The Ideal Society

[@russellharrell2747]

200 years ago it was inconceivable that a society with our wonders could have poverty and homelessness.

[@williamhaines7752]

Also our society had a gold standard the currency simply limited how much things could actually cost but unfortunately the rich do not pay their fair share of taxes so a gold-based standard for money it's not possible because of this

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Poverty and homelessness are entirely the fault of right wing politics. Hierarchy, tradition, religion are a poison to society.

[@EnervatedSociety]

To people who lack an understanding of basic human nature,sure. I can easily see this going until the end of humanity.

[@nathanielchieffallo4273]

​@@EnervatedSociety appeals to human nature are weak arguments, for every bad there is good. Being selfless is just as much a part of human nature as being greedy

[@thulyblu5486]

and only through capitalism was this betterment possible - millennia of feudalism, kingdoms, tribal societies, socilialism etc couldn't achieve as much as capitalistic societies. There are plenty of those without homelessness and social safety nets to reduce poverty, you know

[@olmostgudinaf8100]

There are two types of selfishness: 1. "I want X." 2. "I don't want YOU to have X."

[@hoyinching9313]

If he or she gets both, very selfish

[@goaway7346]

3. I want you to want (believe) what I want (believe).

[@oliverjesmon]

For example: Elon Musk

[@aprotosis]

@@oliverjesmon Literally and figuratively.

[@alibushell6762]

Except 1 isn't selfishness when it's a need. If someone says "I want food" and they are hungry, it's not selfishness. If someone says "I want a billion dollars" that is, because you don't need that, not by a long shot. 2 can only be selfish.

[@cassiusdhami9215]

Too often we say something is "impossible" when really what we mean is the sysytem we created won't allow it to happen.

[@thomasleblanc4228]

Many companies setup their business model and fine tune it for maximum profit. Then they don't want to change it for 100 years or longer, even sacrificing innovation. Don't rock the boat!

[@allanperl5107]

Unfortunately, this isn't system issue, this is people issue. And people wont change, because most people think the way they live is the correct way, so everyone should change to live like them, not the other way around.

[@blondequijote]

@@allanperl5107 yup. Only sure fire way to end human suffering is if we all stop making more humans. Just like any other solution, it wouldn’t even be difficult if everyone was able to stick to the same plan. That’s just not how it works though.

[@Back2Basics_PlusAI]

@@allanperl5107 Amen brother.

[@MMRIbyM]

we didn't create it. Evil people in power did, we were born into this broken and corrupt system

[@eriknelson9490]

I love this new chapter for your channel. The animations were great, and there is still a place for them, but I really appreciate the long-form societal critiques. Thank you.

[@Boltzmannbrain_2]

Same

[@roscojenkins7451]

I used to watch the cartoons when I was in my early twenties. Then one of his long form recent videos popped up and I'm hooked for a whole new reason

[@Feralzen]

I concur.

[@dennisw8166]

Yeah. I like his channel. I watched the cartoon videos he made. I also like how he's capable of articulating subjects that I think about but have difficulties conveying to others.

[@Back2Basics_PlusAI]

He's somewhat wide-eyed in this takes though, not very deep stuff, no accounting for the human element, unless those elements experience suffering - as if that's the only human emotion worth paying attention to.

[@TheZeroNeonix]

As I understand it, this is essentially the idealized future depicted in Star Trek. A world where money no longer exists because everyone has what they need. Authority is given based on merit rather than accumulated wealth.

[@rawaawaa9840]

Given by who?

[@AdrianBoyko]

3D Printers are overrated

[@theMosen]

@rawaawaa9840 Did you miss the part about localized automated factories? In Star Trek they're even smaller and called replicators.

[@mogo-wc7xw]

anarcho communism basically?

[@rainbowsorceress2082]

​@rawaawaa9840the people around you. You only have authority so long as people either respect or fear you.

[@hououinkyouma5539]

In every cynic is a disappointed idealist

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

No. In every cynic is an idealist who gave up too easily. An idealist never gives up and demands progress. The only way to create meaningful change is to force the issue.

[@msrhuby]

@@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty force is such an ugly word

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

@msrhuby No it's not. The only meaningful way to create change is to force the issue. This is historically proven.

[@chlorophyllphile]

​@@ThunderTheBlackShadowKittyThey never give up until they burn out. It's not always a lack of perseverance.

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

​@@msrhuby No it's not. The only way to create meaningful change is to force the issue, full stop. History proves this true.

[@RoKappa]

“Every daring attempt to make a great change in existing conditions, every lofty vision of new possibilities for the human race, has been labeled Utopian.” ― Emma Goldman

[@alexjackson429]

@RoKappa but this is not a Utopia...this Resource based economy is a lot better then our current model

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

DarkMatter anarchist arc please 🙏😭

[@kevinireland8020]

The desire to procreate is very real. Change ? Lofty vision ? The change I want is to make more babies. My lofty vision is to make more babies. This is why there is life on earth.

[@tomfemling5140]

If AI becomes super intelligent like it's supposed to.... We will be saved..... If if it becomes corrupted and controlled we are fucked😮

[@TheLostArchangel666]

​@@knowledgeanddefense1054 I'm right here along with you hoping for it lol

[@mrnonsense1031]

I've heard it from many people before who've had to make major changes to themselves and they all said in one form or another that change is only possible when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.

[@rustybrooks8916]

Sadly yes, I think this is largely true of humanity.

[@MrGMawson2438]

Bloody government created gods

[@Michael0663-qo4wx]

True, and the pain of change is found out to be mostly an illusion. Change wasn’t even painful, it was natural.

[@samuelhumphries169]

I'm stealing this. And quoting it. It also speaks to me, deeply.

[@summerlovinxx]

we all have an idea of how we'd like things to be, the pain of change is learning that your idea also needs to change with how things are. most of my own growth has come from accepting that my circumstances just aren't what they used to be, and that I need to get better at dynamic planning.

[@PhantasmicCackla]

Hundreds of years ago, a humble peasant farmer could’ve never dreamed of a life separate from the tyrannical monarchy. Hundreds of years from now, a person will look back upon today with curiosity and bemusement. How did we tolerate this? How did we put up with such atrocity?

[@ScarlettMaine-y3r]

Because if it were me or you who had power and accrued wealth, we wouldn’t change anything. Oh, sure, I’d like to say that I’d change everything. That I’d make it better. But isn’t it telling that at no point in history there are enough “good people” to achieve peace? We let evil happen because we are too weak to resist its temptation. Few who have ever lived possess the toolset to use power for good while resisting corruption, and none of those people obtain massive amounts of power.

[@PhantasmicCackla]

@ Such is human nature. But like all of nature’s spoils, it can be circumvented, with enough effort.

[@Account.for.Comment]

Tocqueville written in1840 Democracy in America "everybody feels the evil, but no one has courage or energy enough to seek the cure" Longer passage "The poor man retains the prejudices of his forefathers without their faith, and their ignorance without their virtues; he has adopted the doctrine of self-interest as the rule of his actions, without understanding the science which puts it to use; and his selfishness is no less blind than was formerly his devotedness to others. If society is tranquil, it is not because it is conscious of its strength and its well-being, but because it fears its weakness and its infirmities; a single effort may cost it its life. Everybody feels the evil, but no one has courage or energy enough to seek the cure. The desires, the repinings, the sorrows, and the joys of the present time lead to no visible or permanent result, like the passions of old men, which terminate in impotence." "One of the most ordinary weaknesses of the human intellect is to seek to reconcile contrary principles, and to purchase peace at the expense of logic." "I cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every new theory as a danger, every innovation as a toilsome trouble, every social advance as a first step toward revolution, and that they may absolutely refuse to move at all." TLDR: same humans.

[@mimszanadunstedt441]

'Haha stupid plebians' *meanwhile they have meme governors distributing behavior repetition to people in full dive vr to control their behavior*

[@kevinireland8020]

@@mimszanadunstedt441 Huh ?

