How Capitalism Makes You Lonely

Summary

The video script delves into the detrimental effects of loneliness on mental and physical health, highlighting studies that link it to increased mortality and various diseases. It critiques capitalism for eroding social connections, transforming them into market transactions. The speaker argues that this 'transactionification' of society contributes to a sense of isolation and suggests that local organizing and community involvement could be a way to combat these issues.

Takeaways

• 🌸 The script discusses the importance of social connections, likening them to essential elements like air and water, and highlighting the negative impacts of loneliness on health and well-being.
• 📈 It presents studies showing that people with stronger social relationships have a significantly increased likelihood of survival and that loneliness is linked to various health issues like cardiovascular disease and depression.
• 🏘️ The video touches on the historical and societal shifts that have led to increased loneliness, including the move from communal to nuclear family structures and the privatization of public spaces.
• 💼 It criticizes capitalism for its role in creating and perpetuating loneliness by promoting individualism, privatization, and the commodification of social interactions.
• 🌐 The script suggests that the internet and digital communication platforms, while connecting people in some ways, also contribute to the transactional nature of modern relationships and the erosion of genuine social bonds.
• 🎮 It points out the shift from communal and shared entertainment experiences to individualized, transaction-based forms of entertainment, such as video games and streaming services.
• 🏛️ The concept of 'enclosure' is introduced to describe the historical process of privatizing common resources, which is seen as a metaphor for the way social interactions have become commodified.
• 💡 The video challenges the notion that innovation and progress are solely driven by individuals, arguing instead that they are the result of collective effort and exploitation of labor.
• 💰 It discusses the concentration of wealth among a very small percentage of the population and the negative implications this has for social equality and the accessibility of basic necessities.
• 🤝 The script calls for a return to more communal and less transactional forms of social interaction, suggesting that local organizing and community involvement can help counteract feelings of loneliness.
• 🌱 It concludes with a call to action, urging viewers to seek out and create non-market-based social interactions and to recognize the inherent value of human connections beyond economic transactions.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the video script?

The main topic discussed in the video script is the impact of loneliness on health and the societal changes brought about by capitalism that contribute to social isolation.

How does the script suggest loneliness can affect one's health?

The script suggests that loneliness can have detrimental effects on health, with studies showing that it is linked to cardiovascular disease, inflammation, depression, and even a decreased likelihood of survival.

What is the connection between social connection and survival as mentioned in the script?

The script mentions that one study found that people with stronger social relationships have a 50 percent increased likelihood of survival over a set period of time compared to those with weaker social connections.

What is the role of capitalism in the erosion of social connections according to the script?

The script argues that capitalism, through its focus on private property and economic transactions, has contributed to the erosion of social connections by commodifying aspects of social life and promoting individualism over community.

How does the script describe the historical process of 'enclosure' in relation to social bonds?

The script describes 'enclosure' as a historical process where common resources were fenced off and privatized, leading to people having to pay for access to what was once freely available. This concept is extended to social bonds, suggesting that capitalism has 'enclosed' personal spaces and interactions, turning them into transactions.

What is the script's view on the privatization of communication and its impact on social interaction?

The script criticizes the privatization of communication, stating that most forms of modern communication involve transactions and are controlled by for-profit companies, which has led to a decrease in genuine, non-commercial social interactions.

How does the script relate the concept of 'transactionification' to the current state of society?

The script uses the term 'transactionification' to describe the trend where more aspects of life, including social interactions, are turned into economic transactions. It suggests that this has led to overwork, under-socialization, and a decrease in the quality of social connections.

What is the script's stance on the role of technology and social media in fostering social connections?

The script implies a critical view of technology and social media, suggesting that while they offer platforms for interaction, they are primarily transactional and often contribute to feelings of isolation rather than genuine connection.

How does the script connect the concept of debt and indebtedness to social relationships?

The script references the idea from 'Debt: The First 5000 Years' by David Graeber, suggesting that traditional economies were based on a sense of indebtedness to others, which fostered a sense of community. It contrasts this with the current capitalist system that reduces these relationships to numbers and transactions.

