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recent bookmarks from robertogrecoDoes modernisation erase cultural difference – or amplify it? | Psyche Ideas2026-07-08T20:44:36+00:00
https://psyche.co/ideas/does-modernisation-erase-cultural-difference-or-amplify-it
robertogrecothomastalhelm modernity modernization china culture differnece 2026 perú flattening homogenization rice wheat farming demographics values perspective worldview diversity capitalism psychology bolivia democracy collectivism individualism weird us southhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:85732bf846d2/Italy's Radical Solution to Extreme Inequality - YouTube2026-07-05T05:51:03+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQMZR64G_eM
robertogrecoeconomics cooperatives emilia-romagna emiliaromagna reggioemilia labor work hierarchy 2025 moreperfect union inequality workers ownership power equality production italia italy verazamagni business consolidation billionaires socialism mussolini benitomussolini fascism control grassroots governance resistance corporations corporatism legcoop law legal profits history coops wealth social socialcoops socialcooperatives decisionmaking finance snupotapinassi privateequity firenze florence marcora marcoralaw francescoborgomeo struggle solidarity globalization johnrussell democracy ilariabertinelli rural farming farmers agriculture stefanocacchioli paolobarbieri cplconcordia sharing cooperation community society danielemontroni wealthhoarding manufacturing collaborationhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:4f8fbdffb840/Mapping the ADL’s Origins in Settler-Colonial Liberalism, State Power, & Civil Rights as Cover... - YouTube2026-07-04T06:17:35+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ZWnjnN7Vc
robertogrecomakc emmaiagelman adl antidefamationleague settlercolonialism zionism israel history neoconservatism mccarthyism zionistmccarthyism settlements us politics policing antisemitism 1951 1906 racism race palestine whiteness whitesupremacy antiarab 1946 ethelrosenberg juliusrosenberg rosenbergs coldwar antileft anticommunism arableague 1967 liberalism liberals liberalzionism redlining self-determination identity identitypolitics class socialism neoliberalism colonialism colonization dispossession redscare josephmccarthy blackpower civilrights progressivism antiterror war waronterror terrorism indigenous indigeneity democracy supremacy liberalcapitalism individualism colonialliberalism antisocialism judaism elites elitism power lawandorder americanization jonathangreenblatt sovietunion ussr witchhunts 1950s hillel americanjewishcommittee violence americanism racialcapitalism values 1968 1969 nyc publicschools education highered fordfoundation highereducation colleges universities academia uft bayardrustin left aphihttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:80e88766485a/Citations Needed: News Brief: Despite 9-Figure Infusion from Silicon Valley, Abundance Still Seeks Popular Support2026-07-02T01:36:19+00:00
https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/news-brief-despite-9-figure-infusion-from-silicon-valley-abundance-still-seeks-popular-support
robertogrecocintationsneeded abundance abundancemovement abundancenetwork billionaires neoliberalism capitalism economics democrats elections dylangyauch-lewis revolvingdoorproject abundanceinstitute regulation deregulation siliconvalley chrislarsen accountability greatmantheory power maga donaldtrump datacenters ai artificialintelligence abundanceagenda sanfrancisco thinktanks 2026 yimby yimbyism yimbys unions policy federalistsociety libertarianism washingtondc left nyc degrowth ideology cities nimby environment growth nimbys meta facebook energy infrastructure democracy fundraising dogma zackrosen californiayimby housing landlords steveballmer andrewcarnegie philanthropicindustrialcomplex philanthropy charitableindustrialcomplex charities dustinmoskovitz johnarnold mattyglesias billgates populism crypto cryptocurrencies law legal inequality manhattaninstitute mississippi mississippimiracle education schools schooling califorina privatization nimbyismhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:4e1a13eadbd2/We Uncovered The Master Plan That Peter Thiel Doesn't Want You To See - YouTube2026-07-01T07:23:08+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iLf2h_fo-w
robertogreconetworkstate power governance 2026 peterthiel palantir us politics gaza venezuela datacenters gilduran nerdreich billionaires oligarchy democracy deregulation corporations corporatism seanmorrow seasteading patrifriedman miltonfriedman seasteadinginstitute libertarianism joelonsdale siliconvalley thesovereignindividualy monarchism authoritarianism jamesdaledavidson williamrees-mogg 1997 crypto cryptocurrencies ai artificialintelligence automation work workers labor tescreal transhumanism extropianism singularitarianism singularity californiacommonsense cosmism opengov rationalism effectivealtruism longtermism ghislainemaxwell sandysprings privatization battleground newfounding highlandrim californiaforever samaltman reidhoffman marcandreessen solanocounty technology bigtech 8vc govtech surveillance drones weapons elonmusk donaldtrump maga trumpism government fear ciceroinstitute forcedlabor balajisrinivasan sanfrancisco chesaboudin panic doominfluencers pronomoscapital próspera roatán honduras greenlandhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:3ba7434ee705/The Richest Country Is Pretty Mid Now - YouTube2026-06-28T22:50:35+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FZy1lBNykA
robertogrecobennjordan leveragism capitalism internet online google gemini ai artificialintelligence aibubble journalism rugpulls authoritarianism elonmusk donaldtrump spacex israel gaza anarchism economics economy integrity finance ip intellectualproperty well-being wellbeing precarity gold debt politics us bigtech spotify suno streaming law legal happiness fuckyoumoney inequality money labor wealth laborreflexivity growth borders border privateequity libertarianism tescreal nerdreich peterthiel billackman rulingclass transhumanism extropianism singularitarianism singularity xenophobia inflation extraction rationalism oligarchy larryellison markzuckerberg jeffbezos effectivealtruism longtermism governance government democracy poverty work police policing iranwar austerity retirement maga trumpism muskism wallstreet stockmarket nasdaq indexfunds 401k leverage power policy autonomy obesity surveillance survival fear ice bronnieware life living courage death guatemala coca-cola unions wisdom pollution environment humanrighhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:e8e53f65ef4f/The Algorithmic Order2026-06-27T06:22:48+00:00
https://2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/the-algorithmic-order/
robertogrecoaudreywatters 2026 edtech technology education schools schooling standardizedtesting testing coding natashasinger google chromebooks politics policy high-stakestesting rossweiner nclb educationreform reform teaching curriculum learning howwelearn howweteach pedagogy democracy technocracy australia uk us canada texasideology californianideology fredturner secularism christianity whitesupremacy surveillance military extraction extractivism texas bible individualism libertarianism neoliberalism mooc moocs quinnslobodian bentarnoff muskism fordism elonmusk henryford spacex starlink southafrica business society capitalism sciencefiction scifi futurism ailiteracy literacy ai artificialintelligence benwilliamson arjunappadurai theobaker stanford universities colleges highereducation highered academia lmsacasas emilybender nannainue language anthropomorphization socialmedia moralpanic regulation deregulationhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:dc6b54329945/Opinion | The ‘No Child Left Behind’ Nostalgia Is Delusional - The New York Times2026-06-27T06:13:44+00:00
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/opinion/schools-testing-accountability.html
robertogrecoFor a generation, the reform coalition took its validation from economists and accountability metrics, while treating parents, students and communities as mere functionaries rather than partners in a shared civic enterprise.
Taking their priorities seriously would mean broadening what we expect from the classroom. Schools should put what students can do on equal footing with what they know, embedding real skills in academic learning rather than leaving them to chance or sequencing them to later in life. Schools should reconnect with the communities they serve, so young people learn through and about the places where they live. And they should reanimate the character-forming, developmental mission a pluralistic democracy requires.
Federal policy has an essential role to play in public education: protecting civil rights, funding quality data and research, and encouraging promising practices to spread. But the formative mission cannot be mandated by Washington. Belonging, the foundation of both learning and civic commitment, is relational and starts local; it cannot be standardized or scaled, but must be cultivated by schools that are responsive to the communities they serve.
