Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology
These are posts on culture from the blog Base and Superstructure. Mostly the focus is on American culture. But there might be a few posts on broader, international issues.
So, you’ve joined DSA. You attended your first meeting the other day. And like any right-thinking socialist at their first DSA meeting, you identified your politics as ‘to the left of the DSA.’ Now you’re sitting around thinking, ‘why doesn’t DSA have a real socialist caucus?’
Good think you clicked this blog post, my friend, because you’re in luck. I’m going to explain the 5 steps to start a DSA caucus. Read on and enjoy!
The Fourth of July is, of course, the holiday most closely associated with the U.S. But most Americans use it as a specifically patriotic holiday. As leftists, what is our association with the Fourth of the July?
More broadly, we have complicated associations with other U.S. traditions, like ‘free speech‘ and the broader ‘rights of man.’ How about the Fourth? How do you think about it?
Hi all – just posting briefly to wish readers a Happy Juneteenth!
For anyone not aware, the U.S. government just last year recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday. It commemorates the ending of legal slavery in the U.S. While the official day is June 19 (i.e., yesterday), many workplaces take off the following Monday or preceding Friday when it falls on a weekend. In line with that, my workplace gave everyone the day off today.
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.
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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