Exceptional synthesis tracing the extraction architecture from chattel slavery through to AI. The psychological wage concept really clarifies why cross-class solidarity keeps failing even when economic interests align perfectly. What I don't see discussed enough is how the DemocraticParty's shift from New Deal coalitions to Third Way neoliberalism basically handed the extractors everything they needed without a fight. The Powell Memo succeeded because one side understood institutional power coordination while the other fragmented into single-issue activism. We're still making that mistake.
What we don't want to admit is that the people who benefit from this situation really ARE doing their best to keep it in place.
I worked at a large corporation. The pay was pretty good, except when compared to what the execs got. Everything about the execs was wrapped in secrecy because The Rest of Us would rebel if we knew what they were getting away with--they didn't want us to go public. That situation was pretty well exemplified once by an elevator at work. I pushed the button; & as the elevator ascended, I could hear a lively but muffled discussion going on inside. When the doors opened, I saw the 3 top execs in the company. I stepped inside & they immediately clammed up for the rest of ride. Gee, I wonder what they had been talking about? :/
This article is waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy toooooooooooo loooooonnnnnnnnngggggggggggg, not to mention extremely dark and depressing. It may well be a looooooooooonnnnnnnnnngggggggg time before I read another one of these. I, and most other people, I suspect, can handle just so much! We have lives to live!! And I hate hate hate hate hate feeling like things are hopeless and I should just give the fuck up!!!
Oh—and once I’ve got the full series out, I’m planning to write a TL;DR version that captures the core throughline without all the detail. That might be a better format if the long deep-dives aren’t your thing 😜
This series is heavy on purpose—but not because I want anyone to feel hopeless. The whole point is the opposite: to make the mess *legible*, because “I can see the machine” is the first step toward “I can stop feeding it.”
Part II is long because the pattern only shows up when you zoom out over time. But you absolutely don’t have to read it in one sitting (or at all). If it’s too much right now, take a break—seriously.
If you want a lighter entrypoint: wait for Part V (“Breaking the Chains”). That’s the “okay, so what do we do?” section, and it’s written to move you *out* of despair, not deeper into it.
Exceptional synthesis tracing the extraction architecture from chattel slavery through to AI. The psychological wage concept really clarifies why cross-class solidarity keeps failing even when economic interests align perfectly. What I don't see discussed enough is how the DemocraticParty's shift from New Deal coalitions to Third Way neoliberalism basically handed the extractors everything they needed without a fight. The Powell Memo succeeded because one side understood institutional power coordination while the other fragmented into single-issue activism. We're still making that mistake.
That’s the key throughline in Part 3 😜.
Stay tuned!
What we don't want to admit is that the people who benefit from this situation really ARE doing their best to keep it in place.
I worked at a large corporation. The pay was pretty good, except when compared to what the execs got. Everything about the execs was wrapped in secrecy because The Rest of Us would rebel if we knew what they were getting away with--they didn't want us to go public. That situation was pretty well exemplified once by an elevator at work. I pushed the button; & as the elevator ascended, I could hear a lively but muffled discussion going on inside. When the doors opened, I saw the 3 top execs in the company. I stepped inside & they immediately clammed up for the rest of ride. Gee, I wonder what they had been talking about? :/
This article is waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy toooooooooooo loooooonnnnnnnnngggggggggggg, not to mention extremely dark and depressing. It may well be a looooooooooonnnnnnnnnngggggggg time before I read another one of these. I, and most other people, I suspect, can handle just so much! We have lives to live!! And I hate hate hate hate hate feeling like things are hopeless and I should just give the fuck up!!!
Oh—and once I’ve got the full series out, I’m planning to write a TL;DR version that captures the core throughline without all the detail. That might be a better format if the long deep-dives aren’t your thing 😜
Totally fair 😅 I hear you.
This series is heavy on purpose—but not because I want anyone to feel hopeless. The whole point is the opposite: to make the mess *legible*, because “I can see the machine” is the first step toward “I can stop feeding it.”
Part II is long because the pattern only shows up when you zoom out over time. But you absolutely don’t have to read it in one sitting (or at all). If it’s too much right now, take a break—seriously.
If you want a lighter entrypoint: wait for Part V (“Breaking the Chains”). That’s the “okay, so what do we do?” section, and it’s written to move you *out* of despair, not deeper into it.