It’s not a fully-fleshed out vision for education, to be sure, but it does gesture at something quite different from the technocratic one that schools have spent the last few decades delivering -- and delivering via education technology, via a machinery that shapes the form and increasingly the content, the curricula and the pedagogy. Funny, for all the invocation of "the future of education" from ed-tech evangelists and testing companies and politicians, they're almost always talking about the past, or at least about much older narratives of what that future might look like. (And in doing so, they ignore that computers have been ubiquitous in classrooms for a very very long time now.)"]]]>rosswiener education schools schooling nclb 2026 audrey watters policy schoolreform reform civilrights technocracy pedagogy curriculum edtech teaching howweteach democracy belonging civics pluralism academics learning howwelearnhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:b31695b25cce/Q&A: Glen Galaich on his new philanthropy book, 'Control'2026-06-27T04:31:19+00:00
https://missionlocal.org/2026/06/glen-galaich-control-book-stupski-foundation/
robertogrecoglengalaich joerivanobarros 2026 charitableindustrialcomplex philanthropicindustrialcomplex philanthropy charities charity taxes taxavoidance taxevasion siliconvalley sanfrancisco control power inequality foundations andrewcarnegie robberbarons gildedage democracy oligarchy billionaires johndrockefeller society socialsafetynet incometax robertreich 2020 georgefloyd sergeybrin larrypage markzuckerberg jeffbezos ibramkendi conversiontherapy health healthcare publichealth influence wealth 2017 2018 2019 2001 economics economy alfredsloan russellsage jaypritzker conradhilton historyhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:48f54a41663c/Pope Leo XIV's 'Magnifica humanitas' (with Jack Hanson) - Know Your Enemy - Apple Podcasts2026-06-26T08:30:11+00:00
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pope-leo-xivs-magnifica-humanitas-w-jack-hanson/id1462703434?i=1000773716438
robertogrecomagnificahumanitas 2026 popeleoxiv rerumnovarum popeleoxiii jackhanson donnaharraway cyborgs ai artificialintelligence humanism humanity reinholdniebuhr catholicchurch catholicism nature destiny human humans workers work labor augustinianism augustine staugustine saintaugustine society michaeloakenshott knowyourenemy war greed religion popefrancis us michaeloakeshott commonweal charlespéguy modernity profit capitalism privateproperty property authoritarianism democracy jdvance donaldtrump samadler-bell matthewsitman poverty augustinians sharing theology stevebannon latinamerica perú vaticanii vatican tradcatholicism globalsouth thirdworld humanrights global liberaldemocracy religiousfreedom freedomofreligion popebenedictxvi scripture thomasaquinas justice humandignity economics democraticsocialism politics adrianvermeule 1891 1937 1983 1985 discernment darioamodei anthropic antoniospadaro peterthiel towerofbabel language english audience desire homogenization tension growth friction mortality time placehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:e0ae7f0359ad/The Gravitational Force of Tech Money - by Dave Karpf2026-06-26T07:19:52+00:00
https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/the-gravitational-force-of-tech-money
robertogrecodavekarpf 2026 technology inequality capital elonmiusk billionaires siliconvalley tesla spacex marcandreessen democracy bigtech google amazon meta facebook comcast bankofamerica donaldtrump joebiden economics economy billackman peterthiel sambankman-fried ronanfarrow mattlevine ryanmac davidfahrenthold wealth nealstephensonhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:b5044af26c47/Full article: Liberal crisis machine: The Hewlett Foundation in the era of polycrisis philanthropy2026-06-26T07:11:37+00:00
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2026.2650057
robertogrecous hegemony neoliberalism latecapitalism post-neoliberalism polycrisis crisis hewlettfoundation philanthropicindustrialcomplex philanthropy charitableindustrialcomplex charities charity technocracy neutrality liberalism radicalchange change china thinktanks academia state democracy polarization politics policy inequity inequality farright rightwing donaldtrump inderjeetparmarhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:02fa4aeea4e7/AI Was Never About Helping You | Cory Doctorow - YouTube2026-06-26T06:40:07+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPQNPJ0CEPo
robertogrecocorydoctorow charliewarzel 2026 ai artificialintelligence aibubble aircanada aihype accountability oligarchy democracy psychology power enshittification growthhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:20fc6022da2c/The Cult of Optimization2026-06-26T00:41:11+00:00
https://www.theideasletter.org/essay/the-cult-of-optimization/
robertogrecophiltinline 2026 optimization measurement quantification georgedantzig economics engineering algorithms objectivity judgement joaquimmartins andrewning diversification finance modeling 2021 leighhunt 1817 danwang china theodoreporter science publiclife corporations operations ideology governance democracy socialmedia tracking gilduran networkstate nerdreich technooptimism marcandreessen siliconvalley mattyglesias quantifiedself kevinkelly technology technosolutionism karlpopper 1945 friedrichhayek maxhorkheimer theodoradorno technofeudalism standardeconomicmodel evgenymorozov complexity johndrockefeller charlesdarwin socialdarwinism andrewcarnegie robberbarrons richardhofstadter business whitesupremacy imperialism eugenics standardoil us government friedrichvonhayek modernity rationalism rationality society policyhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:3458830a446e/Mar de Dudas: Conversaciones para navegar el desconcierto con Carlos Bravo Regidor • The Ideas Letter Podcast: A project of the Open Society Foundations2026-06-25T23:54:55+00:00
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1s4lZhoC8mA8mFYsp7L3ea
robertogrecocarlosbravoregidor 2026 2016 donaldtrump liberalism neoliberalism gatopardo mardedudas francisfukuyama nadiaurbinati danielinnerarity federicofinchelstein pablostefanoni rafaelrojas margaretmacmillan ivankrastev sofiarosenfeld rebeccasolnit lauragamboa marioarriagada endofhistory doubt intelligence 1990s paxamericana brasil brazil argentina elsalvador brankomilanović inequality mexico nafta democracy liberaldemocracy representation redistribution politics economics economy governance commonsense 2025 2020 2021 transparency perú chile spain españa italia italy silvioberlusconi hillaryclinton technocracy eattherich wealth populism culture culturalcapital eu europe elitism latinamerica javiermilei chavismo peronism peronismo right farright rightwing left posttruth socialmedia joséortegaygasset capitalism freetrade cristinakirchner albertofernández marinelepen giorgiameloni welfarestate libertarianism ideology friedrichhayek friedrichvonhayek jairbolsonaro nayibbukelehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:3ba467233a0a/Attack of the Trillionaire: Elon Musk's Fascist Clown Car2026-06-25T08:27:19+00:00
https://www.thenerdreich.com/attack-of-the-trillionaire/
robertogreconerdreich davekarpf 2026 elonmusk palantir spacex fascism argentina javiermilei donaldtrump maga deregulation tesla billionaires usaid muskism privatization governance government us siliconvalley marcandreessen georgewbush ftc sec twitter technology crypto cryptocurrencies alexkarp petehegseth anthropic ai artificialintelligence labor work aibubble edzitron democracy democrats republicans surveillance mussolini benitomussolini ruthben-ghiat robertpaxton jasonstanley technofaschism polymarket memestocks kalshi gambling society propaganda mattmahan california media networkstate elsalvador balajisrinivasan newzealand antichrist jdvance thesovereignindividual aynrand libertarianism meta finance californiaforever solanocounty gretchenwhitmer michigan georgia missouri utah datacenters northcarolina google bigdata data andreessenhorowitz a16z gavinnewsom garrytan jebbush curtisyarvinhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:7bed6769c1d3/The Problems With Democracy - YouTube2026-06-18T02:37:27+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5JEJ_L_Zjg
robertogrecoandrewism 2026 democracy anarchy anarchism society athens mikhailbakunin williamgillis davidgraeber socialism murraybookchin robertdahl freedom bobblack scottpage shawnwilbur oligarchy authoritarianism dictatorship urigordon statism state stateviolence left leftism representativedemocracy andrewsage consensus decisionmaking zapatistas authority decentralization participatory participation governance government lorenzokom'boaervin wayneprice kevincarson lucyparsons pierre-josephproudhon proudhon oscarwilde rulership power rule autonomy hierarchyhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:4d78cd0a64b7/In Defense of Our Country: On the Need to Resist AI and AI Data Centers - Front Porch Republic2026-06-17T10:41:15+00:00
https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2026/06/in-defense-of-our-country-on-the-need-to-resist-ai-and-ai-data-centers/
robertogrecoteddymacker ai artificialintelligence resistance datacenters 2026 local us constitution thomasjefferson johnadams vaclavhavel tonimorrison ebwhite robertsinsheimer robertellsberg philipsherrard thichnhathanh gandhi technology chatgpt cognition cognitivesurrender anthropic darioamodei jimfarley lilashroff berniesanders tuckercarlson rondesantis aoc alexandriaocasio-cortez davidorr democracy automation humanity human humans humanism transhumanism tescreal elonmusk guillaumeverdon consciousness nickland samaltman stuartrussell michaeltoscano china pierreteilharddechardin land understanding revolution danielpolikoff aloneness hustonsmith jaronlanier trust society relationships work lanor simonweil erwinchargaff jessejenkins openai robertdavieshttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:ffa1c0086ad4/Matthew Butterick | Extinction-level capitalism2026-06-17T10:06:00+00:00
https://matthewbutterick.com/extinction-level-capitalism.html
robertogrecomatthewbutterick capitalism ai artificialintelligence spacex openai anthropic elonmusk capital philosophy government politics politicaleconomy technology luddism luddites brianmerchant economics samaltman darioamodei billgate marcandreessen technooptimism well-being wellbeing society history langdonwinner policy democracy liberaldemocracy liberalism environment gildedage inequality opec johnlocke illiberaldemocracy latecapitalism jamesglabraith robertreich karlmarx mancurolson skynet stephenhawking sciencefiction scifi nickborstom stuartrussell engineering reclamation west governance power control usexceptionalism americanexceptionalism bigai google carlbenediktfrey law legal edzitron labor work workers wages employment unemployment greatdepression taxes taxation markets revolution technofuedalism venezuela hugochávez nicolásmaduro randynewman communism property industrialrevolution resistance citizenship knowledgework gdp productivity erikbrynjolfsson knowledgeworkers biglaw llms resources norway humanhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:5e1b267caf28/Radical Abundance - Future Observatory Journal2026-06-15T00:18:07+00:00
https://fojournal.org/interview/radical-abundance/
robertogrecoInstead of giving money to the private sector, why not give money to workers and communities who themselves are already using these assets, know how they work, know the territories, have the networks and so on, to allow them to provide their own services, assets and resources. That’s one part of what a public–common partnership is. […]
We need to transition away from monocultural food systems, industrialised food systems, towards something more biodiverse – what’s called agroecology. […]
I’m very aware that what we’re talking about here is generating ‘surpluses’ and using them to invest in the production of new things. That does sound quite capitalist, right? But we’re going back to this idea of contested reproduction – that in these moments of transition, there will not be a clear break where we have organised socialist production. We’re going to have to empower each other to step away from capital for our collective reproduction. And in those moments, capitalist and socialist dynamics will exist side by side."
See also:
"Radical Abundance: How to Win a Green Democratic Future, by Kai Heron, Keir Milburn and Bertie Russell"
https://www.plutobooks.com/product/radical-abundance/
"A blueprint for escaping capitalism and creating a world of true abundance
‘Rigorously argued and radically hopeful’ – Grace Blakeley, author of Vulture Capitalism
‘Indispensable … resets the terms of left debate’ – Jodi Dean, author of Capital’s Grave
Capitalism has created a world of bullshit abundance, where we have too much of what we don’t need and too little of what we do. Through this system’s pursuit of profits, we have been put on a collision course with social and ecological limits that can no longer be ignored.
We need an alternative. We need radical abundance. A world of human and non-human flourishing made possible by democratically planned production. But radical abundance can’t just be voted into existence through parliamentary means, it must be made by taking control of our collective reproduction in the here and now.
Packed with fascinating research and real-life examples of communal planning and resistance, this book will convince you that a better future is possible, if we want it.
AUTHORS
Kai Heron is a political organiser, trade unionist, and Lecturer in Political Ecology at Lancaster University. He is the co-editor of the De Gruyter Degrowth Handbook (2024) and has published widely on the politics of green transitions, political theory, and political economy in academic journals and in popular outlets including New Statesman, Sidecar, Jacobin, e-flux, Rupture, and Spectre. He is a co-director of the action-research organisation Abundance.
Keir Milburn is a writer, researcher, and activist. He has a background as an academic in political economy and organisational theory. He has written over a hundred articles and book chapters in venues ranging from academic journals, such as Urban Studies, to media commentary in outlets such as The Guardian, The Independent, and The Nation. His book Generation Left provoked debate across several countries on generational political divides driven, in part, by generational imbalances in asset ownership. He is co-director of the action-research organisation Abundance.
