I'm new to Substack and your letter was one of the first I subscribed to. I just love your aesthetic. I've just started writing here and wondered if you had any thoughts about the AI systems training their systems with your writing? It's already started. Read about this important topic in my post https://boodsy.substack.com/p/the-ai-bots-are-coming-for-your-substack
What an incredible body of work! Well done on fostering such an incredible community of readers and writers with your Stack. You have certainly made this online world a better place! Kudos to your sustained, prolific output. So much thought provoking material here . . . the discussion is also a dream!
You are a wonderful model exemplifying the potential that this platform has to offer to us all. Keep up the good work!
Once you see how our income-based laborforce really works (the fact that high profits depend on low wages), then you’ll finally understand why a digital (moneyless) system matching people to jobs, resources to communities, and daily production, consumption, and waste management operations to personal and professional demands is actually more sustainable and ethical than today’s global political economy, mainly because, compared to scientific-capitalism, scientific-socialism is a lot more democratic; it values and views our very basic, very intuitive belief “universal protections for all” as both a human need and an environmental right.
I understand the socialist perspective, and very much agree with the vision for many socialist futures (Half-earth socialism is my favorite vision for a socialist future so far!). But I think it's better achieved by private means of distribution (that are regulated by the government) than it is by government owns means of production (which so far hasn't worked out that well).
I think we can make money and use those profits for the benefit of the people. That is the point of profit. We don't need *high* profits, we just need profits to go for the benefit of everyone. And there are companies that already do this! We just have to regulate it so that all companies do that, not just the well meaning ones.
The companies that do this wouldn’t be able to if billions of workers weren’t already carrying out hard labor every day below and above ground and across our waters in exchange for a few bucks per day. They know this, but never mention it.
Something I was thinking about this morning related to what is called “common heritage”..
Never Forget that you belong to an economy that allows wealthy people, enjoying first class freedoms, to invest in companies that repeatedly misuse our science, our tax dollars, our highway and healthcare systems, even our sunlight, water, plants, and soils while exploiting our labor, too, all of this only to help sweeten, for instance, a highly addictive drug and package it the into a small, stylish container, then give it a cool name like “Tyson 2.0 Heavy Weight 7000 Puff disposable vape pod system from Mike Tyson” to better guarantee their tobacco industry a new generation of young people dependent on useless products, smoking nicotine every day for the rest of their shortened, lung-crusted lives.
For sure, that all exists, and we should protect against some of the problems of wealth. But our economy also allows there to be a middle class, for people like me to have a home, to be able to afford food every day, to be able to afford my medical bills, and to save money for retirement. There may be some problems with the top 10% (and there always have been) but it used to be that the bottom 90% were impoverished, and they still are in places where there is no economy!
We should solve the distribution problem for sure, but we also can't forget that we belong to an economy that allows the average person to have a good life!
It does allow this, but at the expense of so many others and our environment. Worse, using money isn’t even necessary anymore. We’ve the science and labor to convert our natural resources into daily goods and services for everyone, everywhere. All could enjoy a modest, middleclass life. What we lack is unity. Not unity in heart or understanding, but getting Capitalists on board with public property, instead of taking advantage of Earth, our governments, our common heritage.
Yes, but government regulation is actively working to make sure capitalism doesn't come at the expense of others (and we are getting much better at this over time). And we are on track to replace all of our energy sources with renewable energy within the next 100 years! There is no reason why capitalism has to come at the expense of others or the environment, and we are actively working toward that.
I am a capitalist who is very much on board with making sure capitalism does a better job at distributing wealth, protecting the environment, and returning to public property. I see no reason why the vision of socialism can't be achieved using effective regulation of capitalism! Just because so far I haven't seen a socialist model that could achieve that. (Though I'm open to resources if you have them!)
As for why money isn't necessary anymore, I'm not sure what you mean. Can you point me to more resources on that?
The high costs associated with increasing natural disasters will render money useless. Workers keep the economy going, but if they are unable to work because they are without a home or are too sick or have died due to extreme weather events or other conditions and circumstances related to climate change and widespread pollution disruptions then companies won’t be able to work and increasing societal crises will prevail. That we’ve entered the sixth mass extinction is a very big problem for all of humanity, not just wealthy people and countries. Simple observations is enough to show us how badly things are today. It’s not the 1950s anymore when blue collar workers could get a loan and buy a home and car. Wages have not kept up with inflation, drive through any town and look at the number of homes that working families live that are falling a part; look at the schools where teachers have to buy simple supplies; look at the home insurance companies reducing their list of coverages; look at the increase in numbers of children and adults under national healthcare (Medicaid) despite many states making it harder for low income families to apply; look at hospitals looking to government for funding, whose profits are not meeting the threshold to hire and pay nurses a decent salary; look at the military whose low ranking service members need SNAP benefits and other welfare assistance. On and on, the middle class has been shrinking ever since Reagan lowered the taxes of rich people. Then, a ton of money disappeared, simply left America in 2007 and 08. Plus the pandemic, which every country had to stimulate their economies - when workers can’t work, everything stops in the community where tragedy strikes.
