Technofascism and the Individual

[Zeitgeist]

So now that we have lived for almost ten months under health authority directives, what have we learned?

While I'm sure many restrictions were necessary for public safety and to prevent longer-term economic ruin, I worry that some of the emergency measures we've accepted will become permanent unnecessarily.  Even if new strains of the virus emerge for which we have no vaccines, at some point the restrictions must end.  The economic and health costs of endless restrictions will become too high.  I realize that in the short run, until most people are inoculated, the sacrifices seem worthwhile.

Within government and private business we have seen how top-down directives are running our lives and creating a sense of enslavement.  What's more, our fears about various extinction menaces (Covid, global warming, etc.) and cancel culture (running afoul of political correctness), has immobilized us.  We live as fearful zombies, waiting for the next directive and watching our mouths, so that we don't violate behaviour and thought regulations scripted by the authorities.

Our surveillance capitalism facilitates cancel culture witch-hunts and orthodoxies around compliance with public health authorities and dominant ideological narratives.

What's left of the individual?  How can we be critical of the scripts being handed to us about how we should think and live without losing our jobs or running afoul of "the system"?

We see how wedges have been driven between people: man versus woman, black versus white, person versus person (social distancing).   How long can we live among so much social tension and fear?   How do we return to a more cohesive, calmer human world?  How do we reduce the dominance of the authorities in our lives?

[WestCanMan]

That's a great thread starter, but honestly it probably requires more than one thread. Seems like a few topics which are worthy of their own thread merged into one.

Technofascism (love the term, never heard it used before) is a thread, division is a thread of it's own, gov't fear-mongering as a means to power-grabbing is a thread, intentional economic ruin as a springboard to socialism is a thread, etc. 

I'm not sure how to consider all of this as one individual head, unless it's a right vs left thread, because honestly the common thread between all of these is: leftists support climate hysteria, covid hysteria, division, cancel culture, witch hunts, techno-fascism, socialism/government overreach, etc. People on the right are against all of that. 

 

I'll take on one topic there: the cure to the division topic is simple - reject the divisive narratives of the alt-left media. Eg, "the police are committing genocide against black men" and "Brionna was a model citizen who was shot in her bed during a no-knock raid" and "Rayshard was killed for falling asleep at a drive thru" "women etc.

All of those topics/narratives are lies, and they're all wildly divisive.

1) Police kill probably less than 1% of the black men who are killed in the US.

2) Brionna was the recent ex-girlfriend of a major drug dealer, she was still quite involved with him, the warrant allowed for 'no-knock' but the police knocked, she wasn't sleeping, she wasn't in her bed she was in the hallway, and she was killed in a shootout that was initiated by her current boyfriend. 

3) Rayshard was killed when he shot a taser at the face of a cop, the fact that he was shot had nothing to do with the original reason for the police being there. That taser had two charges in it, there was still one left. Furthermore, tasers are considered "less lethal" not "non-lethal", and when they're used incorrectly the chance for death or permanent disability is very high. In Georgia a taser is considered a firearm in the eyes of the law. IE, Rayshard was "involved in a gunfight". That's why he was shot.

The narratives pushed by the media are divisive and destructive, and it's impossible for a large % of the population to not get sucked in, period. 

[Michael Hardner]

On 12/19/2020 at 8:35 PM, Zeitgeist said:

 

1. While I'm sure many restrictions were necessary for public safety and to prevent longer-term economic ruin 

2. Within government and private business we have seen how top-down directives are running our lives and creating a sense of enslavement.  

3. What's more, our fears about various extinction menaces (Covid, global warming, etc.) and cancel culture (running afoul of political correctness), has immobilized us.  

4. We live as fearful zombies..

5. Our surveillance capitalism ...

6. What's left of the individual?  How can we be critical of the scripts being handed to us about how we should think and live without losing our jobs or running afoul of "the system"?

7.  How long can we live among so much social tension and fear?   How do we return to a more cohesive, calmer human world?  How do we reduce the dominance of the authorities in our lives?