Bertie Russell is a Research Fellow at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is an activist-researcher with a focus on radical municipalism, urban commons, economic democracy, public-common partnerships and co-production. He is co-editor of the forthcoming book Radical Municipalism: The Politics of the Common and the Democratization of Public Services (2026), and co-director of the action-research organisation Abundance.
CONTENTS
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: From Bullshit Abundance to Radical Abundance
Part I
2. The Necessity of Transition
3. Instituting Popular Protagonism
4. Denial and Derisking
Part II
5. Public-Common Partnerships
6. Urban Development
7. Pharmaceuticals
8. Food Systems
9. Conclusion: Futures
Notes
Bibliography"]]]>radicalabundance justinmcguirk 2026 capitalism kaiheron keirmilburn bertierussell abundance democracy scarcity degrowthhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:ce807aa89e8e/New Documents Detail Nine-Figure, Silicon Valley–Funded Abundance Movement - The American Prospect2026-06-14T20:21:38+00:00
https://prospect.org/2026/06/12/new-documents-detail-nine-figure-silicon-valley-funded-abundance-movement/
robertogrecoabundance abundancemovement abundancenetwork 2026 yimby yimbys yimbyism dylangyauch-lewis oligarchy politics conservatives sanfrancisco conservatism londonbreed zackrosen astroturfing dustinmoskovitz johnarnold steveballmer kawhileonard coefficientgiving openphilanthropy jenniferpahlka chrislarsen donaldtrump maga ripple phoenixproject siliconvalley jeremymack astroturfnetwork markzuckerberg patrickcollison kenduda jedmccaleb jefflawson johnwolthuis abundantsf cheseaboudin progressive progressivism nancypelosi conniechan scottwiener mississippi mississippimiracle newjersey schools publiceducation schooling policy virginia pennsylvania louisiana florida texas greatmantheory howarddean democracy mishachellam ezraklein derekthompson jerusalemdesmas steveteles nathanstraus via:javierarbona abundanceagenda michaelbloomberg recodingamericafundhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:0cabd38a20f5/The Issue of Israel Is Ending Democracy In Michigan2026-06-13T01:51:12+00:00
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/university-michigan-palestine-protests-federal-indictments-nessel-sayed
robertogrecoisrael palestine genocide ethniccleansing freedomofspeech freespeech us politics democracy democrats donaldtrump ryangrim tomperkins zionistmccarthyism mccarthyism redscare dsa highered highereducation academia colleges universities universityofmichigan aipac abdulel-sayed elisavit dananessel repression resistance lawfare houdaberri-harajli zionism santaono criminalization bds chipgibbons dissent civilrights jordanacker amirmakled tahrir establishment dylanwegela power elections progressivismhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:bfabdf56ab23/Let’s save the Enlightenment baby from its muddied bathwater | Aeon Essays2026-06-12T02:11:29+00:00
https://aeon.co/essays/lets-save-the-enlightenment-baby-from-its-muddied-bathwater
robertogreco2026 enlightenment elianeglaser emmanueleze charlesmills kehindeandrews kant johnlocke voltaire davidhume henrydundas progress willhutton justice accountability socialfairness science siliconvalley peterthiel jdvance curtisyarvin darkenlightenment democracy equality inequality stevenpinker reason humanism globalsouth left leftists socialjustice davidbell economics power misinformation disinformation deepfakes ai artificialintelligence kateclanchy zizek intellectualhumility humility josephwright jeanlerondd'alembert montesquieu adamsmith jameshutton thomasreid mosesmendelssohn dorindaoutram marywollstonecraft angelasaini carllinnaeus humanity rousseau hierarchy hierarchies haiti china altruism humanitarianism jonathanisrael slavery abolition webdubois anticolonialism richardwhatmore discord frenchrevolution donaldtrump tolerance identitarians nationalism petergay ethnocentrism morality universalism objecttivity society corporations corporatism billionaires eleanorroosevelt humanrights pcchang totalitarianism thttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:4596863a6be8/The $30M nonprofit quietly fueling Lurie’s domination of City Hall | The San Francisco Standard2026-06-12T00:39:44+00:00
https://sfstandard.com/2026/06/11/mayor-daniel-lurie-nonprofit-money-campaign-finance-believe-in-sf/
robertogrecosanfrancisco democracy governance government daniellurie gabriellorenzogreschler nonprofit nonprofits charitableindustrialcomplex philanthropy charity charities philanthropicindustrialcomplex catiestweart politics believeinsf adamclammer alecperkins themediacompany dannewman brianbrokaw williebrown joemontana homelessness homeless boosterism policy mentalhealth addiction housing publictransit permitting deregulation emilymatthews charleslutvak alanwong jankoum money influencehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:79a96d966b9e/A Much-Needed Reaction to The Dark Enlightenment - Front Porch Republic2026-06-11T23:20:25+00:00
https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2026/06/a-much-needed-reaction-to-the-dark-enlightenment/
robertogrecoWe can secede by removing children from state-run schools, converting currency into gold or cryptocurrency, relocating to states with lower taxes, obtaining a second passport, or expatriating to a tax haven. We can secede, and many have, by joining gated communities to create private governments in miniature.
If laws get in the way of tech oligarchs’ desires, they can “exit” and find a new land where they make their own rules. One in which the “creators” of the bold synthetic future are singularly capable of making history. At its most extreme, its advocates propose breaking society into tiny states, each governed by a CEO (what Slobodian calls zones). Some proponents support racial separation, with the belief that “elites” will enhance the IQs of their progeny if they associate and breed with each other. This dark enlightenment view envisions a future where dominant humans merge with machines and achieve superintelligence.
It is no accident that the Pope opens the encyclical with a contrast between two familiar biblical passages—the Tower of Babel and the rebuilding of the city wall in Nehemiah. In the Tower of Babel story, the Pope highlights the fallacy of building a tower that could reach heaven, but he locates its problematic nature not as an arrogance of wanting to know the true nature of God, but as hubris through expecting that humans can create an artifact that overrides the diversity of the human creation. The other story Pope Leo invokes is the book of Nehemiah, one that foregrounds our shared obligations to one another and the importance of the entire community in building.
I read this passage and imagined that, as the kids say (or said? I can’t keep up with the latest lingo), Pope Leo was “subtweeting” Peter Thiel. When Thiel proclaims, “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible,” he is offering a view that the diverse political community may undermine his ability to build his own Tower of Babel. Freedom for the dark enlightenment school suggests that if calls to slow down AI development conflict with elite aims, those calls must be sidelined for the good of technological advance.
This desire to reduce liberalism to economic liberalism is taken to its extreme in the dark enlightenment. This philosophy advocates the acceleration of capitalism and technology even if that goes against popular will or liberal rights protections. Because proponents of this view prioritize the agency of techno-capitalism, they advocate for the rule of techno-corporate power unimpeded by a view of democracy that restricts innovation and freedom.
This perspective is amplified by Marc Andreesen’s “Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” where he chides those skeptical of AI as lacking in boldness. His call to “conquer” nature through technological advance has Tower of Babel echoes. When he declares in his manifesto: “we believe in nature, but we also believe in overcoming nature. We are not primitives cowering in fear of the lightning bolt; we are the apex predator. The lightning works for us,” he is placing a dangerously outsized faith in the ability of science and technology to solve the world’s problems.
The idea that liberal democracy and the messiness of diversity of opinion produces feckless outcomes is not a new Idea. Dark enlightenment thinkers are inspired by readings (mis-readings) of a broad set of thinkers, such as Nietzsche, Deleuze and Guattari, Bataille, and the Italian Futurists. Undoubtedly a dark enlightenment view appeals to some because it is transgressive and shocking. There’s a punk element to upsetting the normies. With Italian Futurism, there is something thrilling about the promise of living on the moon or having robot helpers. Compared to the messy and frustrating work of consensus building in liberal democracies, techo-authoritarianism has the effervescence of technological advance. How does sclerotic bureaucracy and deliberation compete with “move fast and break things”?
Yet competing with it is exactly what Pope Leo is asking us to do. In the section “Building for the common good,” Pope Leo calls for
accepting the limits and weakness of humanity without considering them an error to be corrected. Today, the human desire for fullness of life is at risk of being misled by deceitful goals, such as the prospect of a technology that promises to free us from all weakness, and models of wellbeing that leave behind entire populations.
Our current tech-oligarchs aren’t the Carnegies building libraries and museums for the public good. They aren’t even the Bill Gates of a decade ago, investing in mosquito nets to prevent malaria. For that matter they aren’t even who they were ten years ago when Jeff Bezos was investing millions to work to eradicate global climate change.
