Related Recs

👀

YES AND…

i think it’s paired with anti-intellectualism - we’re getting to a place where nearly everyone wants immediate gratification so they need a constant stream of consumption. i think this is particularly true in capitalist countries and in the west. i do think superficial interests in culture by the masses are the historical norm, partly bc historically that media was often the most accessible, but i think, combined, the internet and trends changing so rapidly nowadays has exacerbated the issue. everything is cheapened, there’s little respect for craft or appreciation of Doing. many people want everything fast fast fast, so it’s tiktok instead of movies, AI summaries instead of books, chatgpt instead of research (or simply google), fast fashion to keep up with trends, etc. many of us are privileged enough to be able to access an impossible amount of information through the internet and yet so many people are simply using that resource to mindlessly consume whatever content. also, with the internet i feel we’ve lost subcultures’ uniqueness because it’s easier to find them - you can quickly learn about the symbolic aspects of basically any subculture and adopt those (ie fashions, slang, media) without having a personal relationship with whatever community it is. which basically means (tongue-in-cheek) we’re in a poser renaissance. i think as living conditions gets worse for most people, there’s a lower ability to think as clearly and increased desire to escape, so most of the people who can live so mindlessly, do it. plus throw in the American dream (which i think is just the myth of success that exists in all capitalist societies) and there’s this other group of people who prioritize “hustle culture” or whatever and that takes up time they could’ve used to really engage with art, film, reading, etc (alienation as the other Marx once said lol). which is its own unique depreciation of art and scholarship! in his essay on ur-fascism, umberto eco notes the opposition to most artistic and intellectual pursuits as an aspect of fascism (which we can observe in the right-wing movements of many countries today), in part that, to fascists “thinking is a form of emasculation. Therefore culture is suspect insofar as it is identified with critical attitudes.”

@marxinista

May 18, 2025

📚

Afflicted powers: capital and spectacle in a new age of war

Lays out US imperial mission of perpetual war as a relatively new form of global occupation -- in spite of this mission's repeated failures. To borrow a phrase my bf just maybe coined today: the project of "American delusionalism" summarized. Dissertation inspo for me

@111mes000

Jan 31, 2024

👁

CONSPIRACY THEORY

What if the US is being isolated in steps? Make the economy function within, sans foreign trade. Make enemies of neighboring foreign countries so we have nowhere to turn. But we don't have enough 'low economy' work force. End abortion and force increased childbirth numbers on those who can't afford kids, and who can't fight the system. Use schools and education as an excuse to program the populus for compliance, to give up their daily 8 hours, from childhood through retirement. Never question the government. They have your best interests at heart. This is just an innocent book report. 😇

@1strawberrysecret

Apr 15, 2025

Top Recs from @stephenramsek

🤗

Anti-rec: oversharing

As young people who long for real, honest relationships with other people, it’s easy to overshare in order to instantly create emotional intimacy. The problem is that this intimacy is artificial, and doesn’t respect the principle that relationships are differentiated in large part because different levels of emotional intimacy are reserved for different *kinds* of relationships

@stephenramsek

6d ago

🔪

Anti-rec: adolescence (2025)

It’s just fear baiting gen x’ers who don’t understand their gen z/alpha kids, which the creators of the show don’t care to understand either

@stephenramsek

May 27, 2025

👿

Turn off all lowercase

Stop trying to be cute

@stephenramsek

18h ago