[@Scorned405]

Absolutely right about the selfishness. I was having this discussion with someone a few days ago. This person was a right wing supporter and totally disagreed. They saw nothing wrong with Elon Musk having 400 billion dollars while his employees make starvation wages. I just cannot understand how a person thinks this is a sane way to run society. He started yelling at me calling me a “ socialist “ Whatever

[@chlorophyllphile]

Like it's a bad word. Nothing wrong with socialism

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Selfishness is inherent and fundamental to right wing politics. Every capitalist you've ever met is either centrist or right wing, never left wing.

[@Scorned405]

@@chlorophyllphile Some of the most financially stable countries are socialists

[@killerdude151]

The saddest part of it all? The people who are the most violently opposed to socialist policies, would be the ones who would see the greatest benefits from them.

[@OniNaito]

@@killerdude151 Precisely this. People will absolutely vote against their *actual* best interest if they *perceive* they could potentially be better off in a more selfish system. They see themselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires. That if society were truly equal, they could never experience being on the top and hoarding wealth and power over others. They think we live in an actual meritocracy. That the rich and powerful *earned* and *deserve* to be where they are. They don't even acknowledge that people have different starting lines and different hurdles they must overcome. Most conservatives would stab themselves once if they could stab their perceived enemy twice.

[@zach464]

I enjoy your thought provoking work. I especially loved the Power Corrupts series. Keep up the good work.

[@irishdc9523]

It's older than you think. Based on what has been recovered, Zeno's Republic (a Stoic response to Plato's Republic) would've had, in part, abolished the distinction between citizens and non-citizens in an era of city-states and all human beings given the same rights, which would've included the abolition of slavery in an era where even the wildest comedies couldn't imagine a world without it. It would have also abolished the concepts of money, property and social status so there would be no incentive to steal or fight. That sorta thing.

[@heiskanbuscadordelaverdad8709]

We are told that people are a product of their times, but that's certainly not the case for all of us, is crazy to realise that our ability to recognise the ideas of progress has always been there, that the only obstacle has been access to information and ideas, nowadays such limitations had been largely reduced, now the main issue is propaganda and disinformation, the future will be bright if we allow it to be

[@LATEXXJUGGERNUT]

Criminals would steal from you and enslave you, Zenos was an idiot with no idea how to deal with the criminal element

[@irishdc9523]

@@heiskanbuscadordelaverdad8709 It also shows how powerful ideas are. Even if all followers are dead and all documents destroyed, it would simply be reinvented by another

[@susithesushi]

@@irishdc9523 in the early 1900rets Kang Youwei wrote a book called “Great Unity”, which suggests a similar approach, removing borders, etc. He took it a little further by suggesting the creation of a world language. Really interesting read, can only recommend. Though personally, I would prefer a Babelfish.

[@blondequijote]

So what incentives would we be left with?

[@liviocarriles7775]

Reject Cyberpunk embrace Solarpunk

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Right wing dystopia: Cyberpunk 2077 Centrist liberal compromise: Family Guy Left wing utopia: Star Trek

[@thefreerocketman5777]

Solarpunk is the only way

[@hamdepaf6686]

@@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty fun fact: while utopia is commonly used to refer to a positive vision of the future, it is actually a neutral term. Meaning a dystopia is also a utopia. The word for a positive vision of the future originally was eutopia. However nowadays everyone will know what you mean with utopia, while barely anyone will know what you mean with eutopia.

[@patrickmedeiros9000]

​​@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty only the last does the correct thing, yet technicaly only if the correct government rules...and if the wrong is picked it results in the same pit/similar we are in or worse. Governments seem to have been doing wrong decisions all the time because people do not always get togheter to be fair but to reach their own personal common goal. Science produce results they might not be always good, after all how can you be sure there won't be a discovery that results in a big consequence? Thats how nature goes at least from what usually people and reality i am in seems to make sense.

[@cumulus1869]

If, "Solarpunk" is bright and optimistic shouldn't it be more like, "Solarguy"? or, "solardude"? Like I get that the, "-punk" part is because, "cyberpunk, steampunk, clockpunk" and all that but there wouldn't be any, "punks" in a, "Solarpunk" society so..., "Solarguy"

[@OddLlama]

Daily i interact with greed and ignorance. Thinking about how things could be only makes reality more depressing.

[@tomfemling5140]

Someday Llama.... Someday😔

[@TheZombieButler]

Truth. It breaks my heart.

[@christopherwhittaker2620]

Sadly, I have to agree. And it is especially sad because the world that Dark matter is describing is achievable. And who knows, maybe one day after I am long gone, the world may eventually be the way that Dark Matter will come to be. In the meantime, I suppose all we can do is our bit to help towards making this world a better place. Which I know can sound a little corny. But I don’t care if it sounds corny.

[@christopherwhittaker2620]

@@TheZombieButler I hear you.

[@martinstoelting2707]

And yet it is the hill I chose to die on. If I became a cynic and stopped fighting for the better I feel like I had lost my heart and had become an traitor - of the people I love, of future generations, of mankind as a whole, and of myself. Better have a bleeding heart than pretending to not have a heart at all.

[@Boltzmannbrain_2]

Just because something isn’t foreseeably realistic now, doesn’t mean it isn’t a solution

[@TinaMcCall.]

Humanity under exploitative power dynamics (monarchism, feudalism, imperialism, colonialism, capitalism) does that. Were we fundamentally as combative, uncooperative, and avaricious as our power class is, and demands we be in order to live, we would not have survived as a species. We were and are, at our core, social and helpful; NOT bc we existed in some romantic unspoiled state, but out of self interest. The more we share, the more our bowl is plentiful. [Paraphrase from The Expanse, and another way to embody the South African adage, "I am bc WE are."] Capitalism did a great job lifting us from the dirt of feudalism, but it is time for us to move beyond it to meet our current needs. If we keep doing what we've done, we'll never know what we COULD do.

[@oluwatayo.x]

so much damage was done by the red scare that still prevents people from seeing or even considering that there might be a better alternative to capitalism, within the US, and outside it, because of their influence.

[@Johnnysmithy24]

People need to stop repeating basic Marxist doctrine and pretend they’re saying something original and deep

[@oldreaddy3341]

@@Johnnysmithy24 bro who cares?

[@michaelhall2709]

@@Johnnysmithy24 People need to stop reflexively labeling any critique of modern capitalism, however justified, as Marxism. It wasn’t particularly helpful in 1955, and definitely won’t fly now.

[@blondequijote]

@@Johnnysmithy24 That’s why I started my own magical new religion where if ppl think Marx is right, I can say they’ll be able to make their own communist utopia - in the magic world.

[@andreirachko]

This video needed to exist, and now it does ❤

[@andreirachko]

@ the Venus project is old news, and from what I’ve seen, the man behind it a mixed bag. Some great ideas mixed with the most random stuff like “children’s books are harmful” and the like. And who’s the other person?

[@gabrieljordan8015]

42 year old electrician - My workload has been through the roof since 2020 and continues to grow. But even my job as I know it now will be replaced by automation. The reason is we've already broke ground to start engineering wireless electrically to the masses. In layman terms - if you bought a new stove you wouldn't need someone to hook it up for you because a wireless transfer switch would digitally hook up to your main electrical panel. Now we're quite a ways away from that but it will one day become a reality. Either way I'm looking forward to a better and brighter future that I hope I get to live long enough to witness. ❤

[@TheMindofRa]

broke new ground in implementing Nicola Tesla's ideas it would seem..

[@KyoukiJuuno]

I need to live in the world you describe. The current one is not for me.

[@iHartTrains2312]

You should consider reading Kropotkin, Bookchin, Goldman, other anarchist writers. Darkmatter is describing Anarcho-communist positions and ideals.

[@Merecir]

Just watch some classic Star Trek.