It is worth noting that the encyclical is not anti-AI. It gives the remarkable advances of large language models over the last three years their due. But the important thing it does is situate these advances within a broader call to ensure that they serve the common good, even if that vision of the common good conflicts with those drawn to the dark enlightenment."]]>josémarichal popeleoxiv encyclicals 2026 darkenlightenment society technofascism politics quinnslobodian democracy capitalism oligarchy technooligarchy peterthiel marcandreessen technooptimism ai artificialintelligence italianfuturists italianfuturism futurism authoritarianism technofeudalism nietzsche deleuze gilledeleuze deleuze&guattari guattari félixguattari bataille jeffbezos llms billgates climate climatechange globalwarming commongood catholicchurch catholicism accelerationism tescreal transhumanism singularitarianism singularity cosmism extropianism effectivealtruism rationalism longtermism crypto cryptocurrencies magnificahumanitas towerofbabel elitism freedomhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:8978fa1c2db5/"Tech-Driven Prosperity & Right-Wing Racist Politics": Quinn Slobodian on Elon Musk and SpaceX IPO - YouTube2026-06-09T21:55:54+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMzjr39F1g
robertogreco2026 quinnslobodian elonmusk spacex power wealth ideology politics us rightwing farright governance government democracy infrastructure technofascism ai artificialintelligence business technology tescrealhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:8eec5576a11c/Opinioni | Educare è un atto politico | Corriere.it2026-06-09T07:15:18+00:00
https://www.corriere.it/opinioni/26_maggio_22/educare-e-un-atto-politico-8a22c14f-d58c-4a60-b3cf-807949c16xlk.shtml
robertogrecoschools schooling education democracy francescoprofumo 2026 politics reggioemilia society covilsociety civics politicaleducation polarization war fragmentization cohesion complexity difference differences diveristy conflict dialog citizens publicspace socialmedia reactionaries reflection simplification purpose inequality collaboration respect community inclusion inclusivity pedagogy howweteach teaching lorismalaguzzi ai artificialintelligence empathy criticalthinking cooperation responsibility culturalcriticism culture socialcohesionhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:0e68dd3bd533/The Education of Pope Leo XIV | Greg Grandin | The New York Review of Books2026-06-08T21:14:26+00:00
https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/05/24/the-education-of-pope-leo-xiv/
robertogrecogreggrandin 2026 popeleoxiv liberationtheology latinamerica catholicchurch catholicism religion culture politics history perú popejohnpaulii aymara quechua eliseannallen gustavogutiérrez poverty poor solidarity richardnixon henrykissinger josephratzinger inquisition popebenedictxvi ronaldreagan communism economics theology marxism ethics liberation ecuador africa asia chulcanas indigeneity indigenous insurgency piura cristocampesino albertofujimori shocktherapy pinochet chile fukishock robertprevost leonardoboff picconecamere opusdai divinity capitalism rerumnovarum 1891 popeleoxiii encyclicals sodaliciodevidacristiana luisfernandofigari brazil brasil colombia argentina shiningpath humanrights augustinians óscarromero elsalvador jesuits conservatism birthcontrol celibacy divorce juancarlosscannone dictatorship orlandoyorio franciscojalics dirtywar peronismo buenosaires democracy centrists centralism newright sodalites joséreydecastro sodalitium sodalicio carloscastillo joséluisdepalacio popefrahttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:139f8082792f/Video - Global Justice Project2026-06-08T05:07:00+00:00
https://globaljusticeproject.wid.world/video/
robertogreco“I’ve got something he can never have.”
And I said, “What on earth could that be, Joe?”
And Joe said, “The knowledge that I’ve got enough.”
That, in essence, is the theme behind on of the most important reports on climate change and global economics that anyone has produced in decades. It’s a model for Democrats to use to challenge the Heritage Foundation Project 2025. It’s written by brilliant and widely respected economists and climate scientists.
And it’s been largely ignored by the news media in the United States.
You can watch a video here that explains the basics. The world needs to redefine what is meant by income and prosperity. We need, as a global society, to shift to a model where we don’t consume more than we need, and the bottom half of humanity sees its share of wealth and income rise from 2 percent to 30 percent:
Against the bleak techno-authoritarian futures now being sold to us, a radical new vision for global progress in the 21st century feels urgently needed. The most credible vision is one in which the habitability of the planet is a precondition for human development and equality.
Our new report examines the conditions required for the world to progress towards this ambition on an economically and ecologically compatible path, by the end of the century.
Its conclusion? A global transformation that reconciles planetary habitability and high standards of wellbeing for all is possible – as long as three conditions are simultaneously met. Fast decarbonisation of energy systems is necessary. But we also need a major shift away from overconsumption towards “sufficiency”. This would involve a sharp reduction in labour hours and the use of raw materials, along with big changes in consumption patterns, food habits, land use and forest cover. Financing and politically sustaining decarbonisation and sufficiency will require a drastic reduction in inequality of income, wealth and power, between countries and within them. This reduction of global inequality is compatible with deep decarbonisation; indeed, it is a necessary condition for shared prosperity on a finite planet.
Note that the report does not discuss or demand any particular political system; it’s not about socialism, communism, capitalism, about European or US style electoral democracy … it’s just about economic and climate sanity.
It’s about the fact that nobody needs $100 billion, and that overconsumption is making the planet uninhabitable, and that a much better alternative exists, is feasible, will save humanity, and just takes collective will.
The New York Times has ignored it. The Washington Post has ignored it. The LA Times has ignored it. The SF Chronicle has ignored it. No national TV news outlet has covered it. Only the UK Guardian and Le Monde have reported on its profound conclusions, all of which are backed up by extensive, demonstrative data.
I will be honest here: This is never going to happen when most of the globe is currently living in a state of plutocracy, where a few radically greedy oligarchs control not only most of the wealth but most of the political influence.
Still: Even 20 years ago, the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 would have been dismissed as the works of a few far-right crackpots. Now it’s the law of the land.
I think it is more than fair to ask anyone running for any political office at the local, state, or national level to read the report and tell us if they agree and what they would do to implement its findings."]]]>2026 inequality justice taxes taxation climate climatechange globalwarming prosperity globaljusticproject lucaschancel thomaspiketty rowaidamoshrif corneliamohren economicas kurtvonnegut josephheller project2025 heritagefoundation ecology environment equality consumption consumerism income wealth power decarbonization politics influence overconsumption humandevelopment democracy wealthtax sovereignfunds globalsouth africa sustainability energytransition investment poverty anmolsomanchi decisionmaking globaljusticefund worldsovereignfund globalincometax globalwealthtaxhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:00856526770c/On the Occasion of a Magazine • EQUATOR2026-06-07T07:12:33+00:00
https://www.equator.org/articles/thomas-mann-occasion-of-a-magazine
robertogrecothomasmann 2026 1949 us morality society culture nazism thirdreich donaldtrump hitler fdr communism socialism liberalism newdeal coldwar paranoia egonerwinkisch lionfeuchtwanger alfredknopf redarmy anti-americanism erichvonkahler 1951 anticommunism redscare charliechaplin nazigermany georgeorwell nationalism capitalism hermannhesse jawaharlalnehru moraldecline theodoradorno mccarthyism russuanrevolution civilization sovietunion ussr caltech democracy germany militarism ironcurtain bertoltbrecht prankajmishra adolfhitlerhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:90b680e16fcd/A Billionaire Explains Why American Business Now Feels like the Mafia2026-06-06T00:27:25+00:00
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/a-billionaire-explains-why-american
robertogrecomattstoller billionaires greed business us mafia elmersmalling robertbork antitrust johnmalone rupertmurdoch barrydiller craigmccaw sumnerredstone tedturner jeffbezos markzuckerberg elonmusk inequality newdeal cnbc warrenbuffett algore democracy fredkappel belllabs jerroldelectronics media consolidation ronaldreagan fritzhollings billgates microsoft foxnews matchgroup davidzaslav libertarianism netflix timwu paramount larryellison formulaone oracle oligarchy berniesandershttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:828c4f1bb503/No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious - The Atlantic2026-06-05T05:28:24+00:00
https://www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2026/06/no-artificial-intelligence-is-not-conscious/687378/
robertogrecotedchiang ai artificialintelligence consciousness anthropomorphism philosophy llms chatbots claude anthropic predicitvetext darioamodei amandaaskell clause juliuscaesar genghiskhan colinfraser sentencecontinuation anilseth alphafold google googledeepmind deepmind chatgpt openai observation deepfakes experience subjectivity honesty dishonesty reasoning douglashofstadter garrykasparov deepblue ibm 1997 emotions bodies senses multisensory ethics responsibility well-being wellbeing judgement democracy society corrigibility labor work employement software suffering hormones hype aihypehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:f510feaeb784/They Want to Get Rid of Your Property Taxes Because They Think You Are Morons2026-06-04T09:02:01+00:00
https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/they-want-to-get-rid-of-your-property
robertogrecoflorida hamiltonnolan rondesantis 2026 taxes taxation republicans inequality power governance government democracy economics publicservices propertytaxes education schools schooling libraries incometaxeshttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:5e831e8d7f11/Endorsement: Alcatraz Coyote for Governor2026-06-02T01:15:52+00:00
https://www.coyotemedia.org/endorsement-alcatraz-coyote-for-governor/
robertogreco2026 coyotemedia coyotes california elections politics rahawahaile nualabishari billionaires tricksters democrats democracy left xavierbecerra maga donaldtrump republicans us alcatraz andelisland billmerkle gavinnewsom transphobia tomsteyer maine cuckschumer hakeemjeffries grahamplatnerhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:dd510b3d8bd6/Housing Is the Test - by Quintin Mecke, SF CCHO2026-05-29T03:09:28+00:00
https://quintinmecke.substack.com/p/housing-is-the-test
robertogrecoquintinmecke housing sanfrancisco inequality 2026 yimby yimbys yimbyism abundance abundancenetwork abundancemovement propositiond billionaires wealth scarcity california medicaid donaldtrump onebigbeautifulbil taxes taxation sergeybrin billionairetaxact billionairetax daniellurie mlk martinlutherkingjr ezraklein derekthompson policy economics housingcrisis wealthconcentration wealthtax healthcare affordability rents rent evictions displacement wealthtx citizensunited democracy oligarchy labor work workers infrastructure education highered highereducation colleges universities housingtrustfund society abundanceagendahttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:942567161755/'We Don’t Have a Functional Left' Today: William C. Anderson - YouTube2026-05-28T04:27:09+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3KZ-lsFXfc
robertogrecowilliamcanderson williamanderson 2026 left us fascism rightwing farright politics policy democracy russellmarronshoatz mansamusa scotus supremecourt votersrightsact praxis anarchism communism marxism marxism-leninism leftism blackpantherparty blackpanthers history change state statism sectarianism antiintellectualism ignorance organizing faith religionhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:8a65c11f4f56/The Surveillance Classroom - by Andrew Cantarutti2026-05-27T07:45:20+00:00
https://walledgardenedu.substack.com/p/the-surveillance-classroom
