Base and Superstructure

Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

Month: May 2022 (Page 1 of 2)

life insurance

Life Insurance and Hitting Age 40

May 26, 2022 /

As I get closer to age 40 (I’m about to turn 39), I’ve noticed that I get lots of ads for life insurance. Not just on social media – annoying enough – but also in the mail. I assume all this gets worse as you continue getting older? I’ve seen enough of it already, I think.

For those readers over about age 35, how’s this going for you? Do you get life insurance ads in the mail? Don’t you feel it’s a bit too early for all that?

And here we are at the end of the post. Sorry about the short Thursday post, everyone! I’ll be back next week, and hopefully with more profound thoughts.

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radlib

What’s a Radlib?

May 23, 2022 /

‘Radlib’? What’s that?

Let’s start here. Leftists turn to insults and name calling every now and then. And we have no shortage of names to call the people who disagree with us. We can (and do) call them ‘liberal.’ For the edgier among them, we can call them ‘ultra-liberal‘ (or even ‘ultra-left‘ if they’re leftists we don’t like). Or if we’re just feeling like pouring gas on a fire, we can use ‘shitlib.’

But I’m interested in ‘radlib.’ Let’s take a look at it. What might be compelling about it? Can it do any work those other terms can’t?

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0ad empires ascendant

0 A.D. Empires Ascendant

May 19, 2022 /

So, about a year ago, I wrote a blog post on an old RTS game called Age of Empires. The article was a reaction to a Current Affairs article on the same game. Along the way, I mentioned that I started playing a game called 0 A.D.

I’ve continued playing that game (you can play it for free here). And I must say it’s an enjoyable one! Maybe the politics still aren’t great. But the makers of the game show an admirable commitment to historical accuracy. And it’s just a ton of fun.

If anyone’s interested in playing, my lobby name is ‘thephilosopher.’ And if you want to watch me play (and lose), you can find a broadcast of one of my earliest games here. If you just want to get a sense for what the game is like, check out the youtube channels Tom 0ad and 0AD Newbie Rush!

Update: And here’s a broadcast of a more recent game I played!

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lean production politics

The Politics of Lean Production

May 16, 2022 /

I subscribe to a few leftist magazines. One of them – Catalyst – has published a few contributions to a debate over the status of Lean production. Not long ago, I read the most recent article in that debate: one by the title ‘The Politics of Lean Production‘ by Matt Vidal.

The debate itself concerns both the theory and economics of Lean. Is Lean a bad thing by its very nature? Or, on the other hand, do we have ways we can redirect it for the benefit of the left? Vidal reads his opponents as arguing for the former, while he argues for the latter. And while Vidal doesn’t really want to go there, no less than Lenin himself once tried to re-capture something a bit like Lean.

Let’s take a look at this debate.

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