Retribution Culture, The Iron Cage, and Elite Overproduction
3 Things Thursday!
Hi, I’m Max Murphy! An existential imbecile who explores the absurdity of existence with crappy jokes.
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Welcome to 3 Things Thursday, where i share 3 random things… on Thursday!
"Cancelling": A Culture of Retribution: this was a blind-blowing video essay exploring the problems stemming from cancel culture. We’re not actually “holding people accountable” we’re just participating in an angry mob that dishes out cruelty because it makes us feel good.
Max Weber described The Iron Cage as the way we trap ourselves in rigid social systems based on rationality. Despite their efficiency, these social systems end up diminishing autonomy, resulting in the sad sack of shit you see in the mirror every morning.
Elite overproduction is an idea from Peter Turchin that describes how a society can produce too many aspiring elites without the ability to absorb them into the existing power structure. Given the many angry college graduates across the country, I’m starting to think this idea has some teeth.