robertogrecoandrewcantarutti 2026 surveillance pedagogy teaching howweteach schools schooling ralphwaldoemerson ai artificialintelligence data emotionalsurveillance focuspocus morphcast engagement attention lisafeldmanbarrett neuroscience integrity learning howwelearn cthinguyen onorao'neill trust control honesty relationships care exchange observation compliance democracy governance government civicshttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:7c6af47609f8/Digital culture and entertainment insights daily: Katherine Williams on How to See Like a Machine2026-05-26T23:06:26+00:00
https://dirt.fyi/article/2026/05/panic-at-the-post-reality
robertogrecokatherinewilliams 2026 democracy aesthetics latefascistaesthetics fascistaesthetics fascism stephencolbert trevorpaglen georgewbush jonrafman hitosteryerl hegemony fakenews media generativeai ai genai artificialintelligence mediatheory annakornbluh joannawalsh rightwing farrright attention attentioneconomy davidfosterwallace visual visualculture colsonwhitehead succession amaliaulman johnperrybarlow siliconvalley gork elonmusk susansontag politicaleconomy reality markets politics nostalgia propaganda karloveknausgård karloveknausgaard speculationhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:ba8388ab6b76/The better algorithms of our nature - by Tom Stafford2026-05-26T22:26:03+00:00
https://tomstafford.substack.com/p/the-better-algorithms-of-our-nature
robertogrecotomstafford timhartford algorithms 2016 socialmedia twitter internet online socialinteraction socialnetworks ai artificialintelligence politics society donaldtrump psychology fear anger negativity policy climatechange guns guncontrol democracy climate globalwarming engagement mastodon fediversehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:e7e23fca60b0/Cuba Under Imperial Threat with Alexander Aviña & Musa Springer - YouTube2026-05-25T23:49:32+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRuOyAamn8U
robertogrecomakc jaredware alexanderaviña musaspringer cuba latinamerica us imperialism raúlcastro fidelcastro history economics politics thirdcinema 1959 1960s 1970s florida southflorida miami palestine gaza donaldtrump joebiden kamalaharris venezuela trinidadandtobago gabrielgarcíamárquez gabo independence sovereignty socialdemocracy democracy marcorubio defiance struggle revolution self-determination puertorico 1898 victorjara organizing nicolásmaduro stateterrorism blockade embargo mexico claudiasheinbaum alejopedregal albertogarcíamolinero angola africa solidarity terrorism slavery confederacy whitesupremacy education medicine socialism communism specialperiod resistance persistence left activism race gender class empire bellyofthebeast nnoc redbarrialafrodescendiente blackallianceforpeace thirdway antiimperialism anti-imperialism dsa cubanrevolutiion fulgenciobatista batista períodoespecial millennialsarekillingcapitalismhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:00b6ae1dac58/Rising Narratives for Radical Futures2026-05-24T10:20:10+00:00
https://risingnarratives.com/
robertogrecoradcomms therisingmajority democracy resistance futures abolitionism prisonabolition climate climatechange globalwarming economics solidarity care bordershttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:9c94f8ffa1d6/AI as the new avatar of American capitalism2026-05-21T06:24:22+00:00
https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/ai-as-the-new-avatar-of-american
robertogreco2026 brianmerchant ai artificialintelligence populism aipopulism economics society backlash resistance datacenters openai oligarchy corporations labor work workers jasminesun genz generationz zoomers llms ezraklein davidwallace-wells davekarpf chatgpt tedchiang hagenblix anger capitalism precarity class workingclass middleclass meta disney cloudflare mattgallagher elonmusk gregbrockman autmation copilot proftis participation wealth inequality paulkedrosky democracy ilyasutskeverhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:214cd1362442/The Hidden Founders of American Democracy | Full Episode | Native America - YouTube2026-05-20T06:12:54+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCcZPU7g4es
robertogrecoindigeneity indigenous us democracy history mexico perú potlatch pacificnorthwesthttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:c6dd67cc1e5d/bowling alone but not scrolling alone - YouTube2026-05-20T05:50:13+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAIzA5qCqtU
robertogrecoaidanwalker democrats joebiden gaza palestine israel 2026 2024 elections politics socialmedia engagement government us policy robflaherty activism civiclife governance electoralpolitics elissaslotikin genocide ethniccleansing democracy timeline gerontogracy actions results audiences interaction messaging zionism antizionism blacklivesmatter ows occupywallstreet internet web online mutualaid systemicfailure humanitarianism networks institutions intitutionalrothttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:a6b7372c3093/Why Read? | Commonweal Magazine2026-05-12T04:18:46+00:00
https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/montas-roosevelt-why-read-literacy-liberal-democracy-ai-douglass
robertogrecoreading howweread deepreading print printculture liberaldemocracy democracy rooseveltmontás politics books frederickdouglass humanity selfhood autonomy attention discipline self-discipline neilpostman frederickbailey freedomhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:cefd598deafb/The Equator Podcast | "The American university is simply a corporate institution"2026-05-11T00:17:35+00:00
https://share.transistor.fm/s/cd365742
robertogrecohighered highereducation academia colleges universities 2026 siddharthadeb pankajmishra journalism us india middleeast reporting columbia newschool education elonmusk twitter media dept precarity loans government policy capitalism neoliberalism theory edwardsaid gabo gabrielgarcíamárquez thirdworld globalsouth 1980s 1990s internationalism morality awareness power hegemony ussr sovietunion palestine postcolonialism publishing mainstreammedia spivak gayatrichakravortyspivak criticalthinking endofhistory francisfukuyama henrykissinger niallferguson adjuncts socialsciences philosophy adjunctification susansontag joandidiaon gorevidal nationalism iraq afghanistan 9/11 nytimes kurtvonnegut normanmailer resistance gaza liberals liberalism race racism democrats democracy donaldtrump politics success wealth money materialism professionalism careerism careers factchecking cooption cooptation security iraqwar nyimes corruption incompetence freedom livelihood living howwelive institutionshttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:e7be98ba6236/Into the gap | A Working Library2026-05-07T20:16:55+00:00
https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/into-the-gap
robertogrecomandybrown resistance refusal work genocide ethniccleansing palestine iran war us adolfhitler benitomussolini fascism nazism spanishcivilwar virginiawoolf 1937 aislop slop propaganda ads advertising racism misogyny transphobia eugenics violence tonimorrison dehumanization dei diversity equity inclusion inclusivity capitalism liberty freedom class oligarchy billionaires military militaryindustrialcomplex donaldtrump scarcity education highered highereducation gender universities colleges ice police policing surveillance poicebrutality oppression supression elonmusk blacklisting women armedforces libraries jamellebouie wealth inequality rulingclass elites governance government democracy power control opposition abuse ellakeidargreenberg israel gaza iof idf detention ai artificialintelligence erasure jobs labor workers workingclass bodies censorship google salesforce amazon thomasreuters montereypark deportation luannejames tennessee health healthcare organizing employment distraction attention profiteering warphttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:84bbaaceba7f/San Francisco Public Library Past, Present and Future : Celebrating 30 Years Under the Nautilus - YouTube2026-05-07T07:43:00+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkN2jQRnHsY
robertogrecosanfrancisco libraries publiclibraries sfpl 2026 history stevencoulter dalecarlson michaellambert dollygoyal noamijelks democracy information nicholsonbaker freedomhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:13179f814b5e/The New Luddites: Why People Are Destroying Surveillance and AI Infrastructure - YouTube2026-05-05T03:36:47+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z4k_vDovbY
robertogrecoluddites neoluddites luddism neoluddism history brianmerchant 2026 waymo resistance ai artificialintelligence technology automation labor work workers capitalism bigtech datacenters surveillance robots backlash luigimangioni brianthompson inequality samaltman siliconvalley regulation deregulation policy sanfrancisco avs california publicopinion pr flock democracy police policing jasonkoeblerhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:35a0febc949e/We translated the Palantir manifesto for actual human beings | The Verge2026-04-22T03:21:26+00:00
https://www.theverge.com/policy/915237/palantir-manifesto
robertogrecopalantir alexkapro tcsottek adirobertson 2026 evil siliconvalley surveillance deregulation rulingclass civilization society sociopathy power darioamodei petehegseth ai artificialintelligence militarism technofascism nerdreich bureaucracy democracy governance government billionaires policy pluralism west culturehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:72a11a022ccc/Palantir's Manifesto Is as Subtle as a MAGA Hat | TechPolicy.Press2026-04-22T03:06:11+00:00
https://www.techpolicy.press/palantirs-manifesto-is-as-subtle-as-a-maga-hat/
robertogrecodavekarpf 2026 alexkarp palantir evil siliconvalley authoritarianism technofascism nerdreich christiannationalism elitism power ai democracy artificialintelligence provacy surveillance nicholaszamiskahttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:1a023c93fba3/Purge Palantir: Is Peter Thiel Building the 'Machinery of the Antichrist'? - YouTube2026-04-21T13:14:37+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN7gGyciX1c
robertogreconerdreich gilduran palantir jacintagonzalez joãopauloconnolly purgepalantir antichrist power politics policy surveillance government democracy alexkarp joelonsdale ice police policing workers labor work scheduling immigration healthcare databases privacy donaldtrump data xai elonmusk anthropic darioamodei predictivepolicing dataharvesting edwardsnowden incutel cia oversight regulation deregulation privatization cronyism libertarianism jdvance profiteering control militarizationhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:f7e7727a599f/vertical video in the democratic process - by Aidan Walker2026-04-19T05:01:16+00:00
https://howtodothingswithmemes.substack.com/p/vertical-video-in-the-democratic
robertogrecoaidanwalker video verticalvideo democrats politics messaging bird-dogging 2026 socialmedia web online internet elissaslotkin antonyblinken joebiden gaza palestine israel jonathanshainin jakesullivan us kamalaharris 2024 democracy media reddit wikipedia zohranmamdani richardholbrooke brettmcgurk joshwolfe jaredkushner mohammedbinsalman truth wendybrown mbshttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:69541172dcbe/"Palestine does matter” with Yousef Munayyer - YouTube2026-04-18T20:46:02+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cvBXfptNh8
robertogrecomakdisistreet 2026 yousefmunayyer palestine gaza israel us donaldtrump joebiden iran war genocide ethniccleansing military policy impunity lebanon politics publicopinion benjaminnetanyahu zionism antizionism 2014 michaelbrown economics dissent apartheid aipac lobbying elections kamalaharris 2024 chuckschumer democrats democracy freespeech freedomofspeech repression inequality sareemakdisi ussamamakdisi karimmakdisi civilrights bds 2008 2009 2018 2019 2020 civilliberties jdvance marcorubio floridahttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:28165282f07e/"AI Populism" is a term that obscures more than it reveals.2026-04-15T03:55:52+00:00
https://davekarpf.beehiiv.com/p/ai-populism-is-a-term-that-obscures-more-than-it-reveals-a4db
robertogrecoI define AI populism as a worldview in which AI is viewed not only as a normal technology but as an elite political project to be resisted. It regards AI as a thing manufactured by out-of-touch billionaires and pushed onto an unwilling public to achieve sinister aims like “capitalist efficiency” (layoffs) and “population management” (surveillance). AI populists don’t really care whether ChatGPT is personally useful, or if Waymos eke out some safety gains: AI’s utility as a tool is immaterial relative to the unwelcome societal change it represents.
