The Precariat and the Last Exit Before Violence

Deleted member 3373

If you want to form a counter elite you would have to take control of their institutions, not live outside of them.
Not entirely true. I mainly look to the fall of Rome. With the rise of Christianity the empire gradually began to shrink into various smaller governates and by the time Christianity was established as the official religion of Rome it was too late. Christianity had killed western Rome. In fact it killed it by simply causing a drastic value change. By declaring that all were equal in the eyes of God slavery was destroyed. There was never an explicit demand to end slavery but it was ended relatively quickly by that notion alone. To me the best way of putting an end to modern society is to declare that life is more important than machines. For Capitalism/Industrialism is the worship of that which is dead.
 

Neutron_Tsar

Internet Refugee
Joined
Feb 22, 2022
Messages
11
Reaction score
14
Awards
5
Not entirely true. I mainly look to the fall of Rome. With the rise of Christianity the empire gradually began to shrink into various smaller governates and by the time Christianity was established as the official religion of Rome it was too late. Christianity had killed western Rome. In fact it killed it by simply causing a drastic value change. By declaring that all were equal in the eyes of God slavery was destroyed. There was never an explicit demand to end slavery but it was ended relatively quickly by that notion alone. To me the best way of putting an end to modern society is to declare that life is more important than machines. For Capitalism/Industrialism is the worship of that which is dead.
The destruction was caused by many factors. One of these was constant invasions from Germany, which destroyed the infrastructure of the region. This led to greater self-autonomy as towns and villages could not rely on foreign sources of food and materials which resulted in feudalism. It's also why Europe in the middle ages was so fractured.
Slavery was just replaced with another form of forced labor. And that's how a large portion of these revolutions end up. Another group of elites exploiting you in new ways. It's not always the case, though. A successful revolution will require people to rethink society and it's unclear whether we are willing to do that.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

Deleted member 3373

The destruction was caused by many factors. One of these was constant invasions from Germany, which destroyed the infrastructure of the region. This led to greater self-autonomy as towns and villages could not rely on foreign sources of food and materials which resulted in feudalism. It's also why Europe in the middle ages was so fractured.
Slavery was just replaced with another form of forced labor. And that's how a large portion of these revolutions end up. Another group of elites exploiting you in new ways. It's not always the case, though. A successful revolution will require people to rethink society and it's unclear whether we are willing to do that.
Well that's a thing. I don't think there can be a permanent end to exploitation. An elite will always emerge and I simply believe that systems emerge to fix the immediate problems of all the damage the last system caused. My predictions for what the next form of society looks like is very similar to that of medieval Europe. In fact I think the war with Ukraine may play a role in so far as it will be the fracturing of the global trade system which will result in less dependence on international trade. People will turn to more localised forms of food production which will create the basis for the new societies which I think may look somewhat tribal in their configuration. I imagine the nation state will end up being replaced by tribal confederacies. Somewhat similar to Celtic Britain.
 

Legacy

Raised in the Wilds of Web 1.0
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
44
Reaction score
91
Awards
20
Thank you for the high quality post. I managed to buy my house in 2018 right before the massive surge in house pricing and my wife and I are generational outliers because we've both come from renting families and gotten married and own land. Despite this, perhaps because we still grew up poor, I feel a deep resentment toward the institutions. I've found myself contemplating the situation and came to the same conclusion the author comes to, that I myself am pacified by the fact that I have a home to return to and a wife and children who depend on me that makes me much more averse to the outbreak of violence than I might otherwise be (I wouldn't know for sure unless I could Quantum Leap into an alternate me)
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

Yeager

Internet Refugee
Joined
Apr 16, 2022
Messages
12
Reaction score
15
Awards
5
I managed to buy my house in 2018 right before the massive surge in house pricing and my wife and I are generational outliers because we've both come from renting families and gotten married and own land.
I myself am pacified by the fact that I have a home to return to and a wife and children who depend on me that makes me much more averse to the outbreak of violence than I might otherwise be
In a similar situation myself. I Couldn't have put it into better words.

I agree that revolutions require elite support to succeed. The mythologized view of the American Revolution is wrong because of this. The average american has been taught that the colonists all just got together and overthrew a tyrant in the name of democracy. But in reality it was a group of elites realizing they had more to gain from creating their own nation than answering to the crown. I'm not saying it wasn't justified, but it wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the founding fathers.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

cynthiune

DM me cool y2k / tiled desktop wallpapers
Joined
Dec 30, 2021
Messages
147
Reaction score
429
Awards
61
The average american has been taught that the colonists all just got together and overthrew a tyrant in the name of democracy. But in reality it was a group of elites realizing they had more to gain from creating their own nation than answering to the crown. I'm not saying it wasn't justified, but it wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the founding fathers.
This is a very good point thats been brought up a few times in this thread and I feel its incredibly underlooked. I admit I hadn't really thought of this before some of you mentioned it. I think it is a pretty big hole in the OP's writing. While at the same time I don't think they'd disagree, and the fundamental message is still true. The rebelling elite don't win without a legion of angry young men, and the angry young men while dangerous, doesn't have influential leadership to organize. Pretty interesting symbiotic relationship here.

I guess my question now would be what would the modern version of this look like?
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

Legacy

Raised in the Wilds of Web 1.0
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
44
Reaction score
91
Awards
20
In a similar situation myself. I Couldn't have put it into better words.

I agree that revolutions require elite support to succeed. The mythologized view of the American Revolution is wrong because of this. The average american has been taught that the colonists all just got together and overthrew a tyrant in the name of democracy. But in reality it was a group of elites realizing they had more to gain from creating their own nation than answering to the crown. I'm not saying it wasn't justified, but it wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the founding fathers.
I think the founding fathers saw their opportunity and also seized on the demographic in question to use as leverage. Outright revolution had extremely little support. I would say that it was an example of an angry mob receiving educated, powerful leadership and direction rather than running amok until they're out of steam
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

Yeager

Internet Refugee
Joined
Apr 16, 2022
Messages
12
Reaction score
15
Awards
5
I guess my question now would be what would the modern version of this look like?
Right now every member of the elite knows that they are better off siding with the regime than against it. Donald Trump is a good example of this. He had a perfect opportunity on Jan 6 to take back the white house by force, but he didn't because he knows it isn't worth the risk...yet. But as society decays the regime will get weaker. So at some point a rogue elite will realise they have more to gain from siding against the regime.
The closest thing we have to that now is probably Elon Musk. He's still on board with the regime's plan (electric cars, space internet, space travel for billionaires, etc) he just doesn't want the woke stuff. Whether or not that becomes a big enough issue for him to go rogue over, we'll just have to wait and see.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards

Lonely_Ghost

The one
Joined
Mar 11, 2022
Messages
278
Reaction score
1,186
Awards
116
Whatever happens is fine by me as long as the environmental starts to recover. When climate change and the extinction event we bring on ourselves hits, the world at large won't give a shit how many zoomer americans have tied their dicks in a knot over property rights or career choices.
 
Virtual Cafe Awards