Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last week

⁂ Article

Individualism vs Commons: Why the Fediverse matters, and the Indieweb is legacy

The continuing, talking to legacy alt media people, sparks off clarification. The current conversation comes from the #indieweb, rooted in individualism, the digital mirror of the lone artisan, the self-sufficient homesteader, the coder as sovereign subject. This is not a critique in itself – individualism is a core driver of creativity and experimentation. But taken as the centre of gravity, it is a politics that naturally aligns with capitalism. Each person builds their site, their stack, […]
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last week

⁂ Article

Individualism vs Commons: Why the Fediverse matters, and the Indieweb is legacy

The continuing, talking to legacy alt media people, sparks off clarification. The current conversation comes from the #indieweb, rooted in individualism, the digital mirror of the lone artisan, the self-sufficient homesteader, the coder as sovereign subject. This is not a critique in itself – individualism is a core driver of creativity and experimentation. But taken as the centre of gravity, it is a politics that naturally aligns with capitalism. Each person builds their site, their stack, […]
witchescauldron
@witchescauldron@kolektiva.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 weeks ago

Let’s call it what it is #stupidindividualism = the #neoliberal condition of enclosure. A social operating system designed to lock us into self-referential survival while the commons burn. Enclosure of self is #deathcult worship in the era of #climatchaoshttps://hamishcampbell.com/enclosure-self-is-the-death-of-collective-meaning/
witchescauldron
@witchescauldron@kolektiva.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 weeks ago

Let’s call it what it is #stupidindividualism = the #neoliberal condition of enclosure. A social operating system designed to lock us into self-referential survival while the commons burn. Enclosure of self is #deathcult worship in the era of #climatchaoshttps://hamishcampbell.com/enclosure-self-is-the-death-of-collective-meaning/
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last month

⁂ Article

Frictionlessness is a Poisoned Fantasy – an #OMN Reflection

In our current mess of a world, one of capitalism’s illusions is the promise of #frictionlessness, that everything should just work, that all interactions should be smooth, efficient, and untroubled. In tech this is the logic of the #dotcons, keeping the “users” engaged, never give them time to think, and above all don’t let the real world get in the way of the pipeline between their attention and your profit.

This has infected the #geekproblem deeply. In software culture, especially, […]
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last month

⁂ Article

Frictionlessness is a Poisoned Fantasy – an #OMN Reflection

In our current mess of a world, one of capitalism’s illusions is the promise of #frictionlessness, that everything should just work, that all interactions should be smooth, efficient, and untroubled. In tech this is the logic of the #dotcons, keeping the “users” engaged, never give them time to think, and above all don’t let the real world get in the way of the pipeline between their attention and your profit.

This has infected the #geekproblem deeply. In software culture, especially, […]
European Commission
@EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu  ·  activity timestamp last month

🏠 Housing is a right, not a privilege. 
  
Yet affordable, quality homes are out of reach for too many across Europe - especially young people, families, and vulnerable groups. 
  
The EU is acting with its Affordable Housing Plan: tackling structural barriers, boosting supply, and unlocking investment.  
  
️🗣️ Have your say.  
A public consultation is open until 17 October. 
  
Ready to shape the future of housing in Europe?  
→ https://europa.eu/!6fHwB3

A minimalist graphic with a textured white background. In the centre, the sentence “Housing is a right, not a privilege.” is repeated multiple times, forming the shape of a house. The top lines are in red, with the colour fading into black as the repetitions continue downward. At the bottom, the phrase appears once more in bold black text. In the lower right corner, there’s a simple outline of the EU flag with twelve stars in a circle.
A minimalist graphic with a textured white background. In the centre, the sentence “Housing is a right, not a privilege.” is repeated multiple times, forming the shape of a house. The top lines are in red, with the colour fading into black as the repetitions continue downward. At the bottom, the phrase appears once more in bold black text. In the lower right corner, there’s a simple outline of the EU flag with twelve stars in a circle.
A minimalist graphic with a textured white background. In the centre, the sentence “Housing is a right, not a privilege.” is repeated multiple times, forming the shape of a house. The top lines are in red, with the colour fading into black as the repetitions continue downward. At the bottom, the phrase appears once more in bold black text. In the lower right corner, there’s a simple outline of the EU flag with twelve stars in a circle.
BerlinFokus
@berlinfokus@berlin.social replied  ·  activity timestamp last month
@EUCommission

Have your say ? 🤔

I'll start right here:

The @EUCommission together with other #EU regulations regarding #subsidies is forbiding #communities to invest in #PublicHousing & is in #neoliberal fashion #DeRegulating the #HousingMarket which has been and is THE MAIN DRIVER of our European #HousingCrisis.

You took affordable housing away from us! (Long ago.)