Among the public, AI populism shows up as individual attempts to block AI encroachment; for example, data center NIMBYism, AI witchhunts among creatives, and in the extreme, assassination attempts like what happened to Altman this week.
—Jasmine Sun, “AI Populism’s Warning Shots”
According to this definition, the 20-year-old throwing a molotov cocktail at a mansion gets lumped together with the community activists attending zoning board meetings to protest AI data center construction in their neighborhood. According to this definition, both I and Eliezer Yudkowsky (as people focused on AI’s unwelcome societal changes, rather than ChatGPT’s personal utility) are members of the same movement.
That’s ridiculous. Resist the urge to lump all forms of AI criticism into the same umbrella category. It obscures much more than it reveals.
I would sorely like to nip this in the bud before it becomes a thing.
I saw a similar mistake in 2016-2017, as the research community struggled to make sense of Trump and Brexit. Was Donald Trump better understood as a “populist” or as an authoritarian. He fits both definitions. And the built-in advantage of calling Trump a populist was that it provided cover. There are left-populists, like Bernie Sanders, and there are right-populists, like Donald Trump. Populism is a distinct rhetorical tradition. Researchers can talk about the dangers and benefits of “populism” without worrying that they will sound too partisan or outlandish. The disadvantage of treating Trump as a populist was that it obscured much more than it revealed. Trump and Bernie Sanders aren’t two sides of the same coin. There is safety and comfort in hiding what you mean, but there isn’t much clarity in it. It took years of internal scholarly debate before the field at large got comfortable just saying outright what we meant.
What a pointless waste of time that all was.
Here’s another relevant passage from
In 2026, the politics of AI has a new meta: “caring a lot about AI” is no longer correlated with “knowing a lot about AI.” AI is rising in salience faster than any other issue among US voters. Politicians gearing up for the 2026 midterms and 2028 primaries won’t lag far behind. That means AI policy is no longer the remit of a few wonky technocrats. From now until forever, most people regulating, protesting, and talking about AI will not be interested in AI per se, but rather how it impacts their preexisting belief systems and political agendas. These forces are stronger, more diffuse, and more volatile than we have seen in AI policy before. And the curve is just about to shoot straight up.
—Jasmine Sun
This is, I think, correct on the merits. AI is now a significant chunk of the economy. The industry has succeeded in stuffing AI into every product and every consumer experience. And that means AI policy is no longer the remit of a small, expert policy community. That was an early times phenomenon. The early times are over. This is what success for the industry looks like.
All the more reason to avoid the instinct to lump all forms of AI resistance into the same category. The Yudkowksy fans throwing molotov cocktails are a distinct discursive community, operating far outside the boundaries of what we might call “normal politics.” The data center challenges are mostly coming from what I would label Sierra Club-types. These are people showing up to community board meetings, writing letters to their legislators, making demands about industrial transparency and reporting, pollution and energy prices.
These two variants have practically nothing in common. The Yudkowsky crowd literally staged a protest this February in favor of billionaires. The Sierra Club types are deeply distrustful of corporate power, and deeply committed to participatory democracy. Bundling them together under the heading of “AI populism” makes it even harder to reach analytic clarity. The sole thread that ties them together is that they both are a problem for the AI industry.
[image: "Yudkowsky’s friend group. They are all so weird. Photo by Abigail Van Neely, of MissionLocal"]
Altman responded to the molotov cocktail incident with a heartfelt plea to turn the temperature down. He blamed last week’s Ronan Farrow/Andrew Marantz article, “Sam Altman May Control Our Future — Can He Be Trusted.” This is a textbook strategic communication play: the molotov cocktail-thrower discredits the entire movement he is associated with, so Altman is associating him with absolutely everyone who voices concerns.
Tech writers shouldn’t be in the business of helping him paint with such a broad brush. There’s really no need to do so.
***
Ohandbytheway the reason this quite matters, the reason why companies like OpenAI ought to be aggressively in favor of procedural democracy, is that there isn’t a “no backlash of any sort” option available. This isn’t solely the product of too much artificial general intelligence alarmism. This is, for the most part, the necessary byproduct of the size and scale of the industry. You don’t get to bite off this much of the global economy without facing serious questions about what comes out the other end (h/t Henry Farrell).
The options for the AI industry are (a) legitimate backlash or (b) illegitimate backlash. The mass public turns to violence when the avenues for legitimate, orderly contention are unavailable or non-functional. The Luddites smashed machines because it was illegal to forming unions.
I suspect the next few years will see an awful lot of anti-data center activism. People are going to raise their voices and say “we don’t want these data centers raising energy prices here. No more giveaways to Musk/Altman/Zuckerberg.” OpenAI’s lobbyists and comms consultants will surely brand it the “new NIMBYism,” and “AI populism.” They’ll treat participatory democracy as a form of damage and try to rout around it. I expect they’ll be quite cutthroat in their maneuvers.
That’s a mistake though. The friction of participatory democracy creates a pathway for legitimate resistance. If you do away with that friction, the illegitimate alternative you’re left with is firebombs. As I’ve written elsewhere, Democracy is an incredibly good deal for elites, one that they ought to stop taking for granted.
There is a broad sense right now that tech billionaires run the world, entirely unconstrained by the public. This, to a great degree, is because they do. They bought the government, shredded the regulatory constraints, and treated neo-feudalist edgelords as political sages. It was a short-sighted maneuver, destined to fail. Silicon Valley ought to be more appreciative of the social stability provided by democracy. The alternatives are so much worse."]]>davekarpf jasminesun 2026 ai artificialintelligence samaltman openai chatgpt aipopulism politics policy violence eliezeryudkowsky donaldtrump berniesanders regulation datacenters environment climate climatechange globalwarming sierraclub ronanfarrow andrewmarantz luddism neoluddism luddites neoluddites billionaires markzuckerberg elonmusk oligarchy lobbying congress democracy edgelords technofeudalism siliconvalley technology resistance revolthttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:b00d172cb611/Why the AI backlash has turned violent - by Brian Merchant2026-04-15T03:52:54+00:00
https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/why-the-ai-backlash-has-turned-violent
robertogrecobrianmerchant ai artificialintelligence openai samaltman chatgpt danielalejandromoreno-gama muhamadtarikhussein amandatom rongibson datacenters resistance siliconvalley bigtech berniesanders alexandriaocasio-cortez aoc maine brianthompson luigimangione unitedhealthcare violence eliezeryudkowski agi artificialgeneralintelligence sanfrancisco chamathpalihapitiya billionaires aidoomers ronanfarrow aibubble aihype rage jamesrosen-birch humanity humanextinction labor work workers economics anthropic donaldtrump darioamodei mentalhealth responsibility precarity jenniferharris aristocracy democracy policy congress regulation deregulation a16z andreessenhoroqitz pacs leadingthefuture politics corruption california law legal eryksalvaggio amazon block duolingo meta adamraines automation employment andrewmarantz technofeudalism luddism neoluddism luddites neoluddites revolt oligarchy danielmoreno-gamahttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:0c59dabda8b8/Does Democracy Mainly Mean Voting For Democrats?2026-04-12T23:11:21+00:00
https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2023/11/does-democracy-mainly-mean-voting-for-democrats
robertogrecoheathercoxrichardson liberalism liberals 2023 democrats history politics us nathnarobinson statusquo preetbharara democracy fdr donaldtrump hillaryclinton vladimirputin 2016 affordablecareact medicare medicaid barackobama joebiden lbj lyndonjohnson greatsociety deathpenalty billclinton vietnam vietnamwar imperialism malaikajabali oes occupywallstreet joebifden electoralcollege senate farright franklindelanoroosevelthttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:a616dff16d51/Prophetic Possibilities: A Few Words on David W. Orr and a Healing Vision for America - Front Porch Republic2026-04-11T03:11:31+00:00
https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2026/04/prophetic-possibilities-a-few-words-on-david-w-orr-and-a-healing-vision-for-america/
robertogrecodavidorr small local growth 2026 teddymacker us community society slow consumerism consumption presence poetry life living howwelive humanism hope love gratitude speed scale scientism spirituality education technology science conservation agriculture citizenship civics localism politics land willaimcatton prosperity peace peacemakers healing healers restoration storytelling stories well-being wellbeing success careerism human humane humans earth ecology environment beagoodancestor kinship davidsteindl-rast georgesturt togetherness connection ellendavis joannamacy garysnyder wendellberry intelligence culture religion geography time longnow bighere longhere bignow ugliness sustainability unsustainability ecologicalliteracy knowledge wisdom destabilization climate climatechange globalwarming slowknowledge democracy economics economy deniselevertov vaclavhavel randolphseverson civilization modernity ai artificialintelligence power gandhi martinlutherkingjr mlk haroldrobbins henryadams decency reason responsibilithttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:a34ccba6f1d0/The Democratic Party debate over Hasan Piker is really a fight over Palestine’s new place in U.S. politics – Mondoweiss2026-04-09T20:35:37+00:00
https://mondoweiss.net/2026/04/the-democratic-party-debate-over-hasan-piker-is-really-a-fight-over-palestines-new-place-in-u-s-politics/
robertogrecowalterluckeniv hasanpiker democrats democracy us palestine gaza zionism antisemitism politics policy antizionism israel liberalism liberals progressive progressivism zoahranmamdani abdulel-sayed aoc alexandiaocasio-cortez dsa centrism moderates genocide ethniccleansing middleeast lefthttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:51f154a25bc1/Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? | The New Yorker2026-04-06T19:08:46+00:00
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted
robertogrecosamaltman openai ronanfarrow andrewmarantz business psychology ai artificialintelligence technofeudalism technofascism nerdreich misinformation lies truth siliconvalley power ilyasutskever gregbrockman elonmusk helentoner tashamccauley satyanadella reidhoffman microsoft ronconway nancypelosi joshkushner jaredjushner rickrubin brianchesky chrislehane airbnb miramurati brettaylor facebook meta lawrencesummers deception personality uber traviskalanick chatgpt turingtest alanturing agi artificialgeneralintelligence conniegibstine jerryaltman paulgraham ycombinator loopt keachhagey markjacobstein theranos elizabethholmes fraud sequoiacapital jessicalivingston darioamodei google dictatorship billgates anthropic janleike jacobhilton carrollwainwright jasonkwon singularitarianism singularity tescreal transhumanism rationalism extropianism cosmism effectivealtruism longtermism ilyamemos sambankman-fried berniemadoff ponzischemes persuasion wallstreet jeffreyespstein enron worldcon integrity holdenkarnofsky anniealtmanhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:a5c1b63dc616/The Care Economy is the Everything Economy - with Emma Holten - YouTube2026-04-04T07:44:45+00:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yl6JpVZTdM
robertogrecoemmaholten unlearningeconomics feminism economics 2025 economy society gdp austerity care caring carework careeconomy health healthcare childcare gender hobbes adamsmith johnlocke illness thomashobbes reality humanism relationships social bodies embodiment politicaleconomy sickness unemployment labor work workers culture culturalhistory history quantification numbers statistics data information neoliberalism markets capital capitalism power lobbying influence socialscience socialsciences ideology sexism truth women understanding exclusion aging prices pricing efficiency simnplification methods method inequality diversity externalities coherence disabilities disability predicitons conservatism stabilization predictability equilibrium equilibriumtheory climate climatechange globalwarming change climatecrisis nurses nursing publicsector healthworkers rachelreeves essentialworkers values pandemic covid-19 coronavirus marketvalues qualitative purpose profit profits carecrisis nature environment sustainability uk ehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:55bf219e4032/Netanyahu rejects the gospel of Christ for the doctrine of Genghis Khan | Middle East Eye2026-04-03T15:56:41+00:00
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/netanyahu-rejects-gospel-christ-doctrine-genghis-khan
robertogrecosoumayaghannoushi 2026 benjaminnetanyahu genghiskhan christianity islam jesus jesuschrist christ newtestament mongols merv nishapur samarkand bukhara destrruction gaza palestine colonization colonialism ata-malikjuvayni hungary poland persia moho legnica europe history abbasidcaliphate baghdad baytal-hikma ze'evjabotinsky zionism al-aqsamosque alaqsamosque irgun lehi haganah iof idf nakba 1948 likud herut purim jerusalem civilization democracy iraq us hulegukhan tehran isfahan mashdad donaldtrump annihilation powerhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:d07b415ca8a0/what would Whitman do? - by Aidan Walker2026-04-02T06:48:39+00:00
https://howtodothingswithmemes.substack.com/p/what-would-whitman-do
robertogrecobe me,” and “Song of Myself” begins: “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” The original edition of “Leaves of Grass” features only a picture of Whitman in a jaunty pose, dressed as a regular guy, without his name as an author — he is an anon.