[@blondequijote]

@@iHartTrains2312 You should consider reading the Holy Text of Good Wizard (G-d for short) or checking out the audiobooks. It tells us that while this non-magic world is metaphorically going to hell in a hand basket, the magic world has been liberated by Harry Potter and all who believe in The Boy Who Lived Free in Order to Not Die can go there to study at Hogwarts on fullride scholarships. This magical new religion is being revealed to me now because as another wizard made famous by books and movies said, “A wizard is never late nor is he early - he arrives precisely when he means to”. If the question is “In what year of our magical savior did G-d begin this revelation?” Then to quote Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, “the answer is 42”. The magical new calendar is based on Harry Potter’s birthday, July 31 1980 CE, with new names for the months as well.

[@wilberwhateley7569]

The current world is sitting on a powder keg and is waiting to blow up - only after that occurs will we be in a position to create something better…

[@Merecir]

@@wilberwhateley7569 The better society comes when scarcity is no more. When we have automatic AI robots mining the solar system for everything we need. Until then, we can only maximize the wealth for as many people as possible. And as all the societal experiments for the last 200 years have proven; free market capitalism is the best system by far. For ONLY societies that utilize a free market can generate a sizeable middle class. Under all other systems, there are only slaves and their masters.

[@btdtpro]

A couple years ago I found out about and read Albert Einstein's article "Why Socialism?" and found it really interesting. The one of the parts that really stood out to me was, "But historic tradition is, so to speak, of yesterday; nowhere have we really overcome what Thorstein Veblen called “the predatory phase” of human development. The observable economic facts belong to that phase and even such laws as we can derive from them are not applicable to other phases. Since the real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development, economic science in its present state can throw little light on the socialist society of the future." I think this aligns with what you're saying. It's the predatory practices we have to fine a way to eliminates, and I think you have some good thoughts on ways to do that.

[@Wolf-ln1ml]

There is zero chance to eliminate them, just as there is zero chance to eliminate a "core" of tribalism in our psychology, or our biology being dependent upon various bacteria - evolution (including the evolution of human psychology) doesn't work like that. What we *_can_* do is minimize any "unwanted" aspects of our psychology be teaching each and every generation, so that they will have the means _and_ motivation to minimize those unwanted aspects. But there are limits to what we can teach and learn, both qualitatively as well as quantitatively. As an analogy: You can't teach a psychopath to actually feel empathy, you can at best teach them to kind of "emulate" it - and then give them a motivation to put in that extra effort, usually a threat of bad consequences since we haven't worked out a better way. That'd be one qualitative limitation. Also, nobody can become an expert in every field (linguistics, physics, biology, music theory, human psychology, ...), that'd be an example of, and analogy for, a quantitative limitation. So we have to prioritize _some_ things that we want to teach everyone - and while I'd argue that we could absolutely improve our priorities, there is no way we could teach _every_ child to overcome the predatory nature of us humans.

[@MrZauberelefant]

​@@Wolf-ln1mlon the other hand, we have come a long way from societies that engaged in human sacrifice, actual blood sports, caste systems, considered people of different gender or skin colour inferior, etc. There is an arc of human progress, and we haven't reached its end yet

[@lolidkstudio]

@@Wolf-ln1mlit’s possible to overcome and it’s already been done. this predatory phase of human development with class dynamics and exploitation is a temporary blip in human history of a few centuries - primitive communist societies were able to live in such a way much before this - and although i get your point about tribalism, as darkmatter described, if society settles into small, self-sufficient groups, this need for tribalism is a lot less pronounced.

[@Wolf-ln1ml]

@@lolidkstudio _"this predatory phase of human development with class dynamics and exploitation"_ You've tacked quite a lot onto the "predatory" part there. Do ions have class dynamics and exploitation? No, but I doubt you'd say that they're in a "predatory phase of lion development". So don't try to move the goalpost next time, 'mkay? _"if society settles into small, self-sufficient groups, this need for tribalism is a lot less pronounced."_ No, the *_expression_* of our tribalism would be far less pronounced, since we'd mostly be living in our little "tribes". There's a high chance our tribalism would actually become _worse_ again since we wouldn't have too many opportunities for positive experiences with others not from our "tribe", _and_ we would be far less motivated to work against it (teach our kids to overcome it).

[@EarthIsNotFlat]

Humans are predatory creatures. Both eyes in the front. If we want a tendency toward complacency and autotrophy we can look forward to lives as trees.

[@DrakeTimbershaft]

When I first read the title of the video, the disillusioned idealist in me said "Pah! Surely even the great DarkMatter wouldn't propose such piffle." About halfway through, I thought, "Pah! MY head is full of piffle! Kratos proposes a crazy plan, but it JUST... MIGHT... WORK!"

[@Namefist11]

😂😂😂

[@ishaangovardhan7430]

Ultimately what makes us selfish is fear and insecurity. If you wanna make people less selfish, gotta soothe their fears first. Otherwise they'll be incentivised to keep looking out for number one. Fear of the unknown (fear of mortality) makes us this way. We feel the need to take back some of the control we've lost to the universe by being selfish. If we weren't so insecure about the unknown, then we'd be more compassionate

[@johnsanders561]

I think that's what Reagan believed with the trickle down theory. If the rich get richer then they would share the extra, it only made them want more.

[@MikeyG706]

A lot of humans fear being unselfish because if given the opportunity they take advantage of an unselfish person

[@EnervatedSociety]

Survival mechanism. It is unlikely that humans will ever overcome selfishness. It's hardwired. It's advantageous to our survival. I'm fine with it personally. It's done a lot of good too you know. The act of giving alone is selfish. You're rewarded. Biologically: Chemically. Often socially. Humans are silly. Trying to remove what's inherently human. Temper: Control. Moderate.

[@johnsanders561]

Trickle down Reaganomics was based on this idea.

[@fendobis9033]

And how are you going to that? There will always be things we cannot know or understand due to our inherrent human limitations. We can't control the universe. Technology won't keep advancing forever. And death is a perfectly rational fear since we don't know what comes after. And if there really is nothing it seems also perfectly rational to worry about that. And no mind uploading won't help. The heat death will come either way. Ultimately you cannot remove fears that are perfectly rational.

[@thethirdtime9168]

You basically speak of the world I've wanted to make since I was a teenager. Still working towards it - not because I'm naive, but because I don't think we have a choice

[@dylanwilliger]

Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us, only sky Imagine all the people Livin' for today Ah-ah-ah Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too Imagine all the people Livin' life in peace You-ou-ou You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world You-ou-ou You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one

[@Namefist11]

What does working towards it look like? Are you in politics?

[@CraftyF0X]

The main reason why the post scarecity societies remain science fiction is because we still didn't divorced "wants" from "needs". And wants are limitless, any focus on satisfying those are futile, we should define carefully and care only about the needs, cause needs can be solved for everyone. This is how you get to post scarcity, conceptually.

[@suicune2001]

I've been thinking about that recently. The world is in crisis but the moment you try to discourage people from buying those ridiculous plastic Pop toys, they lose their mind. There's going to be more plastic in the ocean than fish soon and it's our fault. People can fill their house with nothing but useless toys and still go spend another few hundred dollars on the next toy a couple months later. Then complain they don't have enough money for real adulting.

[@crocve]

It is easier for us to believe in the end of the world than in the end of capitalism.

[@SoMuchFacepalm]

People like freedom and markets are just economic human interaction, so yeah.

[@CraigKeidel]

​@@SoMuchFacepalm If markets are just economic human interactions, and the economy is essentially the distribution of goods and services, a market of communally produced, owned, and distributed goods & services requires no need for capital. It only requires that we start acting with each other honestly as equals. And that's the real crux that many people struggle with - abandoning their hierarchical paradigm and inherent sense of privilege.

[@SoMuchFacepalm]

@ "a market of communally produced, owned, and distributed goods & services requires no need for capital." Yes it does. Capital can be defined as many things. For example it's the stuff used to produce products that _doesn't_ fall under land (natural resources and space) or labour (human time, effort, skills and expertise, training and education). Capital can also be defined as the things that are necessary to produce at all, which includes the people. But the really important one, is; capital is the means of exchange, whether commodity money (something universally valuable, like precious metals or long-shelf life foodstuffs, salt) or fiat currency (modern paper/digital currency). The reason you need a means of exchange isn't just because people will be dishonest with each other, but also the ECP.