What solution does the script propose to counteract the negative effects of capitalism on social connections?

The script proposes local organizing and community involvement as a solution, encouraging people to engage in activities that do not involve market transactions and to rebuild non-commercial social bonds.

How does the script address the current challenges posed by the pandemic on social interaction?

The script acknowledges the pandemic's impact on limiting social interactions but encourages finding safe and responsible ways to connect with others, emphasizing the importance of human connection for mental and physical health.

Outlines

00:00

🌸 Loneliness and Its Impact on Health

This paragraph discusses the profound effects of loneliness on human health, drawing on various studies that illustrate the importance of social connections. It compares social interaction to basic needs like air and water, highlighting a study that shows individuals with stronger social ties have a 50% increased likelihood of survival. Loneliness is linked to various health issues such as cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and depression. The script also touches on the mental toll of isolation, referencing a 1972 study and another on the mental state degradation due to extreme isolation. It questions why loneliness is so closely tied to our well-being and suggests that social animals, including humans, are hardwired to require social connections. The paragraph also addresses the increasing reported loneliness and the decline in social activity participation over the decades, using bowling leagues as an example of how social structures have changed.

05:02

🏛️ The Role of Capitalism in Social Erosion

The script delves into the role capitalism plays in the erosion of social structures, suggesting that capitalism's drive for profit leads to the exploitation of workers and resources. It describes the process of 'enclosure,' where common lands are turned into private property, historically used to justify colonialism and the seizing of resources. The paragraph explains how this economic system shapes social interactions and culture, reinforcing existing power structures. It criticizes the privatization of public spaces and services, such as parks and postal services, and the transition of communication methods from public to profit-driven platforms. The script argues that the increasing transactional nature of social interactions is a consequence of capitalist logic, which has led to the commodification of social bonds and personal spaces.

10:04

🏡 The Enclosure of Social Spaces and Interactions

This paragraph continues the discussion on capitalism's impact by examining the transformation of social spaces and interactions into private, transactional entities. It describes how families are encouraged to live in nuclear, single-family homes, which reduces sharing and increases the need for individual ownership of goods. Public spaces, once free for social interaction, now often require payment or are designed to deter lingering. The script also addresses the privatization and commercialization of communication tools and services, which have replaced public postal services and face-to-face interactions. It criticizes the trend of microtransactions in entertainment, such as video games with loot boxes, which exploit consumers. The paragraph reflects on the historical shift from communal economies based on mutual indebtedness to market-based transactions, suggesting that this change has led to a loss of human connection and an increase in social isolation.

15:06

📉 Neoliberalism and Its Socioeconomic Consequences

The script critiques neoliberalism, an economic ideology that promotes for-profit transactions for all aspects of life, leading to a concentration of wealth among a small elite. It discusses the global impact of neoliberal policies, including debt crises and austerity measures, and how they have led to the privatization of public services. The paragraph highlights the increasing wealth of the richest individuals in contrast to the majority's declining buying power. It also touches on the cultural effects of this economic system, such as the glorification of overwork and the rise of social anxiety and depression. The script reflects on the personal impact of these pressures, including the struggle to monetize hobbies and the constant comparison with others' success, contributing to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt.

20:06

🌐 Capitalism and the Illusion of Freedom

The final paragraph reflects on the broader implications of living within a capitalist system that perpetuates a cycle of consumption and isolation. It acknowledges the challenges of critiquing capitalism while participating in it, as seen in sponsored content on capitalist platforms. The script suggests that the system creates a false sense of freedom while maintaining an underlying structure that is difficult to escape. It calls for local organizing and community involvement as a means to counteract the isolating effects of capitalism. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for personal and collective resistance against the system, emphasizing the importance of human connection and the need to defend our biological need for social interaction.

Keywords

💡Loneliness

Loneliness is a state of feeling alone, isolated, and lacking social connections. In the video, it is discussed as a significant health issue, with studies showing that social connections are as vital as air and water, and that loneliness can lead to negative health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and depression. The script uses the concept of loneliness to highlight the importance of social bonds and the detrimental effects of their absence.