[image]
Whitman’s poetry is highly personal, but not in the sense of confession or autobiography. He talks most often about solitary, embodied experiences — being a commuter, looking at the sky, breathing. These are things people do alone, but with the knowledge that everybody else does them. Titling a poem “Song of Myself” is not narcissistic because the subject is not Walt Whitman, but the experience of selfhood in the first place — Walt is just the most accessible self for Walt to write about.
The self, in Song of Myself, breathes, bathes, fucks, wonders, eats, smells, and exercises — but most of all, he yaps. There are, according to a quick cmd+F search of the poem, 489 instances of “I” and 235 instances of “you.” The cardinal activity of the Whitmanian self is the act of address — communion with other selves. It is a communion premised on equality, a word which Lincoln (and I’d say Whitman) understood in a mathematical way, grounded in Euclid.
[image]
Before all other facts about the world, Whitman cares that people are equal. This is not a precept of morality, but a principle of physics for him, an undeniable truth about the universe which society may construct elaborate contraptions to suspend — in the way airplanes defy gravity — but ultimately must obey. Black or white, male or female, poor or rich, young or old, “I give and receive the same,” Whitman writes. But there are also other equalities: the past, future, and present are the same; writer and reader are the same; death and life, victim and perpetrator, are all the same.
The Union cause was always spiritual, and grew increasingly more so as the war went on. It promised a just emancipation of slaves, described in Biblical terms (“jubilee,” “grapes of wrath,” and so on) but it also rested on a radical interpretation of the words “union” and “equality.” I think the Union transplanted the Christian conception of the Trinity onto the American project.
[image]
Whitman’s “When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom’d” interests me in part because it makes this connection clear. It centers on a “trinity” defined by Whitman: the blooming lilac, the song of a “gray-brown bird,” and the “thought of him I love.” The last of these is proximately the dead Lincoln, but more profoundly all of Whitman’s countrymen. Instead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we have lilac, bird, and guy you love. The components of this trinity can be interpreted more abstractly: nature, the creative/expressive act, and the thought of your fellow men that you love. In this, we find the three-personed God, the three-faced American nation, which Whitman worships.
Nature worship, creative self-assertion, and loving solidarity. This mystic trinity is the foundation of American democracy, which was really founded by Lincoln and not Washington. Liberalism is something they invented in Europe.
Originally, I wanted to study Whitman, the mid 19th-century newspaper business which he worked in for much of his life, and the transatlantic connections between Europe and the United States in the Civil War era. One reason I gave up on this was that this kind of academic career is hopeless in 2026, given how the life of the mind has been so thoroughly fucked over. Another reason is that I figured this was not really spiritually true to Whitman’s vision, which — I idolize the poetry, not the poet here — is really the thing I believe in above all else. He’d want me, who he talked to so directly across his poems, to speak from and to my own modernity, about the affairs of regular people and the things that matter in the heart.
Whitman wrote in the language of his day, without fuss. He inflected it with archaisms like reversed word orders (“when lilacs last”), random “thou”s and so on, which are carried over from the King James Bible. The KJV was for many Americans at his time one of the only books they owned. It was their liturgical language — not quite as extreme as the Catholic Church’s use of Latin, but certainly not the way people really talked. Whitman’s fusion of that language with the rhythm of everyday speech and the straightforwardness of his “>be me” kind of address creates an interesting juxtaposition, but also relatability.
I see his outlook as very contemporary. He wants to overshare, he wants to be relatable, and it feels weird to call him “Whitman” as you would another author rather than “Walt,” as you would call a dude you know. And so I wonder too, if there is something very contemporary in his mystic conception of union, that might salvage.
Faced on the one hand with the complicity-rationalizing managerialism that motivated the Biden years, and on the other with the Ahab-striving of our cruelest to win (whether against China, modernity, ourselves, God, etc.), I think we should see Whitman as a resource that can inform us of another way, and offer a language in which words like “democracy” and “equality” can actually matter and actually be the tough, existentially crucial things they are, rather than pablum sputtered out by people who have never failed to dodge an uncomfortable truth."]]>aidanwalker 2026 waltwhitman songofmyself leavesofgrass history memes nature solidarity us writing howwewrite managerialism joebiden cruelty democracy equality china modernity poetry euclidhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:4745fa079fb2/The Road Less Travelled: L.L. Nunn and the Birth of the Nunnian Microcollege | Studying the History of Higher Education Journal2026-03-30T18:48:05+00:00
https://openjournals.utoledo.edu/index.php/shhe/article/view/hazelton
robertogrecodeepspringscollege llnunn matthewhazelton education highereducation highered colleges universities microcolleges tellurideinstitute tellurideassociation self-governance academia workprograms isolation democracy via:lukas 2025 alternative progressive progressivismhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:7e6af62c13ec/Why Israel Wants a War with Iran (with Gideon Levy) | Chris Hedges Report2026-03-29T03:13:51+00:00
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/why-israel-wants-a-war-with-iran
robertogrecochrishedges 2026 israel iran gaza palestine ethniccleansing genocide hamas hezbollah war violence media indictrination ilanpappé lebanon benjaminnetanyahu zionism antisemitism displacement self-censorship militarism us jaredkushner donaldtrump josephkent jonathanpowell stevewitkoff marcorubio iraq libya middleeast yasserarafat faisalhusseini encampments colleges universities occupation muammargaddafi ghassankanafani policy yeshayahuleibowitz amirahass assassination yahyaal-sinwar sheikhyassin fatah nizarrayan abdelazizal-rantisi democracy columbia princeton antizionism hizbullah censorship resistance nelsonmandela beirut gideonlevyhttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:8526a929d4b9/'Iran and Gaza are Only the Beginning' (Chris Hedges at Princeton)2026-03-29T00:47:23+00:00
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/iran-and-gaza-are-only-the-beginning
robertogrecoIt is intensely private, not to be diluted, but simultaneously public so that gentile society will confirm the crimes. A very peculiar suffering must be enshrined in public sites: Holocaust museums, memory gardens, deportation sites, dedicated not as Jewish but civic memorials. But what is the role of a museum in a country, such as the United States, far from the site of the Holocaust? Is it to rally the people who suffered or to instruct non-Jews? Is it supposed to serve as a reminder that “it can happen here?” Or is it a statement that some special consideration is deserved? Under what circumstances can a private sorrow serve simultaneously as a public grief? And if genocide is certified as a public sorrow, then must we not accept the credentials of other particular sorrows too? An American historian of Polish ancestry argues that, with the German invasion of 1939, the Poles became the first people in Europe to experience the Holocaust and that historians have so far “chosen to interpret the tragedy in exclusivistic terms — namely as the most tragic period in the history of the Jewish Diaspora.” If Polish Americans claim their own “forgotten Holocaust,” what recognition should they enjoy? Do Armenians and Cambodians also have a right to publicly funded holocaust museums? And do we need memorials to Seventh-Day Adventists and homosexuals for their persecution at the hands of the Third Reich?
Unique suffering confers unique entitlement.
Any crime Israel carries out in the name of its survival — its “right to exist” — is justified in the name of this uniqueness. There are no limits. The world is black and white, a never-ending battle against Nazism, which is protean, depending on who Israel targets. To challenge this bloodlust is to be an antisemite, facilitating another genocide of Jews.
This simplistic formula not only serves the interests of Israel, but also the interests of colonial powers that carried out their own genocides, ones they also seek to obscure.
