Where We’re Headin

The purpose of this project is to relieve anxieties that I feel with regards to the future of our society that I have felt for the last few years at the time of this writing. I hope to explain the significance of this project by telling a story that’s meant to convey the “Vibe” of the moment to those that just don’t “feel” or “get it”, and to offer a solution. While some of the themes expressed may describe a general sense of “Doomerism”, I hope by the end to be more of a “Bloomer”, in that maybe the solutions offered inspire some sort of confidence to the future instead of raw dread.

Context

The genesis of my thoughts to actually find this project begins in the Summer of 2021. At the time, my semester ended with not much fanfare. I was to drive my friend to the airport, and continue the drive back to my home. There was one catch: No gas stations in town were operating. I was nearly left stranded in my college town, with my friend nearly missing his flight. The cause? About 2 days prior, the Colonial Pipeline fell victim to a ransomware attack.(a) The assumption made at the time to anyone that could only speculate was that industrial control systems were compromised, thus meaning that fuels could not physically flow to their destinations. Instead it was later learned that their billing system was shut down, the reasoning for stopping the flow was due to worry about internal contamination between systems.(a) This is despite the infrastructure being vital to the point where, if properly maintained and invested, contagion wouldn't happen via design considerations. The conclusion to be drawn from Colonial is that either the company running the pipeline did not invest more into the infrastructure of their systems that supply the East Coast with gas, or the choice to suspend the distribution of this vital resources was due to not being able to reliably bill end users.

One conclusion to be drawn from either reason is that profits were seen as paramount over the well being of people. Cutting corners in delivering an actual product means money can be kicked back up to increase shareholder value. Similar disruptions of critical infrastructure has happened both before and after the Colonial Attack in various industries for generally the same reasons: The Texan power grid faced a near total collapse(a), yet afterwards nothing was done to harden it. The Abbott baby formula plant was shut down due to ecoli found in baby formula on store shelves(a), despite plant managers knowing about . At the time of this writing, the US is said to be at odds with a refined products shortage(a), but the

If the world we lived in was kept in stasis, then perhaps this wouldn't be all that bad. The reality of the manner, however, is that this is ultimately not sustainable. The algorithmic nature of profit extraction in capitalist society hasn’t accounted for the greater existential threats of a changing climate(a), or a diminishing ability to extract natural resources to keep up current levels of consumption(a), both of which anyone reading this is able to observe in real time happening on the day to day. Ultimately, politics has failed to truly answer any question with regards to these existential threats and instead has devolved into spectacle(a).

Path A1, Path A2

Assuming the trends mentioned previously continue without much change, or worse, global events such as COVID act as societal accelerators, then the conclusion that can be reached comfortably is that we’ll witness a downtrend in general quality of life. How it will manifest is anyones idea, but here in the US, it seems the choice is being built infront of your eyes. If you want a form of material comfort, then the World Economic Form post “You Will Own Nothing and Be Happy”(a)

End