1. and 2. seem contradictory.  It was necessary to ruin our lives ?
3. Please don't say "our" fears.  I'm not afraid of any of these things and certainly not "cancel culture".  Why you are afraid of that is beyond me, unless you are Ron McLean maybe.
4. You, not "we"...
5. What is this ?
6. You are free to say 'no' to the user agreement and you are free to criticize the 'system'
7. There more help than ever for you to deal with your tension and fear.  It's scary for some but for many of us there's more freedom than ever.
 

[Zeitgeist]

1 hour ago, Michael Hardner said:

1. and 2. seem contradictory.  It was necessary to ruin our lives ?
3. Please don't say "our" fears.  I'm not afraid of any of these things and certainly not "cancel culture".  Why you are afraid of that is beyond me, unless you are Ron McLean maybe.
4. You, not "we"...
5. What is this ?
6. You are free to say 'no' to the user agreement and you are free to criticize the 'system'
7. There more help than ever for you to deal with your tension and fear.  It's scary for some but for many of us there's more freedom than ever.
 

Running not ruining.  Perhaps like me you need reading glasses or won't wear them.

With regard to all of your other points, I can only assume you are either retired or very protected by privilege or both.  Just about every worker is dealing with the stress of these directives and social narrative orthodoxies right now.  For the privileged retirees the only thing that has changed is fear of getting the virus and the heightened sense of alienation from family and friends due to restrictions.  Loneliness was already hard for many elderly.

In terms of how all of these themes are connected, I think technofaschism (Zeitgeist trademark) is a propos, because we have shifted to a much more top-down managed world, and I'm not sure that will diminish much after the pandemic. 

I don't consider this a left versus right issue.  I think such binary thinking won't address the very real risks to individual freedom of a state that tries to dictate lifestyle and speech.  It threatens freedom of association (for socialization, recreation, sports, employment, shopping, protest, etc.), as well as freedom of individual expression, as we read and obey scripts handed down by the authorities without debate, consent, or consensus.  Enslavement by the minority is as much a risk as enslavement by the majority.  The technological element of this new form of fascism is brought to you by the surveillance and rapid dissemination of public judgement (from left, right, and all form of mob mentality) made possible by social media, smart phones, and the electric environment as a whole.

Edited December 22, 2020 by Zeitgeist

[Nefarious Banana]

On 12/19/2020 at 5:35 PM, Zeitgeist said:

We see how wedges have been driven between people: man vs. woman, black vs. white, person vs. person (social distancing).   How long can we live among so much social tension and fear?   How do we return to a more cohesive, calmer human world?  How do we reduce the dominance of the authorities in our lives?

The language of the left . . . . political correctness, has all but muzzled discussion.  The present Liberal govt. are masters of this tactic.  Question anything of the Liberals, and you're branded as a racist, global warming advocate, gay basher, anti-green, etc., etc.  For the most part, the academics of this country are left/far left . . . Jordan Peterson being the delightful exception, and have slowly and surely undermined free speech and thought.

We've become a country of pussies . . . . 

[Michael Hardner]

3 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

1.  Running not ruining.   

2. Just about every worker is dealing with the stress of these directives and social narrative orthodoxies right now.   

3. In terms of how all of these themes are connected, I think technofaschism (Zeitgeist trademark) is a propos, because we have shifted to a much more top-down managed world, and I'm not sure that will diminish much after the pandemic. 

4. I don't consider this a left versus right issue.  I think such binary thinking won't address the very real risks to individual freedom of a state that tries to dictate lifestyle and speech.  It threatens freedom of association (for socialization, recreation, sports, employment, shopping, protest, etc.), as well as freedom of individual expression, as we read and obey scripts handed down by the authorities without debate, consent, or consensus.  Enslavement by the minority is as much a risk as enslavement by the majority.  The technological element of this new form of fascism is brought to you by the surveillance and rapid dissemination of public judgement (from left, right, and all form of mob mentality) made possible by social media, smart phones, and the electric environment as a whole.