💡Social Connection

Social connection refers to the relationships and interactions that people have with others. The video emphasizes the importance of social connections for survival and well-being, citing studies that show a 50 percent increased likelihood of survival for those with stronger social relationships. The script argues that the erosion of these connections is linked to the negative impacts of capitalism and the privatization of spaces that were once public and communal.

💡Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and the pursuit of profit. The video script critiques capitalism for its role in creating and perpetuating loneliness and social isolation. It suggests that capitalism encourages the privatization of resources and spaces, leading to a decrease in communal activities and an increase in transactional relationships, which in turn affects social bonds and mental health.

💡Enclosure

Enclosure historically refers to the process of fencing off common land and making it private property. In the context of the video, enclosure is used metaphorically to describe the broader process of privatizing communal spaces and resources, which has led to a reduction in public spaces for social interaction and an increase in transactional relationships.

💡Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is a political-economic philosophy that advocates for free markets, deregulation, and minimal government intervention. The script associates neoliberalism with the commodification of social services and the promotion of for-profit transactions in all aspects of life, which contributes to the erosion of social bonds and the exacerbation of loneliness.

💡Transactionification

Transactionification, though not a standard term, is used in the video to describe the process of turning social interactions and relationships into transactions or market-based exchanges. The script argues that this trend is a result of capitalist logic and has led to a decrease in genuine social connections and an increase in isolation.

💡Cultural Enclosure

Cultural enclosure in the video refers to the privatization and commercialization of cultural practices and traditions. The script uses the example of the decline in bowling leagues and the rise of individual participation in activities to illustrate how cultural practices have become more transactional and less communal.

💡Social Anxiety

Social anxiety is a type of anxiety characterized by discomfort and apprehension in social situations. The video suggests that the transactionification of society and the erosion of social bonds have led to increased levels of social anxiety and depression, as people struggle to form genuine connections in a market-driven society.

💡Parasocial Relationship

A parasocial relationship is a one-sided relationship where one person feels a connection to another who is not aware of their existence, often occurring between fans and media personalities. The script mentions this concept to describe the artificial social interactions fostered by platforms like YouTube, where viewers may feel a connection to content creators, but the relationship is not mutual or reciprocal.

💡Gig Economy

The gig economy refers to a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs. The video discusses the pressures faced by gig economy workers, such as the need to monetize hobbies and the constant anxiety about performance and success, which contributes to feelings of isolation and the breakdown of social bonds.

💡Community Organizing

Community organizing involves the process of building and mobilizing communities to act together for a shared purpose. The video script encourages viewers to engage in community organizing as a way to counteract the isolating effects of capitalism and to rebuild social connections at a local level.

Highlights

Loneliness is linked to significant health risks, including increased mortality and mental health issues.

Social connections are as vital to human health as air and water, according to scientific studies.

Prolonged isolation can lead to mental distress and even hallucinations, as shown in a 1972 study.

Loneliness has been on the rise, with fewer people participating in social activities over the past decades.

Capitalism is suggested as a contributing factor to the erosion of social connections and community engagement.

The concept of 'enclosure' in capitalism has led to the privatization of common resources, affecting social structures.

Economic relationships in capitalism often reinforce and justify the status quo, shaping culture and ideology.

The privatization of social interactions and spaces, such as family homes and public places, has increased isolation.

Modern communication platforms are primarily transactional, with profits made from user interactions.

The transactionification of society has led to a decrease in non-commercial social interactions and an increase in isolation.

Neoliberalism promotes for-profit transactions in all aspects of life, contributing to social disconnection.

Wealth inequality has increased, with the top 15 billionaires in the U.S. amassing more wealth than the bottom 40% of the population.

The gig economy and creative sectors contribute to overwork and under-socialization, impacting mental health.

The pandemic has further limited social interactions, exacerbating feelings of isolation.

Local organizing and community involvement are suggested as ways to combat the negative effects of capitalism and isolation.

The importance of non-market-based social interactions for mental and physical well-being is emphasized.

The speaker calls for a return to communal and non-transactional ways of living to improve social connections and health.

