Shownotes E1P3

1. First Discussion

Reading runs from 1:13 to 4:29

1.1 On the technologies of plate armour and guns

Michael argues here that plate armour, while appearing defensive, was actually an oppressive technology, in that knights in plated armour rendered the peasants defenseless. Michael argues that in this context, guns were a liberatory technology because they broke the tyranny of the plated armoured knights. Michael’s sources :

1.2 On Cybernetics and GST

Cybernetic is a transdisciplinary field of study concerned with various systems of controls, most notable those with feedback loops. With it’s strong characterization of self-organising systems, it can be a useful tool to think about anarchist organisation. A systems theory approach to anarchism was also used by Anark in his latest series : A modern Anarchism. Here is the link to a transcript in addition to some introductory texts on cybernetic and general systems theory. :

1.3 On the Social Credit system

The Social Credit System is used as a system of control in China.

The Black Mirror episode Nosedive explores a dystopian world that ranks its citizens according to a social credit system mediated by some kind social media app.

2. Second Discussion

Reading runs from 19:59 to 21:03

2.1 Some evidence against the myths propped up by capitalism

Here is the paper cited that deconstructs the myth that extreme poverty was a human condition that was improved by capitalism. Instead of using the metric of ‘income’, it uses the notion of “access to essential goods” to quantify living conditions. The findings are that capitalism worsened the quality of life, and only saw improvements after the social movements of the 19th century.

Dylan Sullivan, Jason Hickel, Capitalism and extreme poverty: A global analysis of real wages, human height, and mortality since the long 16th century (DOI).

2.2 More on Michael’s tangent about Guano and Imperialism

Wikipedia : Guano Islands Act

2.3 Permanent revolution

There really is not point at which we will be able to say - yay, all oppression is dead, hurray, and stop fighting against it. If we ever win against hierarchy but then get complacent it will probably start slowly recreating in various places. For this reason, we can only think of revolution as a continuous process of betterment of social dynamics. The revolution already started, but it won’t finish anytime soon. (This idea is adjacent but not identical to Trotsky’s permanent revolution)

2.4 On Liberatory AI

Michael had some thoughts about how decentralizing computing could liberate AI for the masses. One example he cites of decentralized cloud computing is the [compute for science (https://boinc.berkeley.edu/) project at Berkeley.

2.5 Some Chomsky stanning

Here is a link to a non-paywalled version of the New York Times article where Chomsky and colleagues explain key differences between how Large Language Models (such as chatGPT) process information, and how the human mind processes information.

3. Third Discussion

Reading runs from 51:49 to 53:01

3.2 On ACAB

ACAB is a systemic critique, not one aimed at individuals, but one aimed at a system that uses violence to protect property rights over human rights. The problem with policing is that its fundamental function is not to protect humanity, but to defend property rights. It is a violent apparatus that upholds the private property system.

3.3 On police origins

We refer the listener to this episode of Througline : American Police for some historical background on the origins of police.

3.4 On the function of police

The court precedent that rules that police are under no obligation to serve and protect citizens is Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales We refer the reader to the Radio Lab episode No Special Duty to learn more about the legal parameters around policing.

3.5 On Vagrants

Vagrancy, in most western countries, was at one point or another deemed a criminal offence, and used to force people into labour. We refer the reader to the Behind the Bastards episode: The War On Vagrants (Part One) for more about this.

3.6 On seeking community in all the wrong places

It is ultimately community that will keep us safe. But, community has been commodified in our neoliberal hellscape, and parasitic ideologies prey on the lonely. We went into a bit of a rabbit hole into incel ideology. We won’t share links here. There is nothing to learn there. Instead, we can build community :)