1. You said ruin and running.  I can't figure out if you're in favour of the measures or not.
2. Fear and stress aren't the same thing.
3. Much more top-down managed ?  Information distribution has been decentralized, with the number of info sources exploding.  That's peer-to-peer not top down.
4. Where the facism though ?  You have called it that but not explained it.  Public judgment isn't fascism.  Puritanism isn't fascism either.  

You seem to have an idea there but you're putting a bunch of contemporary trends together in one box and I'm not sure how they're related, other than they're all 'new' things.

[Zeitgeist]

1 hour ago, Michael Hardner said:

1. You said ruin and running.  I can't figure out if you're in favour of the measures or not.
2. Fear and stress aren't the same thing.
3. Much more top-down managed ?  Information distribution has been decentralized, with the number of info sources exploding.  That's peer-to-peer not top down.
4. Where the facism though ?  You have called it that but not explained it.  Public judgment isn't fascism.  Puritanism isn't fascism either.  

You seem to have an idea there but you're putting a bunch of contemporary trends together in one box and I'm not sure how they're related, other than they're all 'new' things.

Strongly disagree.  Big Brother is a teenager with a cell phone.  Watch your step.  Fear creates stress.  Puritanism is often a quality of fascism, as a certain way of being is promoted.  What is the model?  I would simply suggest not accepting scripts or directives as absolutes.  Retain some space to think and act for yourself.  

[Michael Hardner]

18 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

Strongly disagree.  Big Brother is a teenager with a cell phone.  Watch your step.  Fear creates stress.  Puritanism is often a quality of fascism, as a certain way of being is promoted.  What is the model?  I would simply suggest not accepting scripts or directives as absolutes.  Retain some space to think and act for yourself.  

Fascism is about an authoritarian government.  Puritanism is about the moral sphere.

Ok, maybe there's a similar effect but you are of course free to do as you like.  There are people protesting all the time, as well as people being offensive and expressing themselves.  So maybe it's not as bad as you think either.

[WestCanMan]

17 hours ago, Nefarious Banana said:

For the most part, the academics of this country are left/far left . . . Jordan Peterson being the delightful exception, and have slowly and surely undermined free speech and thought.

Going to university is like wading through an intellectual quagmire. Only the best & brightest people can keep their head above water, and the ones who lack intestinal fortitude (the majority) drown in liberal stupidity and become hapless lemmings. 

Profs (like the cultists who also go to campuses because they like to prey on newly-emancipated teenage minds) look down on a horde of impressionable kids who are busy focusing all of their mental energy on learning by rote, struggling to fit in, and who are living in constant fear of rejection by the herd, and they see nothing but a blank canvas to colour with their own beliefs . The kids don't have any mental energy left to run their BS filter so it never develops to the same level as their 'roided-up dogma-dendrites. Then the profs force them to regurgitate their liberal POVs for the glorious & almighty checkmarks until they're brainwashed. Done deal. 

People like Peterson intellectually tower over the horde of muppets that they go to school with. They can't be indoctrinated.

 

If you have a kid that is a strong candidate for a post-secondary education I'd recommend a technical institute, but even at BCIT where there were no basket-weaving classes, and almost everyone lived off-campus, there were still the occasional 'cultists' there who would try to get us to come to religious gatherings and whatnot.

The main difference is that there was no lane there for profs to push their religion/leftist screed to us, because all of the classes were technical in nature. It's not an environment where there was room for the discussion of political or religious opinions.

In universities where kids get the same types of technical educations, leftist dogma is still mandatory.

That was BCIT back in the day though. I don't have a clue what 21st century BCIT looks like. 

 

[Zeitgeist]

2 hours ago, WestCanMan said:

Going to university is like wading through an intellectual quagmire. Only the best & brightest people can keep their head above water, and the ones who lack intestinal fortitude (the majority) drown in liberal stupidity and become hapless lemmings. 

