Agreed 100%, with the exception of putting others first. The biggest lesson I learned in my struggle with the American fascists and the PTSD they left me with is that if you are not healthy, happy and free, you cannot help others.
The larger problem is that they think they own the internet, so this post has already been shadow-banned by the NSA and the Substack algorithm…
Thank you my friend and good point. Putting others first does not mean putting yourself last, it means having basic empathy for others and doing what you can for them given what you can do at the time. As far as capitalist controlling the internet, they do to an extent but that can be a whole other essay.
The internet is actually designed to resist centralized control, and to be super fault-tolerant. It's military comms tech after all. Practically speaking, you need a fair bit of technical skill and knowledge to use those faculties, and there are plenty of tactical vulnerabilities and trade-offs. But TCP/IP and routing are pretty robust, baseline. Geeks are a global community.
As a full time communications professional, I would add that wanting heroes to believe in is intrinsic to human nature, and I would be hard pressed to name ANY professional success that didn’t involve leveraging an influencer or celebrity. It’s also hard to think of any successful leftist movement that didn’t lionize or make a celebrity of its leader(s). Yes, most instruments for spreading info/propaganda are controlled by capitalism at the present time. The message is not that fame is intrinsically corrupting and leftists should avoid it— that is a horrendously non-pragmatic conclusion. The message is that the most urgent imperative for the leftist movement is to create information distribution systems that can rival the capitalist ones in creating heroes. We will not succeed without that. We just won’t.
Yeah BUT you’re a full time communications professional. This has to be your opinion or your motivation for your role in the system is threatened. In a truly free world — which we must create — you wouldn’t think this way.
I was famouser than I am now and I gave it up because of the forces Jae is talking about. But because the flame in me has nothing to do with fame I am not worried about “coming back” because I never went away. The fame wasn’t real; I was. That’s what you want to keep.
So the main argument in this piece is that fame within the context of a capitalist society is something to be avoided because it serves to uphold the status quo. There is a difference between fame and influence, the left must seek influence within the working masses to have revolution become a possibility. This is known throughout history. Fame, on the other hand, leads to selling out, co-optation, and opportunism.
I think the difference between fame and influence isn’t something a regular person would understand just from hearing the words. That’s why I think “promoted by capitalist controlled media” and “promoted by working class or leftist controlled media” are more useful and precise distinctions.
The problem is that leftist controlled media would be heavily suppressed and censored so it’s really difficult to become “famous” through that path. Even if a leftist becomes famous they’re typically demonized in the history books, glossed over, or white washed.
Yes I agree— but I’m pointing out the problem with fame is capitalist media control of fame, not fame itself. Removing media from capitalist control is easier than removing the basic and fundamental human need to be inspired by heroes
Well said Jae. I'm glad you have not yet left this platform. Your work to build class consciousness will pay dividends in the future.
I liken your point about putting others first to gift giving over the holidays: when you're younger you can't wait to see the gifts you were getting from others, but as you mature, you (some/most of us) begin to realize the old adage that it's better to give, than to receive. Call it selflessness, call it humanity or empathy, but how different could our society be if we can put some of our individual interests aside, to make our collective lives a bit better?
Thank you Ben and well said. Imagine living in a society that puts the needs of the many over the few. That’s the society I think we should fight for and strive for.
You can kindly unfollow, like I said previously I don’t subscribe to reactionary rhetoric regarding gender. We don’t do reactionary right wing politics here.
Agreed 100%, with the exception of putting others first. The biggest lesson I learned in my struggle with the American fascists and the PTSD they left me with is that if you are not healthy, happy and free, you cannot help others.
The larger problem is that they think they own the internet, so this post has already been shadow-banned by the NSA and the Substack algorithm…
Thank you my friend and good point. Putting others first does not mean putting yourself last, it means having basic empathy for others and doing what you can for them given what you can do at the time. As far as capitalist controlling the internet, they do to an extent but that can be a whole other essay.
I will look forward to reading it, as I’m sure will others. Your work is very intelligent and insightful.
The internet is actually designed to resist centralized control, and to be super fault-tolerant. It's military comms tech after all. Practically speaking, you need a fair bit of technical skill and knowledge to use those faculties, and there are plenty of tactical vulnerabilities and trade-offs. But TCP/IP and routing are pretty robust, baseline. Geeks are a global community.
As a full time communications professional, I would add that wanting heroes to believe in is intrinsic to human nature, and I would be hard pressed to name ANY professional success that didn’t involve leveraging an influencer or celebrity. It’s also hard to think of any successful leftist movement that didn’t lionize or make a celebrity of its leader(s). Yes, most instruments for spreading info/propaganda are controlled by capitalism at the present time. The message is not that fame is intrinsically corrupting and leftists should avoid it— that is a horrendously non-pragmatic conclusion. The message is that the most urgent imperative for the leftist movement is to create information distribution systems that can rival the capitalist ones in creating heroes. We will not succeed without that. We just won’t.
Yeah BUT you’re a full time communications professional. This has to be your opinion or your motivation for your role in the system is threatened. In a truly free world — which we must create — you wouldn’t think this way.
I was famouser than I am now and I gave it up because of the forces Jae is talking about. But because the flame in me has nothing to do with fame I am not worried about “coming back” because I never went away. The fame wasn’t real; I was. That’s what you want to keep.
lol I would be so thrilled to give up my role in the system and have the opportunity to have a more wholesome profession 🤣
Exactly! 🥰🤞🫂
So the main argument in this piece is that fame within the context of a capitalist society is something to be avoided because it serves to uphold the status quo. There is a difference between fame and influence, the left must seek influence within the working masses to have revolution become a possibility. This is known throughout history. Fame, on the other hand, leads to selling out, co-optation, and opportunism.
I think the difference between fame and influence isn’t something a regular person would understand just from hearing the words. That’s why I think “promoted by capitalist controlled media” and “promoted by working class or leftist controlled media” are more useful and precise distinctions.
The problem is that leftist controlled media would be heavily suppressed and censored so it’s really difficult to become “famous” through that path. Even if a leftist becomes famous they’re typically demonized in the history books, glossed over, or white washed.
Yes I agree— but I’m pointing out the problem with fame is capitalist media control of fame, not fame itself. Removing media from capitalist control is easier than removing the basic and fundamental human need to be inspired by heroes
Well said Jae. I'm glad you have not yet left this platform. Your work to build class consciousness will pay dividends in the future.
I liken your point about putting others first to gift giving over the holidays: when you're younger you can't wait to see the gifts you were getting from others, but as you mature, you (some/most of us) begin to realize the old adage that it's better to give, than to receive. Call it selflessness, call it humanity or empathy, but how different could our society be if we can put some of our individual interests aside, to make our collective lives a bit better?
Thank you Ben and well said. Imagine living in a society that puts the needs of the many over the few. That’s the society I think we should fight for and strive for.
We don’t parrot reactionary rhetoric regarding sex and gender if that is where this is going.
lol ok. Animals belong to species, not breeds.
You can kindly unfollow, like I said previously I don’t subscribe to reactionary rhetoric regarding gender. We don’t do reactionary right wing politics here.