Post APxlvocIAAcuViWjcu by gerwitz@chaos.social
(DIR) More posts by gerwitz@chaos.social
(DIR) Post #APxlvkSvb2l9dW7CTY by gerwitz@chaos.social
2022-11-06T11:34:12Z
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Apparently I have been remiss in not pinning an #introduction so:Hi, I’m a GenX cis hetero white American man with a corporate job in middle management.But, also, I migrated from St. Louis to Seattle to Amsterdam as I migrated from libertarian to socialist. I haven’t eaten meat for 24 years and have been car-free for 14.I care a lot about ethics and some other niches of philosophy, urban design, and the social impact of business and technology. And riding my bike.
(DIR) Post #APxlvktW0C1ixyYQuu by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T13:10:16Z
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@gerwitz > I migrated from libertarian to socialistDid you actually, or did you migrate from propertarian to actual libertarian (socialist)? ;)
(DIR) Post #APxlvltuGDvy5TkGAK by gerwitz@chaos.social
2022-11-06T12:13:17Z
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Oh no, I forgot to #hashtag my #introduction!So, #vegetarian #cycling #nerd and #consciousness #philosophy #geek and #urban #sustainability #solarpunk #activist or #whatever. 😆
(DIR) Post #APxlvocIAAcuViWjcu by gerwitz@chaos.social
2022-11-06T11:34:12Z
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(My online journey has been from BBSes in 1986, USENET in 1993, Slashdot in 1999, Twitter in 2006. I created a Mastodon account in 2016 but only now am I properly in the fediverse.)
(DIR) Post #APxmAKL31Db4wrNfhQ by gerwitz@chaos.social
2022-11-25T13:12:52Z
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@strypey both! I grew up as a Reagan Republican and as my politics matured sought environs that better fit my ideals.
(DIR) Post #APxo4GqlH9cyIeSFI8 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T13:34:13Z
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@gerwitz As you might have guessed, I'm really passionate about reclaiming the term "libertarian" from those who think it means "tax-dodging billionaire or apologist thereof". The term was used by anti-capitalist anarchists of various flavours long before it was appropriated by the neoliberal right, and more recently even some faction of the far right.
(DIR) Post #APxo76Z7yA69GvYeEy by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T13:34:37Z
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@gerwitz As you might have guessed, I'm really passionate about reclaiming the term "libertarian" from those who think it means "tax-dodging billionaire or apologist thereof". The term was used by anti-capitalist anarchists of various flavours long before it was appropriated by the neoliberal right, and more recently even some faction of the far right.
(DIR) Post #APxo9Ess0qK3eNoHL6 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T13:35:01Z
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@gerwitz As you might have guessed, I'm really passionate about reclaiming the term "libertarian" from those who think it means "tax-dodging billionaire or apologist thereof". The term was used by anti-capitalist anarchists of various flavours long before it was appropriated by the neoliberal right, and more recently even some factions of the far right.
(DIR) Post #APxoUJWNxxvw78LHFY by gerwitz@chaos.social
2022-11-25T13:38:53Z
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@strypey I like that. I’m not sure how to label “capitalist-simping, Ayn Rand-worshipping, libertine for property but nonchalant about human rights” without it, though.
(DIR) Post #APxvl1N1P6HMQCsNFo by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T15:00:23Z
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@gerwitz > I’m not sure how to label “capitalist-simping, Ayn Rand-worshipping, libertine for property but nonchalant about human rights”For this, I use propertarian, or in a more academic or old-school-left context, neoliberal (younger activists tend not to know their political history and get this confused with "liberal" in the modern US sense). Call them "libertarians" is like calling fascists "patriots", it buys into their lies about who they are.
(DIR) Post #APxwtu1MCLNiBjXdAG by gerwitz@chaos.social
2022-11-25T15:13:08Z
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@strypey 🤔 I would never call them “libertines” but at least in my US context, “libertarian” is widely understood as objectivist. (Among laypeople, IDK about political scientists.)Maybe I’ve just aged into too much cynicism about semantics.
(DIR) Post #APxzgPqXNI6QhYk1HE by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T15:44:22Z
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@gerwitz > “libertarian” is widely understood as objectivistTrue, and Hilary Clinton gets called a "liberal", and the Orange Menace a "conservative" because they managed to hijack parties who were the traditional political homes for people who actually fit that description. But if people went around calling water "clouds", and fire "jelly", and grass "snakes", would you join in the collective delusion, or carry on naming things according to what they really are?
(DIR) Post #APy0CuSn4pNwvQ80W0 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T15:50:15Z
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@gerwitz At the risk of labouring the point, the act of framing the debate is in itself a political tactic, and shifting or defending the means of terms with political significance is one of the main tools used in that tactic. For example, if we allow media corporations to reframe copyrights and patents as "intellectual property" (a non-existent nonsense), and copying as "theft", anything we can say on the subject can only play into their hands. NewSpeak in action.
(DIR) Post #APy0Fo3VME6zv7gM5o by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T15:50:38Z
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@gerwitz At the risk of labouring the point, the act of framing the debate is in itself a political tactic, and shifting or defending the meaning of terms with political significance is one of the main tools used in that tactic. For example, if we allow media corporations to reframe copyrights and patents as "intellectual property" (a non-existent nonsense), and copying as "theft", anything we can say on the subject can only play into their hands. NewSpeak in action.
(DIR) Post #APy8yxscTbPr3SdQJM by gerwitz@chaos.social
2022-11-25T17:28:20Z
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@strypey I am here for belaboring semantics. And behind Lakoff with the need for us to wield language to frame the world we want.But … I don’t think there’s a better way to say, to the broadest audience, that I migrated from neoliberal Reaganism to democratic socialism in both ideology and place.Maybe this is all US-centric, though? I do notice that “libertarian” isn’t oft used in continental Europe.
(DIR) Post #APyRTGxFv5Gk4oPAAK by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-11-25T20:55:44Z
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@gerwitz > I do notice that “libertarian” isn’t oft used in continental Europe.... and if you use it people will probably think you mean anarchist. Not anarcho-capitalist either, that's a uniquely Californian Ideology phenomenon, seldom seen out the continental US.