[@CraigKeidel]

@@SoMuchFacepalm The point is that in a communist system, the need to facilitate trade is eliminated. Your other definitions of capital are irrelevant here as we're discussing capital as pertains to the economic system. And what is the ECP? You did not define that term.

[@SoMuchFacepalm]

@ "The point is that in a communist system, the need to facilitate trade is eliminated." Wait, so how do people exchange things at all? Do they just go to some authority and say "Hi, I need X units of Y" and the authority just gives it too them? Where does it come from? If it's make to order, how far back does the order process go? If not, then who speculates future need, and how? What do they base their calculations on? This is a side of communist theory I haven't heard of.

[@NonyaBiz-t5f]

looking forward to this.. im really finding some common ground with a lot of things that have made me feel alienated over the last 4 years and these videos help. i dont feel so crazy for feeling like things are over the line in absurdity. many thanks 2525!

[@logansinclair7488]

some of the people I knew who I thought were very left wing were still trapped in the "Democrats good Republicans and anyone else is evil" mindset, instead of understanding the Democratic and Republican party are both evil. It was really shocking to me to learn someone hates me for thinking the Democratic party is mildly better than the Republican

[@alondvorkin2762]

The solution to the "markets or central planning" question is neither, private companies are still centrally planned in an internal sense The answer lies in worker cooperatives, consensus decisionmaking in local councils, democratic confederalism and mutual aid networks If you don't want corruption then abolish hierarchical positions of abusable power, replacing them with horizontal ones (revocable delegation beholden to a community mandate)

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

Broke: central planning Woke: decentral planning

[@clipboss8052]

Yes, a fellow Market socialist. We have been summoned. If you disagree with us... we'll that's fine I mean this is the internet.

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

@@clipboss8052 In my opinion market socialism is a half measure, worker co-ops are at best a stepping stone towards anarcho communism

[@Dominic-o3k]

​@@knowledgeanddefense1054No woke loves central planning. A one world government where everyone has to do what they say.

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

@@knowledgeanddefense1054 Market socialism and worker co-ops go hand in hand.

[@HowtoChildhood]

Until hearing this, I thought I was insane. I intend on taking my own steps toward this future for at least myself, if not a partner along the way. Take it easy, everyone.

[@Earwithfoot]

As I listen to this my heart hurts. I believe this is possible, but it makes me sick how far we are from it. I want this world more than I want anything else. I want peace and contentment, not wealth and power. Most of us do. But the few that do want wealth and power have accumulated so much that they’ve outmatched us regardless of how we might outnumber them. I hate this world. I hate it so much. It makes me ashamed of my species.

[@Ace4573]

We're all no strangers to darkness, just don't give it that last word. It always helps to hope for better.

[@KTPNobleSuns]

You're not the only one. Keep strong.

[@HystericalSej]

Ain't that the truth!

[@heiskanbuscadordelaverdad8709]

Power is like a drug, you get some and it feels great, but deep down you will always feel empty, which will make you want more and more until you die miserable

[@mayflowerlash11]

Jeremy Griffith and The Human condition. Acquaint yourself.

[@xirdaish9082]

You literally nailed it. It seems like you have read anarchist or at least anarchism-adjacent authors. I love how people become more and more aware of what is an actual solution for an ideal society.

[@CraigKeidel]

Very exciting times, glad anarchism is finally being given a fair shake.

[@DavidSmith-oy4of]

@@CraigKeidel Is it anarchism though? It sounds to me exactly like a resource based economic model as put forward by The Venus Project and supported by The Zeitgeist Movement.

[@CraigKeidel]

@@DavidSmith-oy4of It's a flattening of power structures to remove hierarchical influence on our cultures and our systems - it's absolutely anarchism, even if some people don't recognize it as such.

[@DavidSmith-oy4of]

@ Then I guess it is in line with it.

[@LadyEmpathy666]

Love your channel. It was because of you that I questioned my faith a few years ago. It was the video of what happens if a Muslim, Christian and athiest died. The greater insult.

[@Void100-v3x]

One of his best videos. As a Christian who believes in universal salvation I'm quite happy Darkmatter called out the ECT idea of Hell.

[@LadyEmpathy666]

@Void100-v3x that's lovely. :3 it's ni e that an athiest and a thiest iike you can agree with that :3

[@aninternetuser8102]

@Void100-v3x What does the Acronym ECT stand for?

[@Void100-v3x]

@@aninternetuser8102 Eternal Concious Torment. It's thed idea that when people go to hell they are tortured there for all of eternity conciously aware of every second of it.

[@Void100-v3x]

@@aninternetuser8102 It means Eternal Concious Torment. It's the idea that when people go to Hell they are tortured forever and counciously aware of it.

I don't totally agree with some of your premises or solutions, but I totally agree with your sentiment, your values and ultimately, with your dream of a more just and more united humanity. You inspire me to dream and work harder for it, so a video about how we can get there would be highly appreciated.

[@TheSandurz20]

Damn, in your anarchist arc? Hell yeah brother, towards a brighter tomorrow!

[@quietone2674]

12:00 5 apples, 10 people. Weird that my very first thought was "cut the apples in half." Half an apple is still good. Yet nobody seems to think of this.

[@TreeHairedGingerAle]

☝🏾✨🎯💯🎯💯🎯💯🎯💯🎯✨

[@Moleje1337]

You don't even need a knife to pull apart most apples in half.

[@klubberzvonhatzenbuhl563]

That was my immediate thought as well.

[@thomasleblanc4228]

I thought the same 😅

[@RedLeader327]

Same

[@decare696]

This video brought me to tears. Everything you say makes total sense and you paint such a clear picture, it almost makes me feel like I'm already living in that world. But in the back of my mind, I still know that that isn't true. That it'll almost surely never be true. I'm always hoping for a better future, but from what I know about the world, I have to believe a truly better future to still be far off. Maybe I'm wrong, I hope I am.

[@LionFisile]

Imagine if people as smart as you are our elected government officials.

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

@@LionFisile The only smart elected government officials are those on the left. Right wing politics are inherently ignorant and hold our society back.

[@rustybrooks8916]

That would require more smart people to vote and more smart people overall, rather than electorates that are easy to manipulate with fear and promises with no given course of achieving such ends. So many people don't want to think for themselves or consider anything that isn't something they personally care about. Humanity is, above all else, stupid and selfish. It is a wonder to me that a relatively few people have been able to change the world as much as they have...but it's always with the help of those who do it because they can see a way of exploiting ideas for themselves.

[@jingles123456789ify]

Idk. DarkMatter is very intelligent, but he's not trained in the law. In his prior videos covering the SCOTUS, he got their holdings wrong.

[@Paketaqi]

They are but they are people in positions of power which means they like the current system as is

[@OrionCanning]

@@jingles123456789ify Not sure how much most politicians really understand the law, and importantly, it's consequences.

[@lovaloo763]

I like how well thought out your video is. I was raised by Evangelical fundamentalists, I became an atheist in high school. I found that thinking about the bible helped me to dissolve a lot of political tensions between my peers, but I wasn't sure why. It wasn't until adulthood, reading about our moral psychology... this is when it became clear to me. Because our morality evolved as we did, it's reflected in the three dimensional plane. I spent some time reflecting on fundamentalist culture. This is my attempt to map out the differences in the moral psychology of people with elevated levels of the five factor model trait "disagreeableness". 1) Conservatism is resistance to political dissension across time (this prevents manipulative linguistic changes, cultural/moral value changes). 2) Authoritarianism is resistance to political dissension across the horizontal axis (this prevents too many sectarian groups/ideologies from fighting over disagreements). 3) Social dominance orientation is resistance to political dissension across the vertical axis (this trait is inversely proportional to empathy). If you spend some time thinking about the differences between these three ideas, it can make understanding & responding to GOP republicans easier. For a long time I was mistaking social dominance for conservatism and authoritarianism, and vice versa. These things look extremely similar but they're all motivated by different concerns.

