innerspaceboy

I agree with your statements on many points. A rising extremism has transpired on both sides of the political coin, resulting in a growing rejection of both party politics and of the corporate state.

As I've stated in previous threads, I am intensely curious about what awaits us beyond the threshold marking the end of the 20th-century systems which defined our economic era. The twilight of late capitalism is a time of tremendous, albeit frightening opportunity. But like the industrial revolution and the more recent digital revolution, these changes threaten the power of the establishment and fundamentally change the market.

The entire media industry is upended by the vanquishing of scarcity-based economics, rapidly replaced by an ever-growing network of file sharers who've collectively organized the largest media library in the history of the world... and did it for free. And despite these tremendous achievements, the industry still reports record sales figures year after year. It's time for a complete overhaul to the antiquated system of copyright economics.

Similarly, the internet is affording citizens a far greater transparency of the actions of those in power and eliminates their former dependency on mass media as a news source, thus weakening their control over our lives.

And as technology continues to eliminate the need for labor, it is likely that a larger and larger percentage of the workforce will be eliminated in the near future. At the onset of the industrial revolution, the exponential increase in efficiency presented manufacturers with two potential courses of action - they could significantly reduce national labor hours ushering in a leisure economy where the public could invest themselves into developing the arts, sciences, and technology and to promote humanitarian efforts while maintaining a stable level of profitability for the corporations. Or they could implement a new age of social conditioning, to perpetuate a level of innate desire and dissatisfaction among the populace so that they would consume endlessly and discard perfectly functional goods in favor of the latest product to roll off the lines, driving profits higher than previously imagined. The adoption of the latter, coupled with the industry cartels’ effective institution of planned obsolescence created the unsustainable (and insatiable) consumer monster we see today.

In this second (now digital) revolution, we are presented with the same option we faced at the dawn of the last century. Machine learning, complex system automation, AI, and Big Data will irrevocably replace the majority of both the skilled and unskilled workforce in the near future with more efficient, cost-saving methods of production and service. Perhaps then, when faced with near-utopian and dystopian scenarios side by side, the society of the first world will seize the day, take action, and self-actualize the vision we first glimpsed over a century ago.

Or maybe we'll just keep buying sh*t and die miserable like we do today.

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The Batlord

Dude, the Pope says "Jump!", you say, "How high, your Holiness?" I know Protestants like to think they have a right to their own opinions, but that's just not true. You're of the devil, bro.

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JGuy Grungeman

I don't follow the pope, dude. When it comes to Catholicism, I'm with Cornell. And like I already said, my ideas are different from the mainstream idea of a Christian/Catholic that those of you carry. Pope says, "Jump." I say "I'm not Catholic."

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The Batlord

I don't know what cult you're a part of, but you're all going to hell for rebelling against the Pope. It's just the way real Christianity works.

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JGuy Grungeman

Heehee. You're blend of uneducated views and simple insults is starting to get funny.

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I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.

JGuy Grungeman

If you want to know what I believe, here we go.

Ten Commandments
Golden Rule
Don't associate myself with anti-Christianity or Satanism

It may sound like I don't get to do what I want, but after being taught why these things are wrong and how they affect other people, I don't really want to disobey God, not out of fear, but because I like to be nice and because I kinda really like God. I view God not only as a God, but as a parent and a teacher who lets me go through the aftermath of my mistakes so I can learn from them... if I'm willing to learn. And I still have learning I need to do. I don't expect to be perfect by the time I die, but I'll get as close as I can.

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I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.

The Batlord

Nah, you're just so stuck on your religion that actually believes in demons that you never grokked the idea that everything you believe in is nonsense.

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JGuy Grungeman

I've questioned it, but I've had some damn good explanations for what I believe. And it's not a simple "Jesus loves you." But I'm too "engrossed" in a soul album I'm listening to to discuss this any further.

I thought anyone could believe what they want. I'm not telling you to believe what I believe. Do I believe the way I follow is he right way? Well, I believe I am learning about the right way. And to be honest, I like leatning about it. A lot. It's not because I'm told to believe it.

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I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.

kibbeh

i think demons or demon ghosts might be real. i was once making noodles and i SWEAR i didn't cover the pan... but i turned around and it was covered. there's no other explanation sorry man.

Zhanteimi

It's all about identity and right relationships. It's about getting to the point where you understand that what you want dovetails with what you need.

Therein lies a deep mystery of Christianity.