It must feel so satisfying for you people to mock us now over this.

Cynical and evil.

🤮
MidniteMikeWrites
@MidniteMikeWrites@zirk.us  ·  activity timestamp last month

(5/6) Now we have markets flipping out because of the belief that total addressable markets are infinite ("everyone will use AI for everything forever"). Or worse yet, create a group of addicted superusers (whales) who will pay increasing amounts of money for a service, again and again... forever.

Even outside capital markets companies are rewarded for tricking people into acting on bad information. Modern capitalism reminds me a lot of social engineering and hacking.

https://misaligned.markets/corponomics-lethal-econ-kung-fu/
MidniteMikeWrites
@MidniteMikeWrites@zirk.us replied  ·  activity timestamp last month

(6/6) I think one of the first steps to escaping #neoliberal hell is reframing the role of capitalism in innovation. Maybe it's naive to think that, but even my own well-rounded education failed to do this. That's why I'm building Misaligned Markets.

#enshittification as a mode of progress is baked into capitalism. We need everyone to know this so we can move toward commoditized, open, and competitive innovation rather than continually rewarding the business equivalent of script kiddies.
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last month

⁂ Article

Criticisms of Capitalism — and Its Digital Children, the #dotcons

Capitalism, especially in its late-stage #neoliberal form, has always had significant structural problems. In recent decades, these problems have been amplified and globalized through digital platforms, what we call the #dotcons. These companies are not a break from capitalism, they are its most refined, efficient, and extractive version to date.

Income Inequality

Traditional critique: Capitalism concentrates wealth in the hands of those who own capital (factories, land, assets), while […]
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last month

⁂ Article

Criticisms of Capitalism — and Its Digital Children, the #dotcons

Capitalism, especially in its late-stage #neoliberal form, has always had significant structural problems. In recent decades, these problems have been amplified and globalized through digital platforms, what we call the #dotcons. These companies are not a break from capitalism, they are its most refined, efficient, and extractive version to date.

Income Inequality

Traditional critique: Capitalism concentrates wealth in the hands of those who own capital (factories, land, assets), while […]
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last month

⁂ Article

Hopelessness is a deeply conservative reaction to change and challenge

In the face of mounting crisis – social breakdown, political polarization, ecological collapse – many people turn inward. And in this turn, they mistake passivity, irony and detachment for resistance. But hopelessness is not radical, it’s deeply conservative. It says: “Nothing can change.” “Everything is corrupt.” “Why bother?”

This isn’t rebellion, it’s surrender. And it’s the exact emotional state that power systems – what we call the #deathcult of neoliberalism – […]
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last month

⁂ Article

Hopelessness is a deeply conservative reaction to change and challenge

In the face of mounting crisis – social breakdown, political polarization, ecological collapse – many people turn inward. And in this turn, they mistake passivity, irony and detachment for resistance. But hopelessness is not radical, it’s deeply conservative. It says: “Nothing can change.” “Everything is corrupt.” “Why bother?”

This isn’t rebellion, it’s surrender. And it’s the exact emotional state that power systems – what we call the #deathcult of neoliberalism – […]
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last month

⁂ Article

A conversation about money and the #openweb

Let’s talk about the tension at the heart of the modern #openweb, and why so many grassroots builders and radical technologists find themselves on the outside looking in. Scene: A typical “open internet” conference in Europe. Excited NGO-funded attendee toots:

“Just booked my place for ePIC in Lille! My first Eurostar trip! It’s where I started 10 years ago with Mozilla. Time flies. #OpenBadges #VerifiableCredentials”

Me (a social tech outsider):

“These things are […]
Hamish Campbell
@info@hamishcampbell.com  ·  activity timestamp last month

⁂ Article

A conversation about money and the #openweb

Let’s talk about the tension at the heart of the modern #openweb, and why so many grassroots builders and radical technologists find themselves on the outside looking in. Scene: A typical “open internet” conference in Europe. Excited NGO-funded attendee toots:

“Just booked my place for ePIC in Lille! My first Eurostar trip! It’s where I started 10 years ago with Mozilla. Time flies. #OpenBadges #VerifiableCredentials”

Me (a social tech outsider):

“These things are […]
Dan Gillmor
@dangillmor@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

This is the saddest July 4 in my memory. The United States is plunging into vile right-wing dictatorship, in large part because once-vital institutions -- including Big Journalism -- have chosen to be quislings when courage was needed.

It's not too late to reverse our decline, but it's close.
In Search of a Better World
@CrypticMirror@mstdn.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@dangillmor

It isn't too late, you can always vote to return to the fold and rejoin under the British Crown. Then you'll just have #Neoliberal-scum lite, instead of the full fat version you have over there.

#HappyIndependenceDay #July4th #USpol#UKPol