A sophisticated digital (moneyless) economy cannot stop global warming, but it can unite the world in our fight against climate change. It can focus our efforts on science and innovation; it can employ all able bodied adults; it can school children and young adults; it can feed and house everyone. Abolishing money now before prices spiral upwards in the near future is how we control our economy, our global resources. Sea level rise alone will break the banks of many regions; water saturation will upend oil, natural gas, water and sewage pipes around the coastal areas that even if city developers like those in New York City are trying to tackle were able to shift infrastructure in time, the tax dollars won’t be there. Wealthy people move their money quick when industries start to collapse. We don’t have big energy on board with sustainable solutions yet, their investors are smart enough to see that there aren’t enough middle class workers in the world who can afford green energy products and services, why? Because cheap labor is and always has been the greatest give-back, without cheap labor Capitalism is Socialism (not the kind of socialism I write about but the watered down socialism politicians like Bernie Sanders and AOC shout).
Hi! I was recommended your newsletter as I'm thinking about starting my own Substack, one of element of which would be serialising my own fiction. I'm about to launch into your archives and try and soak up all your advice!
Thank you so much for the subscription gift - I am excited to read through your articles. I have just been reading another post about ‘unexpected gratitudes’, of which this is one. Many, many thanks.
Thank you for writing this index, I am excited to read through your articles. And I love your illustrations. Sorry, I can't afford to be a paid subscriber.
I love your substack and it has helped me to start thinking more along the lines of a better world. U am curious if you have read Nomad Century by Gaia Vince. It is nonfiction and dystopic, but talks of what will be necessary to do to adapt to millions of climate refugees.
Oh yes, that's a good one!!!! I have to admit I chose the word utopia for literary reasons. It is an established literary tradition which has meant different things to different writers, and so I didn't see the need to use a new term for the same thing. But it's definitely a good essay for sure.
Of course! I make them using Midjourney. My settings are set to "MJ version 5" with "stylize very high" and "remix mode" enabled. For my prompts, I usually use the words "a painted portrait of" to make it feel more like an oil painting. And I often add flair from the time period like "looks like marie antoinette" or "in an 18th century french office" or "in Plato's garden" or "In Epicurus' garden." For my cityscapes I usually use "looks like babylon," etc.
This is a great reference to get a flavor of your writing. Do you use tagging on your posts so that the indexing is easier? Good luck in the transition to full-time Substack writing.
I wasn't going to subscribe. Heck I'm a writer struggling to make a living myself and I need to ensure my sub stack subscriptions don't outweigh my sub stack earnings. And after the death of a poor abused homeless woman in my serene seaside neighbourhood recently I am over capitalism. And I'm over hedonism. And this is where you snagged me. Give her a chance, I thought. She has new ideas or renewed ideas so search with her for a little while.
This led me to your 'I'm So Over Dead French Writers' because I am not. Not over them. And I came to your paragraph on Anthony Bourdain and suffering and you snagged me completely because you refuse to accept that we give up and die. You don't see the answer in using ourselves and abusing ourselves, turning away from the light to the darkness.
I am going to subscribe as a mark of faith for you and me, that we can create something new, renew something that glimmered and which could glimmer again.
The belief that we can save ourselves and others. I will probably have to limit further the few treats I enjoy but this treat will replace those...
I don't know if I can live up to all of that, and I still think there is some hope for capitalism (even if we desperately need to fix it), but I definitely refuse to accept that we give up and die. I definitely think we choose to live in the light. And I'm grateful you'll be here thinking it through too!
I saw this book and thought of you. "From What Is to What If" by Rob Hopkins
Have you read it? Has it been discussed in The Elysian and I missed it?
No I haven't! But it looks RIGHT up my alley. Thank you so much for recommending it to me!
Hey Elle,
I'm new to Substack and your letter was one of the first I subscribed to. I just love your aesthetic. I've just started writing here and wondered if you had any thoughts about the AI systems training their systems with your writing? It's already started. Read about this important topic in my post https://boodsy.substack.com/p/the-ai-bots-are-coming-for-your-substack
Thank you so much Boodsy! And thank you for sharing your work!
Congratulations, Elle!
What an incredible body of work! Well done on fostering such an incredible community of readers and writers with your Stack. You have certainly made this online world a better place! Kudos to your sustained, prolific output. So much thought provoking material here . . . the discussion is also a dream!
You are a wonderful model exemplifying the potential that this platform has to offer to us all. Keep up the good work!
