As the hexbear cadre becomes dug in for the protracted people’s posting war I find myself reflecting on what makes Hexbear a great place. IMO there are a lot of things; our trans comrades (who we love unconditionally), a pig w/ poop on it’s balls, a dope ass bear. But I think it’s you scattered few that really help maintain that special hexbear vibe that we all appreciate.
I, like the majority of users here, would not describe myself as an Anarchist. But an opinion I often see and one I tend to agree with is that we cannot and should not ignore the tactical contributions of past anarchist struggles. Even further, I read a very thought provoking comment somewhere the other day (can’t remember who made it) that as ecological conditions deteriorate to below the level of stability necessary to maintain a state, anarchist theory could become more relevant and important to grapple with. I found that idea to be very thought provoking.
But what I’m really getting at here is that I appreciate the ideological diversity you precious few contribute. Here’s the thing; I think the magic ingredient for any enjoyable social media experience is a certain level of friction. Echo chambers are genuinely boring. Thank you for your contributions here.
Don’t be afraid to generate some friction because the struggle that generates sharpens all of us. My liberal ass is proud to be here in the posting trenches with you folks.
Hey that’s really interesting thanks for sharing! I think what keeps me essentially an ML is always my belief that a non hierarchical society cannot adequately defend itself against an organized hierarchical state.
That being said I am open to the notion that the cynicism inherent to that belief may limit the scope of my imagination. Who knows, these are aesthetic differentiations anyway insofar as there is any praxis is attached to them.
It is interesting to imagine how technology can be a force multiplier for left wing movements. Again, I tend to err on the side of the cynical. But it has been heartening to see the combatting of liberalism that has been happening since federation. It does certainly make me wonder what kind of valence this platform or something similar could have as an organizational tool IRL.
Unfortunately, I think you need some state apparatus to combat the colossus that is a global capital empire. Asymmetrical warfare during an occupation is one thing, but actually being able to prevent an occupation is another entirely.
But, I’m a firm believer that the extent to which state apparatus must be completely hierarchical and quick to calcify power can be reduced through technology. I think that, in the same way it would be difficult to look at at MS-DOS and imagine Windows 11, it is difficult to look at software like loomio and imagine LibreSyn or whatever. But that dynamic didn’t stop Bell Labs from inventing half this shit decades before it was practical to produce. It didn’t stop Alan Kay from drawing a goddamn iPad in 1968.
There’s good, fresh, groundbreaking work to be done here. Interdisciplinary work that spans the full gamut of tech and organizing and sociology and cybernetics and distributed ratio networks and trustless proofs and modern group encryption algorithms and the list goes on.