When the Smoke Clears, Who Owns the News?
Moments of crisis create the perfect cover for quietly reshaping the infrastructure of information and the most consequential deals are built in the fine print, far from the headlines.
Read MoreThe Myth of Meritocracy
The popular myth of meritocracy in Australia is an ideological tool used to justify systemic inequality. Let's explore how education, work, and wealth are shaped not by a "fair go," but by underlying class structures that perpetuate privilege.
Read MoreThe Sanitised Revolution
We're taught that history's greatest victories for justice were won through peaceful protest and moral persuasion, but every right we take for granted was secured through economic disruption, militant resistance, and the credible threat of violence. By sanitising our history, we've convinced ourselves to protest in ways designed to be safely ignored.
Read MoreEscaping Capitalist Realism: Why a Post-Capitalist World Feels Unimaginable
"Capitalist realism" can help us understand why it's so hard to imagine life beyond capitalism. From cooperative success stories to recent economic crises, we'll challenge some common myths about human nature and explore how we might start imagining different possibilities for our future.
Read MoreMoving Beyond (Retro-)Cyberpunk: A Call for Radical Reinvention
Although the world has changed, the cyberpunk genre stays rooted in an outdated dystopian vision. We should reinvent cyberpunk to mirror today's socio-economic realities, grounding it in themes of systemic inequality, collective resistance, and the pressing struggles of capitalism.
Read MoreThe Power of Observation: Surveillance and Sousveillance
Surveillance and sousveillance both involve observing individuals or events, but differ in who's doing the observing and the direction of focus.
Read MoreRage Against the Machine: A Rant About Propaganda, Hypocrisy, and the Individual Fight
Propaganda is leading us in the West down a one-way road in the wrong direction. Perhaps things must get worse before they can become better, but I'm going to rant about the current state of things anyway.
Read MoreAnti-Leftist Tales: Horseshoe Theory, Bread Lines, the Government Doing Stuff, and More
Let's look at the common, pre-fabricated arguments used to dismiss socialism and communism. We will dismantle these persistent myths one by one, from the idea that "it only works in theory" to the conflation of equality with sameness, using historical context and data to challenge the dominant narrative.
Read MoreFrom Spectacle to Substance: Reframing Political Discourse
Politics is a power struggle where those with more resources make the rules. Their power doesn't come from intellectual authority or proven capability but from accumulated resources. However, the problem goes beyond individual actors.
Read MoreHindsight Is 20-20, Part II: Danger on the Global Scale
The events of 2020 exposed global surveillance as a tool of institutional control, not just a means of protecting public safety. From weaponised trust, autonomous technologies, to the convergence of surveillance with violence have redefined power and accountability in the modern world.
Read MoreHindsight is 20-20, Part I: The Virus and the System
The 2020s were characterised by conflicts and atrocities committed by dominant nations. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused global social and economic disruption, lockdowns, and a recession.
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