The curator of Oxford tells the immortal bureaucrat Patulcius that she has no work for him because community has dissolved and people have become "'...purely individuals...'" (p. 483), loyal only to variable interpersonal configurations. I doubt this because I see social interaction as fundamental to humanity and because I expect that mass collective action will be necessary to bring the full benefits of technology to every community and individual on Earth. That action will define a new society where each individual develops by interacting with many others both in small groups and as a member of a global but interconnected population.
However, it is the task of sf (science fiction/speculative fiction) writers to consider the consequences of alternative possibilities as HG Wells did in The Time Machine (dystopian) and The Shape Of Things To Come (utopian).
18 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
There will be no such fantasy as "mass collective action." Economic and technological changes, good or bad, will spread as they always have: via people who believe they will profit from spreading those changes.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
The "fantasy" of mass collective action happens all the time: strikes, demonstrations and, unfortunately, wars.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Strikes/demonstrations are also negative things, use for opposing something or putting pressure on somebody. Positive things like the work of James Watt inventing steam power technology succeeded because he attracted investors who saw its possibilities.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Strikes and demonstrations are positive things, giving people the opportunity to change their lives for the better. There is no need to counterpose this to the positive contributions of inventors.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I disagree with this high opinion of strikes/demonstrations.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
And I agree with it, having been involved in them. A closed school and a closed nursing home were re-opened because of demonstrations and, in the latter case, also strikes.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I've seen too many bad strikes/demonstrations to put any trust in them.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I have been involved in many strikes and demonstrations and think that they are part of the way forward to a better society. Of course they are conflictive but so are the conditions that produce them.
I really must go out now for the evening so, if these exchanges are to continue, then there will be a pause in my input.
Paul.
Humans are, indeed, inherently social -- it's genetic. This is not an unalloyed good, because "my tribe good, your tribe stinks, kill-kill-kill" is part of that, and also genetic.
Kaor, Paul!
And Stirling's comment helps clarify why I don't agree with your high opinion of strikes/demonstrations. They appeal to our tribal instinct to destroy those who oppose us.
I prefer James Watt to rabble rousing demagogues!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Strikes do not appeal to our tribal instinct to destroy anyone. They are a way to oppose injustices and to improve conditions at work. They are not all led by rabble rousing demagogues. That is a one-sided parody. Such one-sided language rules out serious discussion.
Why on Earth oppose James Watt to another group of people doing something entirely different?
Paul.
Stirling: "my tribe good, your tribe stinks, kill-kill-kill"
And *one* of the worst things about tribalism is making belief in some idea part of tribal identity, which prevents intelligent consideration of whether the idea is actually true.
Kaor, Paul!
I don't agree. Strikes have a long history of also being destructive and disruptive. I see nothing holy in strikes.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I don't agree. (We know we don't agree. This is not new!) Strikes have a long history of winning improvements at work. Of course they disrupt normal working for their duration but "destructive" is a bit strong. (I think that your language is too extreme.) I see everything holy in strikes! (That is an over the top statement, of course, but I am only replying in kind. I had said nothing about holiness. But strikes are workers beginning to exercise some control over their working lives. I think that they should go further.)
Paul.
Jim,
The first thing that goes out of the window in tribal/faction fights is the facts. It is asserted and denied that Musk made a Nazi salute. It is asserted that Trump was found guilty of "sexual abuse," not of "rape," and it is asserted that "sexual abuse" is the term for "rape" in that particular court.
Knowing two guys' politics, I could predict how they would (differently) report a single event that they had both observed.
We should each try first to be clear in our own heads about what is going on even if we know the futility of trying to discuss it with (some) others.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
For at least a century now unions in the US has become increasingly corrupt, stagnant, resistant to modernization, and greedy. Esp. the infamous Teamsters and its affiliates! And their strikes have often been marked by violence, intimidation, destruction, and disruption. They deserve no respect!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I oppose corrupt bureaucratic union leaderships but would do this as a union member, not by leaving the union. What is the "destruction"?
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
The problem is not "bureaucracy," but the sheer cussedness of our Fallen human, which no amount of high tech will rectify.
The most recent example of how destructive unions can be was last year, in September/October, when the International Longshoremen Association, representing employees working in the harbors of the east and Gulf of America coasts of the US declared a strike. A prolonged strike would have had devastating results for the entire US, loading/unloading of all kinds of goods would have stopped. There would have been massive backlogs of ships at ports waiting to load/unload, Prices would have soon skyrocketed, and many Americans started panic buying and hoarding. Agonized protests from Democrat big shots pointing out this would favor the Republican opposition in the upcoming Presidential election persuaded the ILA bosses to call off the strike on Oct. 3.
Besides their demands for even higher pay (average salary for ILA port workers was $88,000 a year), the ILA was opposing efforts to modernize port facilities, such as increased use of automation.
No wonder I have only contempt for these corrupt, greedy unions!
Ad astra! Sean
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