Post #996115

“Someone should fix this” == I think the world is comprehensively administered by competent authorities. This is a form of authoritarianism. Or, at least, it is the acceptance of the basic premises of authoritarianism. It’s a comforting pov even when you’re enraged at the people you think are in control. Because at least someone is in control. It’s the same reason vast, diabolical conspiracy theories are comforting - at least some group of people is competent enough to be evil geniuses. Reality is not comforting. Some people conspire, some people wield obscene power - and they’re ordinary fuckups and fuckwits. No single group of people is in charge of everything. Lots of groups of people who can’t stand each other fight for control or autonomy or higher goals. And sometimes they kill each other (or those associated with them). The reality is factions, pettiness, incompetence, ineffectiveness, and default social systems that are far more complex and permanent and fragile than authoritarians can possibly imagine. The reality is that there has always been a struggle within and without to foster sanity and mercy and justice. There never was a golden era that was lost. And we’ll only ever be done with the struggle when the species ends or human nature changes. No one is going to fix this. But if we work hard together we might just unfuck things a little bit.