering what it means to belong, not to brands, but to people.
Reclaiming the Meaning of ‘Common Sense’
In this transition, we’ll have to rethink almost everything we take for granted. Why do we work so much? Why do we compete instead of collaborate? Why is everything a secret? Why are we trained to distrust?
The capitalist world naturalised its own ideology, it taught us that exploitation was just “how the world works.” The #4opens world undoes this conditioning. We’ll discover that our “common sense” was a prison, and that open thinking makes new realities possible.
We already lost privacy, let’s be honest that the #dotcons and the surveillance state see everything. This isn’t a warning, it’s the present, there’s no going back to closed data. Not legally or technically. The dream of sealed-off privacy is gone. So what can we do?
We open the #metadata bag. All of it. We make the hidden flows of power visible. We stop pretending that corporate surveillance is okay while peer-to-peer is dangerous.
Yes, it’s uncomfortable. But in a world where we’ve already been stripped naked by Google, Amazon, and the NSA, radical transparency becomes the preferd path to justice. The question isn’t “how do we hide?” but “how do we share wisely and govern openly?”
What Does a Post-Capitalist, Open Society Look Like?
It’s not utopia, it’s messy, it’s federated, full of tension and debate. But it’s also a world where:
Decisions are made in the open, not behind closed doors.
Software is built to be forked, not locked.
Platforms are governed by people and communitys, not shareholders.
Care is more valuable than control.
Collaboration is default, not an afterthought.
This is the vision of the #4opens, not a theory, but a practice. A lived, everyday politics. A shift from passive consumption to active creation. It’s the beginning of something new, rooted in #FOSS, a real path, where everything we already know works if we just trust each other enough to try.
So, what does a #4opens world look like? It looks like the world we’re already building, underneath the rubble of the old one. Time to pick up your shovels.
Our #mainstreaming current online tools (for example #Facebook) were built out from the worst parts of human nature. The challenge facing us is can we build our tools from the best part of human nature (an example would be the #OMN) I think this is a nice challenge to have.
It’s interesting to think about what shapes the small part of the social flow you see on #failbook and see how other agenda’s dominate what you see as a “personal” experience.
2) The ego of the CEO and heads of engineering and marketing at Facebook.
3) The agenda’s of the investors in Facebook – this includes front company’s for the intelligence services of the US and many very rich people. (#nastyfew)
4) The agenda of the advertisers that pay Facebooks bills. The agenda’s that all the above do not want to push – this is semantically hidden by “we can’t sell adverts next to your content”. And they sell this to us as: “this is not social engineering”.
5) Anything published outside Facebook silo/portal is pushed down and things published inside Facebooks walls are pushed up. An example of this is that Youtube videos are not always embedded any-more, and that #failbook videos are and autoplay. (URLs are now down rated)
6) The people you friend on Facebook. But this is not unmediated the people who are a better fit to the first 5 points will be pushed more visible than people who do not, which will be pushed down out of view.
7) Your likes and interactions will help the algorithm chose from the “advert friendly content” in your wider feed and push these posts into your (personal) news feed.
8) Facebook is clever evil, the algorithm is elastic, you can push it and it will bend. Of course, evil cleaver wants you to do this because it learns how you push and how to push you back to shape the above first 5 points.
9) Clever Evil 2 that Facebook will also push though content that it cannot necessarily monetize, but has the intent to addict you to taking the phone out of your pocket to check every spare moment.
10) It’s not only about cats and family photos, it about reshaping the world so that #Trump and #Brexit can happen, and we are powerless to do anything about this. All we can do is empower the enemy by feeding it knowledge on how to empower Trumps and Brixets. Shake and repeat, shake and repeat, shake and repeat, shake and repeat.
