This isn’t a question most of us have had in the shower. I think that transferring guardianship of children for profit is largely considered unethical. I believe it is legal in some circumstances. I’ve been told that orphanages can sell orphans to other orphanages. I’m not really sure what context you’re asking about, though.

Oh, that sounds good. Where are you located? I live in Oakland and work for Agilent.

This is a great review. I am disappointed that Klien and his co-author appear to be about 10 years behind the curve, but I appreciate that the conversation is being had, and that books like this lead to reviews like this.

I’d never heard the term “Solar communism”. I appreciate being introduced to that and to the work of David and Peter Schwartzman.

A great read! Thanks for sharing!

Hey, don’t threaten me with a good time ;)

I think that would honestly be great. One of the biggest problems I’ve seen with Democratic messaging in the last 5 years is that they repeat terms and insist that we should champion them - such as democracy - or revile them - such as authoritarianism - without recognizing an obligation to communicate what those words mean to our everyday lives. I want christian nationalists to be put in that situation:

‘You don’t understand! Solarpunk is communism!!!’

‘Well… I heard they want to give everyone food and shelter and education and healthcare for free. And build parks.’

‘Okay, yeah, but didn’t you hear me? It’s COMMUNISM!!’

‘Wait… is that what communism is? Giving me food and shelter for free?’

‘No! I mean, supposedly! But it isn’t! Look, you need to stop saying that you’d like food and shelter to be free and just agree to fear this word because I told you to! Just stop thinking fondly about living outside of capitalism! I mean it!’

I remember that. It was during a Q&A session in the fall of 2023.

I think we’re seeing an idea – or set of ideas or facet of an idea – spreading as a meme in the classical sense. For those unaware, Richard Dawkins coined the term “meme” to describe a transmissible unit of culture: an idea that takes root and gets received, repeated, imitated, and spread.

Solarpunk is a big bucket (a genre of fiction, aesthetic, style of personal fashion, lifestyle, philosophy, etc.) but I think it really is a meme spreading quickly. Fundamentally, it’s a collection of beliefs that we can live in a radically different, less commodified world of respect for nature and community. And I think people are desperate to discover that such a concept exists and has a descriptor.

What’s also interesting, for those who don’t follow him, is that Ezra Klein self describes as an obsessively self-aware overthinker. He is meticulous in the construction of his thoughts and in the precision of his language. I would go so far as to say that he probably realized with full awareness that his use of that word was likely going to introduce thousands of people to a new word, and/or unconsciously inform people who’d heard the word that it was a respectable term to use in political discussion. I think that bodes well for the direction of our culture as a whole.

I think so too. I am seeing a similar effect in a lot of places.

To second what @[email protected] just said, to say that cyberpunk didn’t take off as a mainstream concept is bewildering when the richest man on the planet and and emergent fascist leader overtly applies cyberpunk concepts to his entire program of world domination.

It’s like saying that the social media or school shooters never really took off as mainstream concepts. Like… I don’t know how it can get much bigger than this, dawg.

I’m sorry he hasn’t liked it, but critique is how we get better. Hope Mastodon keeps growing.

This sounds cool, but too technical for me to follow.

That makes a lot of sense.

That looks much more like a data artifact than an accurate representation of behavior.

I think that the trajectory of the three low dots matches the overall slope very closely in a way that looks far more like a flat subtraction of all three. If it was behavioral, I think you’d see the behavior come and go over the course of several days.

I think the question is misformed.

As you point out, it’s circumstantial. It depends on what resources are currently in offer and what unmet need you’re looking to fill.

Are you thinking of starting a marketplace?

It was genuinely my pleasure.

Awesome! This is an exciting surprise!

I read a preprint of this, and I really loved it. Everyone should check this book out!

Damn, that’s rad as fuck

Yeah. I think there’s a lot she could do with the stories, but I really need more hope right now. I think Parable of the Sower managed to provide just enough of that.

I don’t fault her for being so brutal. It’s honest. Reading both this and Parable of the Sower, I couldn’t help thinking that there are people in Haiti and Palestine for whom these books are just their present reality. I even feel bad that I’m so demoralized, because I know that I need to toughen up. This is what the real world looks like. But I need to have enough composure to be an effective dad and activist, and it takes a balance for me to do that. Too much truth can leave me too drained and despondent to be the force in the world I want to be.

That looks very pretty. How old is the kid?

I see Teslas in the bay area with bumper stickers that say things like “I didn’t know he was nuts when I bought this”

This is cool. When I get a chance, I wanna submit one of these too.

Oh! I was very much confusing those! Thanks for the disambiguation.

I do not know anything about the summit. If anyone goes, please report back.