Socialism is Inevitable. -Personal Freedom is Lost.

I've been thinking about this a lot during the last year or so.

Today, we function as a society by communicating primarily through electronic means; cell, text, FB, twitter, etc.

15-20 years ago, we had numerous companies vying their way to become a leader in communication by switching from analog to digital cellphone communication.

While they were fighting, Facebook crept in with a platform that provided 10x the amount of information and it was/is all centrally located on their servers.

Today we have offshoot social media platforms(from twitter to grindr), but there are no viable contenders for how we communicate online -facebook.

We can't visit a website without being tracked by Google or FB or any other online conglomerate.

While I believe in the free market and capitalism, I know we are at a turning point in our ability as a populace to control those markets(or any group that requires individuals to determine the outcome -political, religious, social, even scientific) because our insight on topics we are passionate about are overshadowed by targeted ads and articles that suite our preferences.

IMHO, we are on the cliff of digital freedom. While companies like Apple publicize that they won't open a backdoor for the goverment, they've already opened it for themselves -and capitalized on it by the ability to sell information.

And shutting off your phones and disconnecting from the internet is still futile. If you walk into a Lowe's store, your face can still be scanned to identify potential "shoplifters".

In some stores, we may use facial recognition technologies to identify known shoplifters. Specifically, we may use specialized cameras to scan the faces of persons entering the facility and create a unique set of data points.

Lowe's Privacy Policy

How many other stores do you think are collecting this kind of information?

Since the early 2010's companies have been tracking your movements throughout their stores via wifi: wifi tracking

If they can track your movements in a store, identify your facial features, remember the items you purchased, and transfer that information about you to third parties (for cash)so they also know.....only to compare it to your vast online social media history, what personal freedom do you have? NONE. They remember more about your past than you ever will.

And all the major corporations and goverment alphabet agencies have record of your movements, down to the second.

How long until one of those controls all information? It's inevitable and it's too late for the populace to fight back right now. Only individuals themselves can realize they are never without the option of freedom if they choose it. Albeit, social sacrifices.

Ghost

What has any of this have to do with socialism?

it s about surveillance - or am i too tired to understand it?

a reply to: svetlana84

Nothing, except it promotes a faux socialist agenda under the guise of capitalism.

originally posted by: ghostrager
While they were fighting, Facebook crept in with a platform that provided 10x the amount of information and it was/is all centrally located on their servers.

Simply stop using all social media....

Do you think the social is social media means it is Socialism?

a reply to: ghostrager

Then why title it "Socialism is inevitable" ?

Makes no sense ( at least for me)

I hate these idiots who keep calling Corporatism, Socialism. You have been brainwashed.

Next thing you know, they call people communists that farm their own food for not paying taxes.

a reply to: hellobruce

Your quoted reference on my words reflected my interpretation of the evolution on how information is gathered, nothing to do with socialism.

Try again?

originally posted by: ghostrager
nothing to do with socialism.

Then why use Socialism in the title?

a reply to: ghostrager

Now you said it twice: "nothing to do with socialism"
in the thread you titled "Socialism is inevitable".

See the confusion?

a reply to: svetlana84
Good point. I haven't explained the progression well, and probably won't be able to.

Because as we lose our privacy through individual entities (corporate or government) we are left at the mercy of their advancement. Our ability to outperform others on the same platform as us is superceded by ai advancement. The population will end up with fewer and fewer opportunities. Each individual will be "valued" solely on their spending capabilities. Overtime, this will equalize. Eventually(maybe a 100 years or so), the world won't have richer or poorer countries, but areas that are more or less suitable for wealth.

a reply to: ghostrager

You've basically describe two things in your OP:

Electronic Police State and Corporatism.

Neither of which are actually Socialism

So I also fail to understand why you have that in your thread title.

a reply to: ghostrager

This progression would lead to corporatism, not socialism.

Anyways, I am out. I have to catch some sleep.