Transcripts

oh you want a sakura cake wilson

hi hey didn't see you there when you're

in quarantine

and i never thought to show you all my

definitely real friend wilso

this legally distinct friend i made

i'm so lonely

loneliness is bad like really bad

like there are studies bad one review of

studies looking at loneliness

found that social connection is as vital

as air

or water but one study of the

science of loneliness showed that people

with stronger social relationships have

50 percent

increased likelihood of survival over a

set period of time

compared with those with weaker social

connections other studies have linked

loneliness to cardiovascular disease

inflammation and depression one 1972

study of prolonged isolation described

the experience as not being

physically tiring but mentally

it was hell another study showed extreme

degradation of mental state and even

vivid hallucinations

we don't know why loneliness is so

linked to our health

regardless studies on several social

species

show that isolation causes physical

changes in the brain in the same place

used to monitor food and water

it appears much like those social

animals were

hardwired to need social connections so

it's troubling to know that even before

the pandemic

we're lonelier than we've ever been

reported loneliness has been increasing

and

regular participation in social

activities has been going down for

decades

one example is that in the 50s fewer

total people went bowling than they do

today

but way more people were in bowling

leagues we still do a lot of activities

but much of our local social groups

are desolate a lot more civic engagement

is not with

local groups but with larger

organizations you

only interact with by paying a

membership getting a publication

and maybe attending a yearly event so

how did we even get here how are we

eroding this

necessary component of our survival

would you believe that

it's capitalism

yeah i know but it's true hopefully

though

today you'll get an idea of what the

bars around the prison we live in are

built with how it was built

and maybe we'll find a way out but

before i go into a long rant about

capitalism being bad let me just you

know do a little bit of it to pay the

bills

this video is sponsored by boxu so i'm

always curious about people's daily

lives and far-off places

you know just how people go about their

day and one of the

small things i recommend you do when

abroad is check out the

little things like what kind of snacks

are in the corner shop that kind of

thing

just to see what daily life is like

since we can't travel

right now because of kovid and because

it's costly to get to japan

baksu lets you take a small cultural

tour of japan

one snack at a time it even comes with

this

manual that has like the cultural

significance of each of the items

like this month's box dedicated to the

uh hugely important cherry blossom

first time boxing customers get the

seasons of japan box

which gives you a big picture tour of

the different tastes across the country

when you come back you can get ones like

the cherry blossom box or

a valentine's day themed one i got back

in february

baksu honors japanese heritage and

artisanal makers

by partnering with them to bring

authentic flavors

around the world will so my legally

distinct companion ball

enjoys them and you might think it's

worth a try too

so if you want to give it a shot you can

get up to 10 off

save up to 47 on your own authentic

snack box from boku

using my link and code which you can

find in the description

or on the pinned comment there

i did a capitalism now bill's paid let's

move on to the content

so to begin we need to do a little bit

of economic heresy

and analyze how capitalism functions in

practice

this is contrary to how economists do it

are modern-day theologians

more like to describe how it works

according to scripture

you might think that the stuff that we

use is made by

magic rainbows and the soul genius work

of

big brain businessmen like elon musk

innovation drives new things

and new things mean life better and like

that's

cute and all but it's not true

it's basically the central myth of our

age a lot has been written about how

capitalism

actually functions it's essentially what

this

guy spent his life writing about

capitalism derives economic wealth by

exploiting others so whether it's the

corn farmers in iowa or the food

processing plant workers

the fact that i get to eat red hot

cheetos

comes from the fact that they put in the

hours

to make a turn from corn into whatever

the hell

red hot cheetos are capitalists then

take that sweet sweet

cheeto dosh generated by all these hard

workers

and pocket the majority for themselves

of course after washing their hands they

don't get that

red hot dust on their armani suits they

need to ensure those workers don't start

making their

own red hot cheetos so

you need to grab up as much of the corn

red hot dust

and food processing plants as possible

to keep them out of the cheeto game

for this to work you need to make sure

all resources

and the equipment used to make cheetos

are private property and you need to

protect that private property

sometimes by force fortunately the state

has police officers and soldiers

to handle this and also

non-cheeto-related private property like

um

i don't know doritos capitalism put

private property into the few hands of

the capitalists

around the time europeans were stealing

a hell of a lot of resources from

[Music]

