Capitalism Actually Sucks?
Private equity is bad for society
Chris didn’t answer the question he was asked to answer in that interview for the simple reason that Substack as a corporation (not as a group of individuals) is ambivalent on the subjects of racism, antisemitism, misogyny, Islamophobia, bigotry against the LGBTQIA+ community, ableism, ageism, and so on. Your plan is to try to corral the racists in
... See moreIsmatu Gwendolyn • Substack Has a N*gger Problem.
I understand this warped ideology, but it’s cheap. It’s true that you can’t eliminate racism one social platform at a time, so why try that approach, let’s just have the algorithm due the work for us. But 1) that approach has failed as indicated by the countless nasty racist comments non-racists get in their own ‘community’ and 2) as a company you should have values. If non-racism isn’t one just say that.
When I first started writing on here, I felt like the values were ideas, quality writing, and honesty, but now writers seem to be rewarded for algo hacks like posting on a schedule, commenting, liking, restacking. The distortion of purpose, which may have originally been to “meaningfully contribute to discussion or take pride in the quality of one’
... See moreCydney Hayes • The Elite Capture of Substack
Companies start of with good intentions but tend to forsake their values and sell their souls to play the game of growth ($)
Again I’m talking about ethical wealth creation. I’m not talking about monopolies. I’m not talking about crony capitalism. I’m not talking about mispriced externalities like the environment. I’m talking about free minds, and free markets. Small-scale exchange between humans that’s voluntary, and doesn’t have an outsized impact on others.
nav.al • How to Get Rich: Every Episode
Sometimes, the problem is not of individual resilience but of flawed systems breaking down. Humans have the tendency to ascribe flaws to the people around us.
Harvard Business Review • “Resilient” Isn’t the Compliment You Think It Is
Yet, capitalism benefits from blaming it on individual responsibility.
Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban bo
... See moreNeil Postman • Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Amazing intro and summary of differences between Orwell and Huxley.
I would wager that the most common goal of a Substack writer is to accumulate enough paid subscribers that they can quit their day job and write for themselves full time. It says as much in the Notes announcement. For any writer on here, that would obviously be great, but that’s not how social media companies set things up to work, and despite the
... See more