[@Lumi_Lumi13]

I want to live in egalitarian solarpunk society.

[@isidoreaerys8745]

Fully-Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism or Bust.

[@uncleanunicorn4571]

This is literally the economy of star trek. You may say I'm a dreamer.... but I'm not the only one....

[@AngryReptileKeeper]

When he first asked what we envisioned when we thought of the future we want for humanity, I said, "Star Trek".

[@somerandomchillpotato1991]

A classless, Stateless, And moneyless Society? I am on board

[@alexjackson429]

Google "The Venus Project" .......this type of society was proposed by Jacque Fresco in the early 1970s. I found this information from a KZbin documentary called Zeitgeist Addendum. It came out in 2008 and it's free to view here on YT.

[@Staremperor]

I'm not 😀 But disagreement is in the Moneyless part. Money are just an ingenious technology. All societies have developed it, because it just works. Money can carry information (about scarcity, abundance and demand) and can carry motivation.

[@lucaciuandrei1347]

​@@Staremperor and at the same time money is the common denominator for all these societies demise so the only way forward is moneyless if you want to have a civilization that lasts eras to come and expand to outer space oh and to not be a wage cuk to a oligarch

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

If only there was a shorter name for it... that wasn't bastardized by tankies

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

​​@@Staremperor Money is a tool for power abuse, a recipe for corruption. With it you can convince just about anyone to do the most unspeakable horrors, and even the ones who refuse such offers have to resist the core incentives of a profit motive system where money reigns supreme (so in order for the system to function properly, people would have to work AGAINST the rules) This video explains why reasons for maintaining it are pointless, there's nothing it does that mutual aid wouldn't do more of, faster and more efficiently

[@irtb4250]

The economy and companies should serve humanity as a whole rather than the interest of individuals who own them

[@maestrulgamer9695]

That's how those already are,ironically. By design are made to serve other people than the owners,but no system can change intentions.

[@deathdealer312]

​@@maestrulgamer9695no they definitely do not serve society as a whole. The level of naivety is palpable. If they did, why is climate change uncontrolled?

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

That's why no individuals should own them, humanity as a whole should (using networked consensus decision-making from the bottom up)

[@Wolf-ln1ml]

@@maestrulgamer9695 How is that design supposed to work then? If they are designed to serve society/humanity as a whole, you must be able to point out _how_ that design is supposed to accomplish that.

[@GaryCahuenga]

​@@maestrulgamer9695for profit companies serve the interests of the owners first.

[@NaqrSeranvis]

I'd say that the real problem is that there is no roadmap for a better society, one that would show an ordinary Joe how to get to it, one that would give him a reasonable confidence that committing to it won't bring an existential threat to him.

[@QuickNETTech]

There's been a roadmap for centuries, it's been defamed as chaos: anarchy

[@NaqrSeranvis]

@@QuickNETTech And how does it address the core concern for an ordinary Joe (one that I've brought up above)? _one that would give him a reasonable confidence that committing to it won't bring an existential threat to him_

[@NaqrSeranvis]

@@QuickNETTech And exactly how would you bring it in a way that addresses average Joe's core concern? _one that would give him a reasonable confidence that committing to it won't bring an existential threat to him_

[@TrishaHughes-h9n]

@@QuickNETTechLet’s say I would commit violent crimes immediately. How does an anarchist society respond to that?

[@David-cy5ub]

40% of food is thrown out in the U.S. every year, soooo yeah scarcity ain't the issue.

[@AngryReptileKeeper]

Between 66 million and 103 million tons annually, JUST in the United States, and JUST food. There's no acceptable reason why there are so many people, especially in our own local communities, going without food. I used to dumpster dive many years ago. When I saw how much perfectly edible food gets thrown out by stores, it made me legitimately angry. But I ate like a king for nothing, and an extremely healthy diet at that. I tried to share it with other people, but most hear where it comes from and refuse. Imagine how many other perfectly good things go to waste that people might be in need of or benefit from. Baby supplies, clothing, furniture, electronics, blankets, dishes, assorted other household wares. All gone to waste in a landfill somewhere, often after it gets crushed in a store's compacter because they had too much in inventory.

[@mattmuzzy90]

Best video I've seen in a long time. Thank you. Not many people talk about what could be.

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

33:00 homes already out number people. Last I checked it was something like 16 vacant *_houses_* per homeless person in the USA. That's not even counting apartments or people that own multiple houses.

[@klubberzvonhatzenbuhl563]

And that’s where the greed comes in……

[@esseindividuo]

the real purpose of houses is to pay taxes, all the market stuff that comes after is allowed or encouraged to increase revenue from taxes. hoarding to let it rot then refurbish to resell at higher price means more tax revenue than someone living there.

[@SaxPanther]

@@esseindividuo This is a common misconception, the empty homes thing is not really a big deal. Homes can be empty for many reasons- an home in between owners that just hasn't been sold yet, an apartment undergoing renovation, or any other number of reasons. Having some empty homes is good because it allows people to be able to move somewhere new.

[@Sqwivig]

​@@SaxPantherYes it's true that having empty homes is generally a good thing because it allows people to move more freely, but that's just not the world we live in right now. We have a housing crisis all around the world, and we have record high numbers of houseless people. THAT'S why this is such an issue. All of these empty homes being held empty ON PURPOSE to make money is the reason why people are upset at the surplus of homes. Homelessness should literally not exist bc of all the houses we have, and yet it persists because of profits above people. This issue is ABSOLUTELY the big deal they think it is!

[@pineapplepenumbra]

No one should be allowed to own more than 2 domestic properties. There is no need, it is just greed, and the results are quite obscene.

[@swordmasterarie7752]

8:48 The way you looked so satisfied about your own joke here absolutely killed me lmao

[@David_AC90]

As someone who studied economics at a "prestigious" university, I realized at at early age that capitalism (and all of its perverse structures) are what is holding humanity down. It is this system that doesn't allow us to move forward, this system that concentrates power in the hands of the veryyy few at the expense and suffering of the overwhelming majority. Thanks for your video and for not making it overly political.

[@justinrivera1618]

I love your description of modern society because it allows me to stand back in marvel at how magical and wondrous this world is. I love the world I live in and I hate it at the same time.

[@jenna2431]

I told a teenager about phone party lines we had when I was growing up. She about fainted. "You shared one phone line with all your neighbors?!?"

[@TinaMcCall.]

We either move away from capitalism and towards the luxury gay solarpunk future of our dreams, or be consigned to the fossil record.

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

We either move towards left wing politics or we go extinct. It's really that simple.

[@ЯсенЧапкънов]

how about some realism?... just to reduce the death toll of progress

[@darkestlight660]

​@@ЯсенЧапкъновrealism is the beat billions of people have died to as capitalism exploits us and our world

[@MindlessTube]

Capitalism is not the problem. its the lobbying and rich people making the rules which is not to do with capitalism.

[@darkestlight660]

@MindlessTube capitalism is absolutely the problem. Profit based policies are the logical conclusion of capitalism

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Most of our problems stem from selfishness, and selfishness is inherent in right wing politics. You cannot separate selfishness from right wing politics.

[@EnervatedSociety]

LMFAO, selfishness is inherently a human trait, regardless of politics. It's literally a survival mechanism. You're displaying your selfishness right now. 🙃 Silly humans.

[@willguggn2]

A firm belief in (natural) hierarchies of power makes selfishness a virtue.

[@Merecir]

Selfishness is the whole basis of left wing politics. "He has more than me! I want his stuff!"

[@connorgrynol9021]

@@Merecirno, it’s not about wanting more for oneself. It’s about wanting enough for everyone. Nobody starves, nobody is homeless. It would be selfish for me to want three homes for myself when others have no homes. I would gladly work for 20K a year if I knew that everyone would be housed and fed. To be frank, I’d probably go down to 5K if everyone was promised these things. Please explain how this is selfish of me?

[@willguggn2]

@@Merecir "Yeah, those lefties trying to abolish royalty and nobility are so selfish. They want our stuff!"