well everyone else which makes

a lot of sense it was a justifying

ideology to say

you're a good little boy for conquering

and slaving and

drawing fences around shared resources

to call them yours

it also means that the fundamental

motivation of a capitalist economy

is the same as colonialism you must find

new lands markets to conquer new ways to

get people to consume corn

and new workers to underpay and that has

a social impact on people

the way our economic relationships with

each other functionally

inform the social structure we build up

around ourselves

typically these economic relationships

exist to reinforce

and justify the way things are this

process is

how we broadly form our culture and

ideology

the process of turning largely common

land into private property is called

enclosure powerful people would build

fences around the commons as people

called them

and restrict its use to only one person

or paying customers

those people who lost the commons

couldn't produce anything off of it

and so had switched their livelihood to

renting their freedom to the same

people who enclosed the commons i see

later they'd create a myth that people

sharing this land were misusing it to

justify what's essentially theft a very

common story if you learn about

early american uh relationships with

native american people

you could go farm in the commons before

but now you either have to buy your own

land pay someone to let you farm on

theirs

or rent chunks of your life just to be

able to pay the bills

something that belonged to the community

was now a product

it was a market and the fruits of those

resources

went to a tiny powerful elite okay

if that's the case how do you keep

capitalism

going when you run out of places to

conquer well

there's still plenty of commons to

exploit you just need to think

a little more creatively we've already

taken away common land and put a price

barrier on it

so if you want to do something like say

eat

you have to pay for it but what if we

took

other things that we need or want

and put fences around those so economic

conquistadores started to dig into

other common resources like water but

to go back to the topic at hand

enclosure also came

for our human bonds and social

interaction we

started to build fences around our

personal spaces

and turn them into one which requires a

transaction

this started with something as simple as

the shape of families we

encourage people to move into nuclear

single-family homes

more homes need more home sales smaller

families

mean less sharing now for example your

four-person family needs their

own washer and dryer that only gets used

once a week grandma and grandpa don't

live there

so they have to get their own what about

public places to hang out with your

friends in well

those have to go too parks need to

charge admission

and just hanging out in the street is

now called

loitering i really can't believe that we

don't talk more about how

being in public without buying something

is a

crime these places where we weren't

working

or at home were called third spaces

and now if you want to hang out with

your friends

without paying someone money your

options are minimal

we design public benches to be

uncomfortable so you know you don't stay

super long

stores will blast high pitched sounds to

make the area around them

unpleasant for teenagers i mean now that

kelly and i work from home we don't even

have second spaces to get our social

kicks from like

office gossip but what about

communication we use to talk to people

or write letters through a public postal

service as we

found better and faster ways to

communicate

we did so using capitalist logic now

a lot of the postal service is

delivering things you purchase through a

transaction

and is largely becoming privatized

itself and most forms of communication

involve transactions think about the

profit made off of

nearly every way you interact with

others your

phone that you're maybe watching this on

right now was built by a for-profit

company

and the networks are maintained

predominantly by for-profit companies

twitter facebook discord all of them

make money off of you using them

if there wasn't a transaction making

them cash for you using it

it wouldn't exist heck even dating

is primarily funneled through for-profit

apps

i say as someone who met his wife on

okcupid

with the pandemic now we hardly interact

with anyone

unless we're paying one of these

entities entertainment furthermore

moved from a verb to a noun it's not

necessarily bad that we went from

you know hanging out playing music

sing-alongs and parlor games

and instead now do things that are a

little bit more

solitary and involve purchasing things

like watching movies

tv shows or listening to recorded albums

but i will say you spend a lot less time

doing stuff with your friends this way

video games are a little bit of an

exception and they're pretty good

however

you're still doing something through a

transactional purchase and a rather

expensive one too

and it's no longer turning into a single

upfront purchase that you can then

continue on to play with your friends