Happy reading, happy writing, all!! :)
Brock Eldon
Thank you so much Brock, that really means a lot! And I can't wait to see you in the literary salon discussions!!!!
Once you see how our income-based laborforce really works (the fact that high profits depend on low wages), then you’ll finally understand why a digital (moneyless) system matching people to jobs, resources to communities, and daily production, consumption, and waste management operations to personal and professional demands is actually more sustainable and ethical than today’s global political economy, mainly because, compared to scientific-capitalism, scientific-socialism is a lot more democratic; it values and views our very basic, very intuitive belief “universal protections for all” as both a human need and an environmental right.
I understand the socialist perspective, and very much agree with the vision for many socialist futures (Half-earth socialism is my favorite vision for a socialist future so far!). But I think it's better achieved by private means of distribution (that are regulated by the government) than it is by government owns means of production (which so far hasn't worked out that well).
I think we can make money and use those profits for the benefit of the people. That is the point of profit. We don't need *high* profits, we just need profits to go for the benefit of everyone. And there are companies that already do this! We just have to regulate it so that all companies do that, not just the well meaning ones.
The companies that do this wouldn’t be able to if billions of workers weren’t already carrying out hard labor every day below and above ground and across our waters in exchange for a few bucks per day. They know this, but never mention it.
Something I was thinking about this morning related to what is called “common heritage”..
Never Forget that you belong to an economy that allows wealthy people, enjoying first class freedoms, to invest in companies that repeatedly misuse our science, our tax dollars, our highway and healthcare systems, even our sunlight, water, plants, and soils while exploiting our labor, too, all of this only to help sweeten, for instance, a highly addictive drug and package it the into a small, stylish container, then give it a cool name like “Tyson 2.0 Heavy Weight 7000 Puff disposable vape pod system from Mike Tyson” to better guarantee their tobacco industry a new generation of young people dependent on useless products, smoking nicotine every day for the rest of their shortened, lung-crusted lives.
For sure, that all exists, and we should protect against some of the problems of wealth. But our economy also allows there to be a middle class, for people like me to have a home, to be able to afford food every day, to be able to afford my medical bills, and to save money for retirement. There may be some problems with the top 10% (and there always have been) but it used to be that the bottom 90% were impoverished, and they still are in places where there is no economy!
We should solve the distribution problem for sure, but we also can't forget that we belong to an economy that allows the average person to have a good life!
It does allow this, but at the expense of so many others and our environment. Worse, using money isn’t even necessary anymore. We’ve the science and labor to convert our natural resources into daily goods and services for everyone, everywhere. All could enjoy a modest, middleclass life. What we lack is unity. Not unity in heart or understanding, but getting Capitalists on board with public property, instead of taking advantage of Earth, our governments, our common heritage.
Yes, but government regulation is actively working to make sure capitalism doesn't come at the expense of others (and we are getting much better at this over time). And we are on track to replace all of our energy sources with renewable energy within the next 100 years! There is no reason why capitalism has to come at the expense of others or the environment, and we are actively working toward that.
I am a capitalist who is very much on board with making sure capitalism does a better job at distributing wealth, protecting the environment, and returning to public property. I see no reason why the vision of socialism can't be achieved using effective regulation of capitalism! Just because so far I haven't seen a socialist model that could achieve that. (Though I'm open to resources if you have them!)
As for why money isn't necessary anymore, I'm not sure what you mean. Can you point me to more resources on that?
The high costs associated with increasing natural disasters will render money useless. Workers keep the economy going, but if they are unable to work because they are without a home or are too sick or have died due to extreme weather events or other conditions and circumstances related to climate change and widespread pollution disruptions then companies won’t be able to work and increasing societal crises will prevail. That we’ve entered the sixth mass extinction is a very big problem for all of humanity, not just wealthy people and countries. Simple observations is enough to show us how badly things are today. It’s not the 1950s anymore when blue collar workers could get a loan and buy a home and car. Wages have not kept up with inflation, drive through any town and look at the number of homes that working families live that are falling a part; look at the schools where teachers have to buy simple supplies; look at the home insurance companies reducing their list of coverages; look at the increase in numbers of children and adults under national healthcare (Medicaid) despite many states making it harder for low income families to apply; look at hospitals looking to government for funding, whose profits are not meeting the threshold to hire and pay nurses a decent salary; look at the military whose low ranking service members need SNAP benefits and other welfare assistance. On and on, the middle class has been shrinking ever since Reagan lowered the taxes of rich people. Then, a ton of money disappeared, simply left America in 2007 and 08. Plus the pandemic, which every country had to stimulate their economies - when workers can’t work, everything stops in the community where tragedy strikes.
