the vibe economy

Elon Musk recently told Tesla executives he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy, so he wants to pause hiring and cut the company’s workforce. This is perhaps not the best way to run a business, but it is indicative of the current mood — a lot of people have a sense that something’s just off in the economy, or it’s about to be. There’s this ... See more

“More and more young, intellectually inclined, and politically heterodox thinkers are showing disillusionment with the contemporary faith in technocracy and personal autonomy. They see this combination as having contributed to the fundamentally alienating character of modern Western life. The chipper, distinctly liberal optimism of rationalist cult... See more

This contributes to what Agnes Callard coins the “locomotive” character that has pervaded modern tourism:

“I went to France.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to the Louvre.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to see the ‘Mona Lisa.’ ” That is, before quickly moving on: apparently, many people spend just fifteen seconds looking at the

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The vibes are off, but they’re off fundamentally because they focus only on feelings and emotional connections that have already existed. They don’t provide or imagine pathways to new futures; they allow only for an understanding of what feels good or bad based on experiences that have already happened, things that have already been seen.

In other w... See more

I've noticed that people no longer say the vibe has 'shifted,' instead they are saying it has, variously:

sloped

slimed

slumped

shot upwards mysteriously

slunk sideways, tho unsheepishly

sublimed

slonked (as of eggs)

slackened minutely

slumber-partied back into the future

A vibecession is the idea of a disconnect between consumer sentiment and economic data. So basically, the economy is doing fine, but people are absolutely not feeling fine.