[@freeluigi4444]

I didn't think you'd ever be able to top your last video, but much to my amazement you've done it once again! Extending much gratitude and love your way 🎉

[@marcelsirer]

27:00 This keeps getting Trekkier and Trekkier :D

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

@@marcelsirer And that's really the whole point. Star Trek is the ideal society, the ideal future.

[@marcelsirer]

@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty I'm not sure if ideal. Definitively one of the best we can think of.

[@jasonlamar6347]

Great commentary. I'm glad I found your channel. "Man has no property in man; neither has any generation a property in the generations which are to follow." I enjoy Thomas Paine for a number of reasons but this is my favorite. There is no logical reason to bind those that come after us in blind adherence to tradition. He does acknowledge that the following generations may accept or adopt those same principles but it is theirs to do so, not some politician in his grave.

[@AngryReptileKeeper]

"Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people." - Some quote I read online

[@redjove2000]

Wealth inequality is a massive problem, when one man, Elon musk, can amass wealth that he could live on one million dollars a year for 250000 years something is very wrong.

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Right wing politics: Cyberpunk 2077 Centrist politics: The Simpsons Left wing politics: Star Trek

[@AlekseyMaksimovichPeshkov]

Right wingers do love their generative A.I and A.I slop.

[@AlekseyMaksimovichPeshkov]

Conservatives sure love their generative A.I and A.I slop.

[@AlekseyMaksimovichPeshkov]

I mean, conservatives sure do love their generative A.I and their A.I generated slop.

[@AlekseyMaksimovichPeshkov]

I mean, conservatives sure do love their generative A.I.

[@maestrulgamer9695]

The left wouldn't get the technological advancements for Star Trek.

[@Master_Conner]

Competition is important, but I would love to live in a society where the losers don't have to starve to death and new players aren't restricted from a chance. This is an important video and well said. More people need to see this.

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

The problem is that winners are always gonna invest their winnings to keep winning, as much as possible This is why communists (genuine ones) are against competition and for mutual aid and maximum cooperation

[@isidoreaerys8745]

The current world is like being born into an already in progress game of monopoly which has been taking place for hundreds of years before your birth.

[@connorgrynol9021]

Literally, you can keep competition for innovation going through contests. Imagine an inventor’s fair. That would be so cool. At worst, the losers didn’t get as much clout as the winners. Nobody loses their job, nobody takes a pay cut.

[@zjedinite]

Bro had me screaming, I’m listening as I do things around the house and “just solve the problem of selfishness, video over” then I get an add. I was what is the solution!? 😭 😂 Love this guy! 🤜🏽🖤🤛🏽

[@TJtheHuman]

We need more talks like this in town halls!

[@alejandroarguello2250]

If we want a global government, the first thing we need to do is to make sure it works for the well being of the majority, not for the greedy minority as it does nowadays.

[@maestrulgamer9695]

The MAJORITY is greedy,but many are also too incompetent to be observed succeding.

[@Merecir]

Any government will generate corruption. The bigger it is, the greater the corruption.

[@blondequijote]

That’s why ppl oppose world government. I’ve learned from talking to Spanish people and Latin Americans that at any point in time, some countries are going to shit while others are getting their shit together. Learn some languages so you can country hop to find a place that better fits you. I say no to world government until we’re ready to start colonizing other planets to assert our independence on.

[@jackc74035]

As many other comments have mentioned, your description is remarkably similar to various forms of anarchism! Perhaps you (or others who like the sound of your ideas) could check out andrewism who does a lot of similar hypothetical descriptions of future societies or Anark who goes into a lot more specifics on how to take concrete steps to a more ideal society (although fair warning he's also a lot more technical & jargony not really a begginer source) & of course there are like a billion books at the anarchist library website if you're for some reason into more dry technical political texts

[@-HumanOnEarth-]

This might just be my favorite video on KZbin. I feel such an affinity for what you are saying. It is like having my own beliefs explained to me by a random stranger, kinda uncanny but also highly refreshing in this day and age. I am glad to have discovered this channel!

[@paulpease8254]

Reminds me of Bertrand Russell, “the reasonable man adapts himself to the world, the unreasonable man tries to adopt the world to himself. Thus, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” Also, very smart to start the video reminding us how drastically society and the world have changed in relatively recent modern history.

[@Wade_Sabers]

I miss the animations -God

[@munyachibanda404]

Jef

[@ImJustStar]

I like his new direction. I don’t think the animations will go away but I think these recent videos are very important

[@9_1.1]

everyone always asks where all the “philosophers” went, but hes right here

[@mm-rj3vo]

20:16 It sounds like you've been reading Murray Bookchin A good start

[@elpedro7910]

'Apples, unlimited apples, but no apples.'

[@paulpease8254]

Thank you for your vision and insights. I’d love to work with you on understanding this from the perspective of biology, e.g. the endosymbiont theory of eukaryotic life. This is how I view the evolution of human society, and your ideal society sounds to me like the end stage. I’m “The New Nucleus” on Bluesky.

[@BennyBattaglia]

I love these essays. Keep up the great work!

[@deathdoomdarkness6124]

Hey man. Your old videos were very (in)formative to me as a teen escaping religion. I think you might find the works of Peter Kropotkin fascinating. I highly recommend the books Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution, and The Conquest of Bread. You've been knocking it out of the park lately.

[@SparklyCoconut-le3fu]

Love that you’re an anarchist 😇 it has been such an appealing philosophy to me since I learned about it in 2016.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

Awesome video! I agree completely! Most of these ideas I have already thought about already, including most of the more bold ones, but some of these ideas were new to me. I hope this video goes viral, because I believe that your vision for an ideal society is possible and more people need to hear about it. I wish my family wasn't so closed minded because most of these ideas would make them mad, even though it's all so wonderful!

[@theguywhooasked]

Getting this video right when i'm in the middle of reading The Culture is just the best coincidence. Been talking to every friend who will listen about how it would be to live in such a post-scarcity civilazation and how we could get there from where we are, it's great to hear your thoughts on this and know more and more people are coming to the same conclusion. Gives me hope we'll be ready for change sooner than it seems.

[@notoverpowered1739]

Some thoughts: - How would society deal with the few large-scale questions that actually do remain? For example, should we look for aliens or do any space travel, how much space should humanity leave to nature, how many humans are the perfect number, how much should we interfere with wild animals (try to reduce their suffering or leave them alone), when and how might a transition from nuclear energy to other energy forms be done, etc... In my view, there would need to be at least a small amount of politics or government for that. - There might still be new technological inventions that cannot be produced in large amounts right away. Who would get them first? - What about AI: Do you assume we already have AGI in order to automate everything? Or should the creation of potentially dangerous models be forbidden? - Genetics and medicine: People might try to become a-mortal (live forever unless they are killed by accidents or violence), or maybe genetically engineer children that are smarter, prettier, healthier or happier. How far should this be allowed to go and would it not create new problems and injustices in society? On the other hand, not having to worry about sicknesses and old age seems to good to simply give up. - Have you heard of effective altruism and, in particular, longtermism? I have heard a lot about there ideas recently and found them very intriguing; parts of this video reminded my a lot of that way of thinking. And to whoever read all of this: Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

[@deeksha611]

37:38 something that I think is a great flaw of our modern society is the separation of arts and sciences. In my view, art is human expression, human expression is trying show others how you experience the world. Science is based on the observation of the world and finding out how widespread said observations are. I dislike the idea that science objective when it is based off of human observation which cannot be objective. Science is rather a reliable way to understand the world. In its essence art and science have a lot in common. I think it’s imperative we blend practical skills and observation with creative thinking

[@stan1027]

I am 70 years old. Considering all the changes I have seen in my lifetime, if things continue on the path they are on now, it's hard to imagine what the world will be like in 2095. I won't be around to see it, of course, but the thing that I wonder about is whether we will continue to make progress, or whether human nature will cause it to all fall apart in a nuclear holocaust. Provided, of course, that nature doesn't cause super volcanoes to erupt, or earthquakes and tsunamis to shake and drown us first. The Cascadia subduction fault could snap at any time, and there goes the west coast. We live on the thin crust of a cooling planet that could kill us all at any time.