Profs (like the cultists who also go to campuses because they like to prey on newly-emancipated teenage minds) look down on a horde of impressionable kids who are busy focusing all of their mental energy on learning by rote, struggling to fit in, and who are living in constant fear of rejection by the herd, and they see nothing but a blank canvas to colour with their own beliefs . The kids don't have any mental energy left to run their BS filter so it never develops to the same level as their 'roided-up dogma-dendrites. Then the profs force them to regurgitate their liberal POVs for the glorious & almighty checkmarks until they're brainwashed. Done deal. 

People like Peterson intellectually tower over the horde of muppets that they go to school with. They can't be indoctrinated.

 

If you have a kid that is a strong candidate for a post-secondary education I'd recommend a technical institute, but even at BCIT where there were no basket-weaving classes, and almost everyone lived off-campus, there were still the occasional 'cultists' there who would try to get us to come to religious gatherings and whatnot.

The main difference is that there was no lane there for profs to push their religion/leftist screed to us, because all of the classes were technical in nature. It's not an environment where there was room for the discussion of political or religious opinions.

In universities where kids get the same types of technical educations, leftist dogma is still mandatory.

That was BCIT back in the day though. I don't have a clue what 21st century BCIT looks like. 

 

I sort of think leftism is important to understand.  I still remember studying pretty wild ideas in philosophy that were considered disruptive, often of broad straw man evils like capitalism, colonialism, the patriarchy, etc.  Some of it was important for challenging dominant narratives and assumptions.  Some of it was downright creepy, like the radical feminist idea sea that reproduction should be taken over by the state.  The reality is that we live in a highly managed socialist form of capitalism, and there are many good things about this setup.  Let's just make sure our systems serve people and maximize freedom and creativity.  There's a disturbing trend towards a hive mentality that uses a new orthodoxy of language.  Be critical of all such scripts and orthodoxies.  Even right versus left missed the point.  We are living under technological conditions that make surveillance and dissemination of ideas instant and far-reaching.  Understand the framework.  The medium is the message.  Be wary of the ways in which language is used to control people.  

[bush_cheney2004]

2 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

...The reality is that we live in a highly managed socialist form of capitalism, and there are many good things about this setup.  Let's just make sure our systems serve people and maximize freedom and creativity.  There's a disturbing trend towards a hive mentality that uses a new orthodoxy of language.  Be critical of all such scripts and orthodoxies. 

 

It's not so much the scripts and orthodoxies or political polarizations, but the very pace of change driven by technology.   There have been many political and social changes in the past, but not in such an accelerated manner, outstripping the ability of many groups to adapt so quickly.  This leads to stress and pushback against not only the message, but the messaging medium as well.

Alvin Toffler correctly predicted this circumstance in his book Future Shock (1970).   Human beings are very adaptable, but not without limits.

[Zeitgeist]

3 hours ago, bush_cheney2004 said:

 

It's not so much the scripts and orthodoxies or political polarizations, but the very pace of change driven by technology.   There have been many political and social changes in the past, but not in such an accelerated manner, outstripping the ability of many groups to adapt so quickly.  This leads to stress and pushback against not only the message, but the messaging medium as well.

Alvin Toffler correctly predicted this circumstance in his book Future Shock (1970).   Human beings are very adaptable, but not without limits.

Yes the age of A.I. running the society is among us.  While humans may have created the networks and algorithms, we didn't anticipate the unintended consequences and the ways in which data feedback would force adaptation to radical change in a rather inhuman way.  Hariri and other commentators have discussed our reality in speculative terms, but it's more real and present than I think anyone predicted or could've predicted, because it has altered the human condition in a way we couldn't fully comprehend until we started to live it.   We've entered the post-human world. For all intents and purposes we are all enhanced cyborgs. The Borg hive is mercilessly scientific and data driven, which is why maintaining human ethics and interests is critical.  The problem is that we can't respond to the privacy implications and violations fast enough.   We can only try to put the pieces back together using old tropes that aren't especially helpful.  

Edited December 24, 2020 by Zeitgeist