Only when we step outside the confines of our own thoughts can we truly experience the subjective world in all its depth. It’s all about breaking free from the mind’s limitations.
Great conversation, thanks for the time! See you around!
I, personally, don’t accept any kind of dictatorship can ever be good. That there is a series of humans with self interest in between the resources of a nation and the populace of a nation leads me to doubt that possibility. If it were possible, we would have seen more than a few prosperous Marxist nations.
A "good dictatorship" in the Marxist sense isn’t about a singular tyrant, but the working class collectively taking control to dismantle capitalist power.
The reason Marxist nations have struggled is due to elite corruption, not the ideology itself. Dictatorship, when it's truly for the people, can redistribute power and create equality.
The real issue with capitalism is that it claims to be democratic but is manipulated by the wealthy elite. True democracy can only exist when economic power is decentralized, and that's something capitalism can never achieve.
“As soon as anyone starts to think, this society is no longer safe for them.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
To step beyond the wheel is to leave the comfort of the familiar and dive into the unsettling freedom of the unknown, where new perspectives await.
A "good dictatorship" in the Marxist sense
One that dismantles capitalist structures, redistributes power, and serves the working class free from elite manipulation. Not the kind that exists to maintain power for a select few under the guise of order.
But even if we find the door, how do we know we aren’t simply stepping into another train, another set of tracks?
As Heraclitus said, "You cannot step into the same river twice."
The world beyond might be vast, but it’s not free from its own currents. Still, the search for that door—the willingness to step outside, to sail the unknown—is the essence of philosophical freedom.
It’s the courage to question the tracks, to acknowledge the illusion, and perhaps, to embrace the sea of uncertainty.
You make some solid points about media and its role in shaping our perceptions. The shift from corporate mass media to algorithmic-driven content is massive, and while biases can never be fully escaped, the manipulation of those biases is more systematic now than ever.
The "post-truth" era you mentioned isn’t just about misinformation, it’s about the controlled narratives we’re fed. Media literacy is crucial, but as you pointed out, the institutions that should be teaching it are often part of the problem.
Chomsky’s "5 Filters" and Bernays' work are key to understanding how this manipulation works.But the real question is.
Can we truly break free from this system, or are we always going to be caught in the cycle of being manipulated by those in power?
The downgrade to a "flawed democracy" highlights the reality of a system that's never truly been for the people it's always been about serving the interests of the capitalist class. A "full democracy" is a myth in a society where the economic system is designed to prioritize a select few. The real solution isn't about restoring a broken democracy but about dismantling the capitalist structures that prop it up. A good dictatorship, one that truly serves the people and removes the influence of the elite, could be the only way to actually return power to the masses.
Perhaps it’s not about the lack of windows, but about the train’s destination. are we blindly trusting the tracks, or are we too afraid to question where they’re taking us?
You bring up a critical point, if we’re talking about a capitalist state, it’s hard to deny that the capitalist class holds the reins. The US, as you mentioned, was built on a bourgeois revolution, and the foundational structures, designed by a wealthy, white, land-owning elite, set the stage for the kind of oligarchy we see today. The idea that the system was never intended to represent the working class is key, and it’s something that’s often overlooked. The study you mentioned about the US being an oligarchy rather than a democracy really underscores how deep this issue runs. It’s not just regulatory capture, it’s the very nature of the state being designed to serve the interests of the elite, which we can trace back to its origins.
I dropped my coffee, and now I’m in a parallel universe where socks are the currency, and the moon’s made of expired cheese. Also, I’m dead, but I can’t find my keys.
Over 2,000 years ago, Plato described prisoners in a cave, shackled and forced to watch shadows on a wall, mistaking these illusions for reality. When one prisoner escapes and sees the real world, the truth is overwhelming. But when he returns to free the others, they reject him.
Now, swap the cave for a smartphone. The shadows for social media, curated feeds, and AI-driven content. Are we any different from Plato’s prisoners? We consume reality through screens, shaped by algorithms that decide what we see, think, and believe. Our attention is bought and sold, our perceptions manipulated.
If you were shown the "real world" beyond this digital illusion, free from biases, dopamine loops, and controlled narratives. Would you even believe it? Or would you, like Plato’s prisoners, reject the truth in favor of comforting shadows?
Are we still chained? Or is there a way out?
Mc woke up in an isikai ahh title