The sacralization of the Nazi Holocaust offers a bizarre quid pro quo. Arming and funding the state of Israel, blocking U.N. resolutions and sanctions that would condemn its crimes and demonizing Palestinians, and their supporters becomes proof of atonement and support for Jews. Israel, in return, absolves the West of its indifference to the plight of Jews during the Holocaust, and Germany for perpetrating it. Germany uses this unholy alliance to separate Nazism from the rest of German history, including the genocide German colonists carried out against the Nama and Herero in German South-West Africa, now Namibia.
“[S]uch magic,” Israeli historian and genocide scholar, Raz Segal, writes, “legitimizes racism against Palestinians at the very moment that Israel perpetrates genocide against them. The idea of Holocaust uniqueness thus reproduces rather than challenges the exclusionary nationalism and settler colonialism that led to the Holocaust.”
Professor Segal, the director of the program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University in New Jersey, wrote an article about the war on Gaza on October 13, 2023, titled: “A Textbook Case of Genocide.”
This denunciation from an Israeli Holocaust scholar, whose family members perished in the Holocaust, was a very lonely stance.
Professor Segal saw in the Israeli government’s immediate demand that Palestinians evacuate the north of Gaza and the blood-curdling demonization of the Palestinians by Israeli officials — the defense minister said Israel was “fighting human animals” — the stench of genocide.
“The whole idea about prevention and ‘never again’ is that — as we teach our students — there are red flags, that once we notice them, we’re supposed to work in order to stop the process that could escalate to genocide,” Professor Segal told me, “even if it’s not genocidal yet.”
Professor Segal paid for his honesty. The offer to lead the University of Minnesota’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, which has issued no condemnation of the genocide, was revoked.
When professor Segal and I testified at the state capital in Trenton in opposition to the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) bill, which equates criticism of the state of Israel with antisemitism, we were jeered by Zionists and our microphones were cut by the committee chairman. There we were, arguing that this bill would curtail free speech while we were in real time being denied free speech.
Genocide is the next stage in what the anthropologist, Arjun Appadurai, calls “a vast worldwide Malthusian correction” that is “geared to preparing the world for the winners of globalization, minus the inconvenient noise of its losers.”
The funding and arming of Israel by the United States and European nations, as it carries out genocide, has effectively imploded the post-World War II international legal order. It no longer has credibility. The West can no longer lecture anyone about democracy, human rights or the supposed virtues of Western civilization. The ruse, that somehow we as a nation promote democracy, equality and human rights, is finished.
“At the same time that Gaza induces vertigo, a feeling of chaos and emptiness, it becomes for countless powerless people the essential condition of political and ethical consciousness in the twenty-first century — just as the First World War was for a generation in the West,” Pankaj Mishra writes.
None of us who reported from Israel and Palestine, where I worked as a reporter for seven years, predicted this genocide. And yet, we were acutely aware of the genocidal impulse that lay at the heart of the Zionist project — the desire by large segments of Israeli society to eradicate and expel all Palestinians. This genocidal impulse was there from the inception of Zionism.
Victor Klemperer, a professor of linguistics and the son of a Berlin rabbi living under Nazi rule, noted in his diary, “To me the Zionists, who want to go back to the Jewish state of A.D. 70 (destruction of Jerusalem by Titus), are just as offensive as the Nazis. With their nosing after blood, their ancient ‘cultural roots,’ their partly canting, partly obtuse winding back of the world they are altogether a match for the National Socialists.”
I covered the extremist rabbi, Meir Kahane, who claimed that violence was a Jewish virtue and revenge, a divine commandment. He was, when I was based in Israel, barred by the Israeli government from running for office.
Kahane was assassinated on November 5, 1990, in New York City. His Kach Party in Israel was outlawed four years later after Baruch Goldstein, a Brooklyn-born doctor and Kach member, entered Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque and opened fire on worshippers, killing 29 Palestinians. Goldstein, dressed in his army captain’s uniform, was overpowered by worshippers and beaten to death. I was sent by my editors in New York to interview the survivors. When they received the copy, they insisted I do more interviews with Jewish colonists who justified Goldstein’s grievances with Palestinians, part of the game of balance, but really part of the effort to obscure the truth.
Kach, following its statements of support for the massacre, was declared a terrorist organization by the United States.
But Kahanism did not die. It was nurtured by Jewish extremists and colonists.
Kach’s racial intolerance and calls for mass violence against Palestinians infected larger and larger segments of Israeli society. It found near universal acceptance after the attacks of October 7.
I saw this intolerance at political rallies held by Netanyahu, who received lavish funding from right-wing Americans associated with AIPAC, when he ran against Yitzhak Rabin, who was negotiating a peace settlement with the Palestinians. Netanyahu’s supporters chanted Kahane-inspired slogans such as “Death to Arabs” and “Death to Rabin.” They burned an effigy of Rabin dressed in a Nazi uniform. Netanyahu marched in front of a mock funeral for Rabin.
Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish fanatic on November 4, 1995.
Netanyahu, who first became prime minister in 1996, has spent his political career nurturing these Jewish extremists, including Itamar Ben-Gvir, who hung a portrait of Goldstein on the wall of his living room, Bezalel Smotrich, Avigdor Lieberman, Gideon Sa’ar and Naftali Bennett.
Netanyahu’s father, Benzion, who worked as an assistant to the founder of Revisionist Zionism, Vladimir Jabotinsky, and was referred to by Benito Mussolini as “a good fascist,” was a leader in the Herut Party that called on Israel to seize all the land of historic Palestine. Many of those who formed the Herut Party carried out terrorist attacks during the 1948 war that established the state of Israel. Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Sidney Hook and other Jewish intellectuals, described the Herut Party in a statement published in The New York Times as a party “closely akin in its organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal to Nazi and Fascist parties.”
There has always been a virulent strain of Jewish fascism within the Zionist project, mirroring the strain of fascism in American society. Unfortunately, for us and the Palestinians, these fascistic strains are ascendant.
The decision to obliterate Gaza has long been the dream of far-right Zionists, heirs of Kahane’s movement. Jewish identity and Jewish nationalism are the Zionist versions of the Nazis’ blood-and-soil ideology. Jewish supremacy is sanctified by God, as is the slaughter of the Palestinians, who Netanyahu compared to the Biblical Amalekites who were massacred by the Israelites. Europeans and Euro-Americans in the American colonies used the same Biblical passage to justify their genocide against Native Americans.
Enemies — usually Muslims — who are slated for extinction are subhumans who embody evil. Violence and the threat of violence are the only forms of communication those outside the magical circle of Jewish nationalism understand.
Messianic redemption will take place once the Palestinians are expelled. Jewish extremists call for the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of three of the most sacred sites for Muslims, supposedly built on the ruins of the Jewish Second Temple which was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Roman army, to be demolished. These extremists call for it to be replaced by a “Third” Jewish temple, a move that would set the Muslim world alight. The West Bank, which zealots refer to as “Judea and Samaria,” is being annexed by Israel. Israel, governed by religious laws imposed by the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, will soon mirror the despotic theocracy in Iran.
James Baldwin presciently saw this regression to our innate barbarism. He warned that there was a “terrible probability” that “Western populations, struggling to hold on to what they have stolen from their captives, and unable to look into their mirror, will precipitate a chaos throughout the world which, if it does not bring life on this planet to an end, will bring about a racial war such as the world has never seen, and for which generations yet unborn will curse our names forever.”
The savagery in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza is the same savagery we face at home. Those carrying out the genocide, mass slaughter and unprovoked war on Iran are the same people dismantling our democratic institutions.
The Iranians, Lebanese and Palestinians know there is no appeasing these monsters. The global elites believe nothing. They feel nothing. They cannot be trusted. They exhibit the core traits of all psychopaths — superficial charm, grandiosity and self-importance, a need for constant stimulation, a penchant for lying, deception, manipulation and the inability to feel remorse or guilt. They disdain as weakness the virtues of empathy, honesty, compassion and self-sacrifice. They live by the creed of Me. Me. Me.
“The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same forms of mental pathology does not make these people sane,” Erich Fromm writes in “The Sane Society.”
We have witnessed evil for nearly three years in Gaza. We watch it now in Iran. We watch it in Lebanon. We see this evil excused or masked by political leaders and the media.
The New York Times, in a page out of Orwell, sent an internal memo telling reporters and editors to eschew the terms “refugee camps, “occupied territory,” “ethnic cleansing” and, of course, “genocide” when writing about Gaza.
Those who name and denounce this evil, including the heroic students who set up encampments on campuses here and abroad, are smeared, blacklisted and purged. They are arrested and deported. A deadening silence is descending upon us, the silence of all authoritarian states. We know where this ends. Fail to do your duty, fail to cheerlead the war on Iran, speak out against the crime of genocide, and see your broadcasting license revoked, as Trump’s Chair of the F.C.C. Brendan Carr has proposed.
We have enemies. They are not in Palestine. They are not in Lebanon. They are not in Iran. They are here. Among us. They dictate our lives. They are traitors to our ideals. They are traitors to our country. They envision a world of slaves and masters. Gaza is only the start. There are no internal mechanisms for reform. We can obstruct or surrender.
Those are the only choices left."]]>israel palestine gaza westbank zionism chrishedges history 2026 holocaust genocide ethniccleansing un internationallaw us policy fascism benitomussolini mussolini terrorism ethnonationalism supremacy benjaminnetanyahu donaldtrump jaredkushner nazis antizionism antisemitism jewishsupremacy stevewitkoff jonathanpowell josephkent marcorubio lobbying aipac west racism race iran settlercolonialism colonialism colonization settlers violence lebanon globalsouth aimécésaire australia aborigines indigeneity indigenous winstonchurchill apartheid langstonhughes jamesbaldwin hiroshima nagasaki herero namibia namaqua armenia bengal economics poland mexico india china congo vietnam humanitarianism auschwitz primolevi ww2 wwii wwi ww1 mordechaichaimrumkowski deception lying manipulation empathy honesty compassion self-sacrifice eastjerusalem jerusalem golanheights syria egypt sinaipeninsula nathanglazer evil 2023 2024 2025 charlesmaier holocausstudies refugeecamps occupation cambodia encampments zionistmccarthyism frehttps://pinboard.in/https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:355213bbbd5a/Why Big Tech Capitalism Puts Freedom in Danger | The Futurology Podcast - YouTube2026-03-28T09:37:54+00:00
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https://scalawagmagazine.org/2026/01/zohran-mamdani-and-the-sorcery-of-soft-rebellion/
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