[@AngryReptileKeeper]

Or meteors from space. Or a substantial enough solar event.

[@dizehjvegnomis]

9:47 dude i'm grinning ear to ear. you're on a journey, *the* journey, and you're taking a good path to explain it. i love hearing my words coming out of your mouth, keep it up keep it up keep it up!

[@peterlennox4828]

I shared this, marked 'important', and I thank you for your clear thinking work.❤

[@LilByrdFly2]

I could listen to you all day! You amaze me

[@faaip0de0oaid]

People cannot even fathom how good life would be without capitalism, and a system based on community and common sense

[@bobbsurname3140]

Socialism only works if the people who benefit from it are likely the ones who have also contributed to it or will contribute to it. And if the people in charge care enough about the people in their community to not skim off of the resources theyre in charge of. This can only be true if everyone in the community are related to each other. If they are one People. One Nation. Do you see where I'm going?

[@faaip0de0oaid]

@@bobbsurname3140 Thats the idea, i know that sadly something like that is not possible in a society thats already poissoned by the trash culture that social injustice creates, but if a society is able to develop with a basis of actually caring for each other and not letting people get away with power (because there would be no need for it in a healthy culture), there would be a possibility for it.

[@Philthefisherofmen]

You are exactly right. A common storehouse. Everyone freely contributes. Things are freely given. The pilgrims did exactly that. It was so sweet.

[@FatherTullys_Temperance]

A fair distribution of resources would have required a far too enlightened sense of morality, so we came up with a middleman, money, to automate the daunting task. Food grows from the soil regardless of us paying for it. Cement holds the bricks just the same regardless of us getting a mortgage. Electricity travels to your outlet regardless of your bills. We could solve hunger tomottow morning, and with it every other material problem... If you came up with a thousand reasons while reading this as of why it's impossible, notice your knee-jerk reaction. And work on it when you feel ready.

[@alondvorkin2762]

Mutual aid doesn't require moralism, but lack of moralism requires mutual aid

[@mountainbikenerd1307]

Fascinating thoughts. The approach of looking back 100 years to gauge what’s conceivable hits home.

[@andrewanastasovski1609]

Never forget a better world is possible.

[@theboggleddoggo211]

I don't know who will see this, but this video actually came at a time where I recently had a self-revelation of the core of society's problems along with human nature. There's a lot of words here but if you're not into that, you can move along. My belief for a maybe not immediately perfect but much better society is to abolish the concept, or at least the idea that it is important, of money. To summarize the amount of thinking I've had surrounding this idea: 1. Money is an old invention from a long time ago, at this point it's quite useless as human labor, invention, etc. is made by humans, not money, and we have the means to move past the problem that money solved in the previous centuries and this idea that money actually does or means anything, but even worse it's been exploited to the absolute highest degree we've ever experienced, and will only get worse, while being forced to submit and be passive to it leading to... 2. It is dehumanizing. That might sound a bit extreme but it's dehumanizing in the subtle way, which ended up being even more extreme to the point where the worst of point #1 happened. By equating the human, human life and mortality, and human labor to money, and further dehumanizing humans (which is us by the way) by privatizing and standardizing the clock, our literal time and mortality, by using money as a measurement of time, the people sitting above us have created a dehumanizing structure of work and life without us realizing it. All of our creations, all of our labor, all of the literal human body, becomes obscured and dehumanized through money. Combined with the horrible psychological effect social media has had on us and suddenly we've also become desensitized and dull to just how big and meaningful these huge numbers being constantly thrown at us mean. Obviously, we can't look at a big view count and change it, but there is no real basis for one person being "worth" MILLIONS or BILLIONS more "dollars" or "money" than the next person. There is a deeply sinister issue with being presented with literal hundreds of thousands of deaths from war, disease, and disaster but it's really being treated like a statistic. We've been dehumanized. 3. We are literally going to all die because of money. I'm not joking. Capitalism, by definition, prioritizing profits and GROWTH. How do they do that again? Sacrificing and exploiting the bottom line. The workers. The HUMANS. The ENVIRONMENT and WORLD as we literally know it. We are prioritizing growth (also known as profit) over sustainability, over keeping the humans, that quite literally makes this society run, fed, safe, secure, and free. The humans that plow and harvest the fields for the food we eat, that build all the structures and inventions we know, that create the beautiful forms of art, (video games, fine art, story writing, music, etc.) people that heal the flaws and injuries of the human body, people that keep the earth alive and healthy, are instead cut and stripped for parts purely to be sold for money to fuel endless Greed and that system is held in place by Pride, by control and power. Think private equity, or at least what's got PE on the news. You will hear me say those words, Greed, Pride, Money, Power, Control, a lot because it really isn't that complicated. It's growth over sustainability, on a world that cannot grow forever. On humans that were never and will never be built for endless back-to-back hours of work. It's competition over cooperation, forced on the social animal that has lived together up until a few hundred years ago. It's treating humans as literal fucking resources to reap from. Why? Greed and Pride. Whatever stage or type of capitalism you want to call it; at the end of the day, it's run by Greed and Pride. Greed to take more than you need and from others who do need it. Pride to justify the actions and to blind oneself to the ways humanity is being sacrificed to gain... what is it again? MONEY AND POWER. Greed is money. Pride is power and control. The people in dark pools of water have leashed us with their greed, the system of money, and kept us in submission with their Pride, control and power. When we question them, their Pride will find every which way to explain that THEY deserve all this money, that THEY have worked harder than you and me, that THEY are just more clever, more ruthless, more... prideful. As if they, themselves, aren't humans like the rest of us, and they don't see us as humans either. That's it. Money has dehumanized us. Enough rough and tragic childhoods and bad circumstances and humans, in their unique but narrow sentience unlike any other animal on this planet, will succumb to the darker sides of human nature. It's just that Greed and Pride want MORE, most unlike other fallacies of human nature, and that extreme has been realized through the leash of money. I say human nature, and here's what I believe about human nature. I believe that the kind, caring, and empathetic of human nature, of humanity, is the dominant force that has kept humanity alive and well since the very first moments of our species existence. Actually, thinking about it, it's not really a belief, it's just true. It is cooperation, not competition, that defines humanity. But the darker parts of human nature will find their ways to gain power and influence on others, less the harmony of humanity does nothing about it. We need to abolish money. Extra Notes: This is slightly personal, but growing up, it wasn't that I didn't understand how the financial sector and its jobs worked, it's that I didn't understand WHY they even needed to exist, when money doesn't even do anything. Now I know why. As a quick pointer, think how much money, both physical and digital, there is in the world. Now, think how much "money" is, or is evaluated to be, in stocks. Not assets like housing. JUST stocks. We are still buying Ponzi's stamps. Some might think of the different cultures, like religions, ethnicities, the Internet, etc. might cause some problems in a "perfect" society, realistically it just has to be a better one, but this is another case of Pride, and I mean the bad Pride that puts one's own culture over others because... well that's what Pride does. The good Pride is the one that holds and understands their culture and traditions firmly but is open minded and respectful of other cultures, because they too are the results of the human experience, like yours is. It is not any better or worse, it is just unique. That's what culture is. Funny how trickle-down economics was conceived, thinking the cups at the top were equal in size to the ones at the bottom. Yeah, the cups at the top were HUGE, while the lower classes only wanted enough to feed themselves.

[@HumanRoadkill]

I wish more politicians and government leaders were as competent as you are

[@uglyfense7754]

Many are more, they just aren't benevolent. Epicurus did suggest a god who was powerful but not benevolent after all

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Competent is just a fancy word for left wing. We wish more politicians and government leaders were left wing.