CU

a reply to: ghostrager

What does any of that have to do with worker ownership of the means of production?

a reply to: svetlana84

What I see is confusion on the inevitable progression of society into faux socialism. Ni is weak on this site.

originally posted by: ghostrager
a reply to: svetlana84
What I see is confusion on the inevitable progression of society into faux socialism.

What you're describing is a highly recorded society run by independent corporations.

Definitely corporatist.

NI is weak on this site.

I have no problems with the Northern Irish here.

originally posted by: ghostrager
a reply to: svetlana84

What I see is confusion on the inevitable progression of society into faux socialism. Ni is weak on this site.

faux socialism? What is that?

a reply to: ghostrager

Socialism is what we the people do between ourselves when we realize the truth of the points you have gathered. The authoritarianism is already in place. The totalitarianism it's neighbor.
What is left for any individual who will not be snuffed out by the gargantuan child of capitalism, the corporation.
Join together and act as one. Put aside the differences that have been bred into us by this all consuming machine and work together.
THAT is exactly what socialism is.

a reply to: ghostrager

I find no reference in the OP about Socialism as a political policy reference point. I did find privacy policy issues raised referencing the commonly agreed upon privacy policies issued by most social media platforms. When you click to agree your rights are redefined it is clear.

a reply to: ghostrager

This is not Socialism you are talking about but Orwellian big brother which is Fascism, (also called socialism but nothing alike as it is a different form of rule over the population), Also Communsim fit's the bill were you speak of removal of personal freedom's.

For me from a Western European socialist view (Which is neither communism nor totalitarianism nor fascism) Socialism mean's giving all kid's the chance of class mobility, total class mobility by creating a Meritocratic society which is to say not one that values one person more than another but one that grant's all people the full chances with no invisible glass barriers (class wall's) to stop them.
For me Socialism is a regulated semi free market economy which prevent's monopolization by corporations from ripping off the consumer.
Protect's civil right's from those that wish to compartmentalize the poor and force them into gulag style work houses (a right wing concept - check your history).
Prevent's discrimination.
Instill's ethic's and moral decency.
And from an English perspective, is highly inspired by Christian morality (as much of our labour movement genuinely used to be).

So I suppose you could call our socialism something else but it worked, yes we had state owned industry's such as the Energy producers whose profit's used to go back into the public purse (Before a certain right wing do no gooder sold them off to her cronies in the 1980's), water and north sea gas and we had some disasters such as British leyland a car manufacturer were the government had stepped in and taken over because it would have gone bust and it ended up costing too much from the public purse, we had problem's from ultra left wing communist's whom had infiltrated and perverted our trades union movement's (the miners strike's were justified but that is another matter) and often did genuine harm to our economy but over all it was a good system that looked after our people.

Today the remnant's of that system which has mutated over various government's are being milked by EU national's that have made there way to Britain for no other reason but also take up the available job's with employers choosing them over our own kid's because they are more convenient to get rid of because the are less likely to argue there statutory employment right's.

Now what you are saying you love is the Free market idiology but that is actually a self contradictory statement as there is no such thing, let me quantify.

Free market's break down in short order especially in today's global economy into monopoly's, mega corporation's buy one another up and further partition the sale of good's and patent's among themselves which reduces free market mobility of good's and services.
TTIP and the older Gat World Trade agreement's are NOT open free market economy model's as the prevent government service provision, they prevent Government regulation (which is used to maintain a fair and balanced economy) and they promote global monopolization.

The worst example is Genetic Modification and PATENTING of food producing plant's and even meat, Monsanto is the most infamous and the fake buy out by Bayer if it take's place is just that a fake as Bayer are more or less owned already by the same people whom own Monsanto in the Global Monopoly (not market Monopoly).

When corporations' give rule's to Government's and own your politician's is that really any better than living under a totalitarian rule or is it actually the same wolf in a different suit.

Socialism refers to public ownership of the means of production. In this case, we have the result of free market capitalism.