Enshittification Redux

Hard times create hard people, he thought. Hard people create good times. Good times create weak people. And weak people create hard times.

And so it repeats.

You can parse this quote with whatever timeline you like, but where are we in the present moment? At best, I can group it into the last hundred years. 1925 – 2025. The Depression / WW2 would be the hard times. Those survivors would not be the hardest of the hard (a generalization, assuredly). Thus begat the good times, mostly in the GDUSA, maybe ending in the late 60’s. The weak people, scattered over forty-ish years displayed an enormous level of douchebaggery, ineptitude, and willful criminality that may exceed the end of the Roman era.

Is it any wonder, why we wonder what awaits? (Try saying that while drunk.) Comparatively, we’re not in truly hard, destitute times. But what of the singularity that pushes us over the brink? And what defines the brink? Pick any group or issue on the planet – some other side develops the anti stance. Might makes right is the based theme, up until a stronger might rewrites the history book.

Under that premise, given the level of intelligence and stamina of the populace, the outcome is binary: subjugation or demise. Recent history has tried to create the former, the latter has not grown to a critical mass with a noticeable body count. Not for lack of trying. The active fighter(s) are those mentally unstable folk the MSM tells us to beware of. Not interested in them, unless they are near me. But, it’s the paced activity of the larger actions (some say accidents, others suggest terrorism.)

Back to what stage we’re on. Definitely not hard times. Some would argue it is hard, and yes, for some that’s true. But it has to be hard for everybody. It’s also not the second, as there are people all over the spectrum. Brings up to #3, and there are more than enough weak people around the world. The amount of suffering the small group of hard people affect a larger share of the weak (as it always has). Yet, we’re still having good times, in spite of the wannabe hard folk.

Weak people will need to become a critical mass, before the next rotation. The past decade had America bouncing between two extremes. A managed ambivalence, if you will. Ambivalence as default will only become hard times if one side pushes their prerogative.

https://x.com/doctorow/status/1949952695755764072?s=46&t=80OKXpk4GzffSb3a3lsNtg