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

It's not incompetence if they're doing it on purpose, by design

[@knowledgeanddefense1054]

@@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty left wing and government are fundementally conflicting concepts, because leftism broadly is a movement in opposition to social hierarchies (which is why anarchism is its most faithful form) and the state is a fundementally hierarchical monopoly on violence, it is the body that alienates the masses from having direct control over the various functions of society

[@ivoryhammitt8885]

They are competent. these are not hard ideas. They ignore these things because they are still functioning under the profit motive

[@Manticorn]

This is just how I also imagine the ideal world. The label I've been putting on it is "anarcho-communism," but it makes me happy that it came to you, too. It's a very good sign that more and more people will come to the same page eventually.

[@thefamilydog3278]

People rarely offer solutions for what an ideal society might look like, and the ones I’ve heard usually sound far from ideal. This was by far the best stab at it I’ve seen someone take yet, major props.

[@howtheworldworks3]

Well said. I am writing a book about such a society and I want to make you a character in it. I think you deserve to have a character representing you because you care about truth as much as I do.

[@chlorophyllphile]

35:13 "It would be a world where people don't work for the betterment of a company or a country but for humanity in general." That would be awesome, but I would include all conscious beings, not just humans. The interests of animals should also be considered.

[@JibrilPC]

That's something i worry about. Controversial topics such as thr one you mentioned. How could a global agreement be made?

[@QuickNETTech]

​@@JibrilPCconfederation of horizontal power structures

[@stevenswitzer5154]

You are the problem with this. People come first. Once they are taken care of we can and should take care of animals. Animals take care of themselves just fine, with the exception of those we have selectively bred not to for other reasons.

[@QuickNETTech]

@@stevenswitzer5154 we have a responsibility to the ecology we coexist in and have destroyed innumerably. Other animals do fine when we're not screwing with them

[@chlorophyllphile]

​@@stevenswitzer5154If we think in terms of suffering, I think we should try to end the worst suffering first, regardless what species the one suffering belongs to.

[@derekofbaltimore]

Only 11 mins in and this is exactly my thesis for a book a wrote probably ten years ago now about how we can get out of capitalism

[@sarysa]

I had to stop when you said a billion, because I've been advocating this figure for a long time. It's well below the natural agriculture limit (we've been exceeding it for some time) and existing infrastructure can be refreshed from time to time to more than meet this figure's needs. Given a few hundred years it can happen.

[@Kitsunetim]

i think what is missing is addressing the way society treats their children. too many societies seem to neglect the children that are abused by families or go missing and more. it's also concerning too about the way society are too lighthanded in dealing with the exploitation of children as well.

[@SuperChrisDub]

I enjoyed that so much. Thank you for the time and effort you put into trying to bring about a better future.

[@Fearia6]

I wish people like you were in charge.

[@Dominic-o3k]

They are. We've been moving towards one world government for a long time. Even going back before the U.N.. They just repackage it as a fringe idea for people who want to "rebel."

[@kentspeak465]

​@@Dominic-o3kcan you explain this further ,how does who repackage what for those who want to rebel? what do you mean by wanting to rebel and who are those people more specifically?

[@Dominic-o3k]

@@kentspeak465 You want me to put a whole essay out for one commentor on KZbin? We've been moving towards a one world government(the what) that Darkmatter has been talking about for a while now. The problem is the creatures that have been pushing this(the who) still have to deal with the last little bit of cultural identity left so they blow up these last weak vestiges as if they're some dominating force that if you want to be all edgy you need to rebel against. Just propping up a boogeyman that doesn't exist.

[@Dominic-o3k]

@@kentspeak465 They do it increments and as what was once edgy becomes the new normal they just tap a little more and more until they get to the ultimate end which is a one world society.

[@mtk77621]

​@@Dominic-o3k You're dodging the questions. Say exactly what you mean, give specific examples and bames, and back it up with evidence

[@JenB81]

This sounds a lot like The Zeitgeist Movement. It's a very interesting idea and a good read but getting people to agree on it is tough as those who have even a little power are unlikely to give it up to make the plan work.

[@alexjackson429]

According to what Jacque told me....about 50 million ppl are in board with the Venus Project, but they are in poor living conditions. The middle and high class are yhr ones who really oppose this idea

[@JibrilPC]

if it had more exposure it would be more like 7.5 billion in poor living conditions ​@@alexjackson429

[@MichaelKFortenberry]

I was thinking he must have seen some zeitgeist vids. He hit everything except maybe strategic access. Then again a lot of these ideas are older then zeitgeist.

[@Lack_Of_Interest]

21:49 I completely agree. It is not necessarily a problem that money exists, but that money, especially under capitalism, has _power._ That power reveals and exposes those underlining systems that are leading to a lot of problems we see in current societies.

[@QuickNETTech]

Money has value, that value is power, there's just no real way around it, money will always result in one group having power over another leading to exploitation.

[@trafalgarlaw8373]

1) You speak of work no longer being for profit, so now for contribution to society. But everything that needs to be done is already done by bots, and we're in the utopia. What contribution could you possible make? Only a tiny fraction of the population can ever be successful artists or scientists, even if they really try. Even in richer countries, where people are allowed to have goals in life, a career based on what they enjoy, they choose things like being doctors, or therapists, or engineers, or teachers, etc. We gain happiness from success, when its meaningful. But if no outcomes matter, if theres no patients, if anything you do is already done but better, and you're getting a for-fun version... this is bound to reduce those benefits. 2) No one would have any outside incentive to do anything. Now, that's theoretically neat, people often just end up doing nothing until deadlines of one sort or another come up. With no ever deadline, many would just waste away. But in this world you suspect, you can never create or do anything meaningful, it becomes a sort of big playground. Now, it's hard to speculate exactly what would give meaning to people in a world without needs or the usual accomplishments (often connected to jobs), but it of course might end up as a non-problem. Still, our species evolved undeniably with a goal of survival, and the steps needed to succeed at it. The same way we arent built for chairs and extensive use is bad for us, body and mind, it's hard to say this wouldn't be a problem at all. 3) Basically all of what your speculating does require highly advanced technology. You say it's about scarcity driving human selfishness and the system that inevitably follows, but such local things creating all resources and all labor being done requires riduculous levels of AI, robots, climate adjustment, gene technology etc. 4) As you say, the currently powerful enjoy this system, and the rest cannot picture something as far away as what you describe. But every step of improvement goes through the system, how could such categorical changes ever happen gradually? The rich would rather burn this world to the ground than to become irrelevant. 5) You describe a lot less people being good, and that's nice. People have more kids when theyre poor, so we'd need to fix that. But its a bit circular. "Less people are needed for a utopia. And a utopia is needed for less people." Do you suspect that massive deaths by global warming will make it easier? Or that the dying poor will come in waves to the better places instead, only making things more difficult? The transition seems nigh impossible

[@coreinstincts2659]

This guy is one of the best on the you tubes.

[@mathiasboulougouris3836]

One Very important addition that everybody always forget: We should stop atrributing progresses to mere single persons like we did historically. It is embedded in our languages and cultures to do so. By religion, nationalism, and every single source of centralised power i can imagine.

[@renevelation6586]

Every single one of us if have seen farther it's because we have stood on the shoulders of giants. No one among us is self-made. No one among has had any success all by him or herself. Every accomplishment has always been and will always be a team effort.

[@somerandomchillpotato1991]

'The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.' Many of us have made a similar realisation, what we need to do is consider HOW to get there. Many societies have attempted to do that in the past, and learning from both their successes and mistakes are imperative to achievement of such a society. Our main struggle, as you say, is that we are the ones who let the current society maintain itself. The beneficiaries of the current system, those who are most powerful, are, in a way, in control of the rest of the population, through propaganda that benefits the status quo. It is even the case some societies, especially western ones, have an interest in maintaining the status quo, because they also benefit from it; the outsourcing of production to decrease labour costs for a company, in turn decreasing prices and increasing the standards of living of even the less powerful. They are the 'labour aristocracy'. The powerful few have, historically, thwarted every single society that collectively decided that they want to work and transition towards the society you describe. They then turn in their trajectory and switch to a goal of the survival of their movement, leaving the exploitation unresolved. This is our biggest obstacle in achieving such a society.