now a lot of these companies have

constant micro

purchases loot boxes and things like

that to exploit

children and people with gambling

addictions in order to milk

more pennies out of everybody who uses

their platform

and if there isn't a way to make a

transaction out of a type of social

interaction

it's considered like wrong somehow

i live in a pretty old house and many

old houses

focused on making beautiful front

porches to hang out on with your

neighbors

but you know we don't really get to know

our neighbors anymore

why sit on the front porch when there's

other people out there

you could be on your back deck with your

barbecue

your garden and your fences despite

evidence to the contrary strangers are

now considered dangerous

in neighborhoods are a lot quieter these

days

oh and don't get me started on the day i

spent on next door

and this thinking in transactions isn't

just some innate aspect of our human

nature

our economy and economic interactions

between each other for the long history

of humanity

involved no currency at all in david

graber's debt the first five thousand

years

we learned through history and

anthropology that our economies

primarily worked off

an idea of indebtedness everyone lived

off of a sort of

intangible debt to everyone else

one which you could never fully pay this

may

sound bad but it's good actually and i'm

not talking about student loans

it's sort of like an understanding that

we all exist because of the

labors of countless others in fact

turning this debt into an

actual number is always going to be

imperfect

how can you really compare the value of

say a hammer to

a bag of delicious red hot cheetos i i

was really

like i really had a craving when i wrote

this script

how can you value someone's invention

given the labors and innovations of

generations upon generations of those

who came before them

reducing our debt to each other to

numbers and then heaven forbid

paying off said debt is akin to saying

you wish to cut yourself off from your

fellow humans

in debt graber told the story of a

parent who gave their kid a

bill for every cent they cost them on

their 18th birthday

to most people this sounds absolutely

horrible and honestly like the father is

signaling

that he never wants to interact with his

child again i mean

what other interpretation of squaring

debt between

parent and child is there but wanting

their connection resolved

and over with at the end of the day who

cares why does it matter if we

replace the sort of primitive communism

that makes our world function with

economic market-based

transactions the problem is that it

typically means that

those luxuries that used to be

necessities are becoming

less within reach for the vast majority

of us

our current dominant economic ideology

is neoliberalism

an assumption that if something can be

made into a for-profit transaction

it should be it's been used to force

countries just getting out of

colonization into

crushing debt forcing horrible austerity

from development loans

it has led to the enclosure of the few

social services governments did provide

to make

yet more growth by turning what used to

be a public service

into a market transaction and without

some sort of redistribution

money the magic number that determines

whether you're entitled to live

keeps moving into fewer and fewer hands

the wealthiest 15 americans in this

country

15 people and that includes bill gates

the koch brothers sheldon adelson

and a bunch of others these guys have

seen

their wealth increase by 170

billion dollars that's just an increase

in what they

previously had in a two-year period to

put this in perspective

that increase in wealth for the top 15

americans

is more wealth than is owned by the

bottom 40

percent of our people and it is double

what this country spends on nutrition

programs

to feed over 40 million americans

billionaires are hoarding vast piles of

money

more than they or their families could

ever hope to spend

even if they lived for thousands of

years

meanwhile the vast majority of people

are losing their buying power if you

factor in inflation

in general the last 50 years has been

defined by our economic power going down

we have less and less money while more

and more parts of our social lives

happen through economic transactions as

a result

we're losing our ability to enjoy we

once did

and we're encouraged to make up for our

falling behind

by preying off others i mean i'm

literally encouraged by youtube to

develop a parasocial relationship with

you

it's so that you will in an arguably

pretty unhealthy way

sate your need for social interaction by

watching me

a person who doesn't know you that's why

i keep using the word you

they tell me to do so to encourage the

parasocial relationship youtube

wouldn't encourage this if it didn't

work don't worry though

you can trust me never to abuse this

relationship i'm

your good friend tristan

the transactionification is that is that

a word that

whatever the transactionification of

society

has definitely bled into the culture and

norms

of our lives people are overworked and

under-socialized