A sophisticated digital (moneyless) economy cannot stop global warming, but it can unite the world in our fight against climate change. It can focus our efforts on science and innovation; it can employ all able bodied adults; it can school children and young adults; it can feed and house everyone. Abolishing money now before prices spiral upwards in the near future is how we control our economy, our global resources. Sea level rise alone will break the banks of many regions; water saturation will upend oil, natural gas, water and sewage pipes around the coastal areas that even if city developers like those in New York City are trying to tackle were able to shift infrastructure in time, the tax dollars won’t be there. Wealthy people move their money quick when industries start to collapse. We don’t have big energy on board with sustainable solutions yet, their investors are smart enough to see that there aren’t enough middle class workers in the world who can afford green energy products and services, why? Because cheap labor is and always has been the greatest give-back, without cheap labor Capitalism is Socialism (not the kind of socialism I write about but the watered down socialism politicians like Bernie Sanders and AOC shout).
Hi! I was recommended your newsletter as I'm thinking about starting my own Substack, one of element of which would be serialising my own fiction. I'm about to launch into your archives and try and soak up all your advice!
Oh amazing!!!!! Good luck! It's been such a fun (and fascinating) journey for me.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for the subscription gift - I am excited to read through your articles. I have just been reading another post about ‘unexpected gratitudes’, of which this is one. Many, many thanks.
Thank you for writing this index, I am excited to read through your articles. And I love your illustrations. Sorry, I can't afford to be a paid subscriber.
Thank you so much Kate! I just gifted you a six month subscription so you can take a read. Thank you for being here!
Hi Elle,
I love your substack and it has helped me to start thinking more along the lines of a better world. U am curious if you have read Nomad Century by Gaia Vince. It is nonfiction and dystopic, but talks of what will be necessary to do to adapt to millions of climate refugees.
Omg no I hadn't heard of it. Thank you so much for the rec!!!!!!!!
Hi Elle,
I'm notably impressed with Hanzi Freinacht's ideas in this article surrounding utopia and protopia >> https://metamoderna.org/whats-the-difference-between-utopia-eutopia-and-protopia/
Thoughts?
Oh yes, that's a good one!!!! I have to admit I chose the word utopia for literary reasons. It is an established literary tradition which has meant different things to different writers, and so I didn't see the need to use a new term for the same thing. But it's definitely a good essay for sure.
Elle, may I ask where you get your art, and also, which art style is it?
Of course! I make them using Midjourney. My settings are set to "MJ version 5" with "stylize very high" and "remix mode" enabled. For my prompts, I usually use the words "a painted portrait of" to make it feel more like an oil painting. And I often add flair from the time period like "looks like marie antoinette" or "in an 18th century french office" or "in Plato's garden" or "In Epicurus' garden." For my cityscapes I usually use "looks like babylon," etc.
Hope that helps!
Stay humble, Elle. This helped me a lot. You were willing to help me and answer my question!
Hi, Elle,
As we exchanged comments about hopepunk a while back, I just came across this and thought you might find it interesting....
https://beforewegoblog.com/purity-and-futures-of-hard-work-by-ada-palmer/
Oooooh, thank you so much!
This is a great reference to get a flavor of your writing. Do you use tagging on your posts so that the indexing is easier? Good luck in the transition to full-time Substack writing.
Yes! Tags are a godsend and I'm so grateful we have them now. Thanks so much Mark!
I wasn't going to subscribe. Heck I'm a writer struggling to make a living myself and I need to ensure my sub stack subscriptions don't outweigh my sub stack earnings. And after the death of a poor abused homeless woman in my serene seaside neighbourhood recently I am over capitalism. And I'm over hedonism. And this is where you snagged me. Give her a chance, I thought. She has new ideas or renewed ideas so search with her for a little while.
This led me to your 'I'm So Over Dead French Writers' because I am not. Not over them. And I came to your paragraph on Anthony Bourdain and suffering and you snagged me completely because you refuse to accept that we give up and die. You don't see the answer in using ourselves and abusing ourselves, turning away from the light to the darkness.
I am going to subscribe as a mark of faith for you and me, that we can create something new, renew something that glimmered and which could glimmer again.
The belief that we can save ourselves and others. I will probably have to limit further the few treats I enjoy but this treat will replace those...
I'm in!
I don't know if I can live up to all of that, and I still think there is some hope for capitalism (even if we desperately need to fix it), but I definitely refuse to accept that we give up and die. I definitely think we choose to live in the light. And I'm grateful you'll be here thinking it through too!
Thank you for the shoutout, and for the inspiration - there is an intimidating amount of good stuff and writing to dive into here!
Thanks for writing for it!!!!!!!
Thank you for the shout-out :)
Thanks for giving me things to think about when I start working on my series on protecting the commons!
I look forward to it!
It was very interesting to read about these numbers, gives you something to think about. Thank you!