and as a culture we're working overtime

to justify why that's okay

we're no longer anti-social we're just

introverts who are somehow superior

intellects to those lowly extroverts

we're no longer working in human hours

to just cling to existence

we're hustling and yet despite these

justifications

we're sinking in rising levels of social

anxiety

and depression i'd tell my own

experiences with it but

that would just be self-important navel

gazing

i've felt some sort of awareness of this

for a while

but that doesn't mean that the urge to

hustle and isolate hasn't hit me

either as a gig economy creative sector

worker

this stuff results in me having some

strange thoughts

like many in my field i feel the

pressure to even monetize things i

do for fun as you can see in the

background here

i have many dungeons and dragons books

it's probably my

one big hobby and i have fought

tooth and nail to not turn this

creative outlet and time with my friends

into a podcast or stream

i could use to pay my bills despite what

my twitch chat says

some people would watch such a thing if

i tried it

oh no he's going on about tnt again

ever wonder why everyone seems to have

an actual play podcast these days

it also affects the people i'd arguably

have the easiest time talking through

these feelings with

this mega rich website

makes me fight every day

to be popular by making it contingent on

my ability to afford things

it creates a feeling of competition with

my friends and

constant anxiety that what i'm putting

out

is never good enough when my friends are

successful i'm happy for them

and then i go and return to a place of

hating myself for

not being as successful a poorly

performing video can make me upset for

weeks patreon helps but again

that's a that's another transaction then

there's the fact that

what i do has been thoroughly called out

by mark fisher

in capitalist realism i'm an

anti-capitalist doing a sponsored video

on a capitalist platform for cash and

all because it's what i need to do to

pay bills

at the end of the day i'm using a medium

that creates a safe environment to

consume

anti-capitalist ideas without actually

challenging them

if anything i'm feeding them he made us

all take a look at what we were doing

and in the bargain he got a taste of

real freedom

[Music]

we captured that taste and we keep

giving it to him so he can give it right

back to you

in every bite of new simple wreck

freedom wafer selects

come home to the unique flavor of

shattering the grand illusion

come home to simple rick it creates

feelings of

hopelessness it's like there's nothing i

can do to

break out of this titanic

impersonal structure it's way too much

for any one person to seriously change

there's a strong sense of impotence to

this

inevitable system feels like

there's like there's no way out you know

i'm not going to pretend that there's a

way to fix the world with

any change beyond big structurals

without the vanguard party or the

perpetual energy waste of electoralism

we need action to even convince

ourselves we're capable of making change

and that is simple hometown local

organizing we're coming to a stage in

the pandemic where we

might be able to do more things with

people

while i was not an active community

member before

i will try to get involved

with something anything that's not a

market transaction there's plenty you

can do from small to large

hanging out with your friends at your

their place or a park

pool resources with things like tool

libraries and use those tools to repair

and share stuff you no longer use and of

course join or you nerds

whether it be something radical like

food not bombs or simply a social club

i just want you to exist with other

people in a way that doesn't involve

buying stuff

and i'm not saying play d d but that can

get real fun for real cheap and gets you

together with friends okay shutting up

on that one

we're at a point where we're locked in a

prison and we need to work

just to see the bars of it every

incentive of our economy and culture

pushes us not to see it we have to focus

on

consciousness racing to get us to the

point where we can even feel

capable of changing things and as a

historian i can tell you

everything seems impossible right up

until it seems inevitable

greber made a really profound statement

in debt

we owe our existence to countless people

and the size of that debt is truly

incalculable

as philosopher peter kirpakin said all

belongs to all

we shouldn't pay our debts society

because it's literally impossible

capitalism breaks down the honestly

communistic connection

we all have and is trying to fill it

with new ways to funnel resources from

us to the wealthy it's literally killing

us and we need to

fight it even at the personal level our

connections to each other are based on

biological needs and are worth defending

we literally need each other to live

so if you don't mind me i'm gonna go

outside

oh wait nope nope nope there's a

pandemic i'm gonna go find a

safe responsible way to interact with my

fellow people when

it's safe to do so but

i know that i am not going to need you

anymore

[Music]

you