Sublime

The priority of modern politics is economic growth. But humanity’s struggle towards material security will only be worthwhile if we understand and find ways to attenuate the psychological afflictions that appear to continue into, and are sometimes directly fostered by, conditions of abundance. The problems of the thirty or so rich countries describ

The eccentric, glorious French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau had, in the eighteenth century, laid the grounds of discontent with modern civilisation by denouncing it as a destroyer of the ‘authenticity’ of human beings.

You’re a starcher, he said, skinny but strong. You can fight them off, the Kafkas. Hit them in the kishkas. And remember to read the nature poets—a pastoral a day keeps the doctor away. Don’t be so proud of your anxiety.

Everyone’s software is good enough. Software used to be the weapon, now it’s just a tool.

In a world of scarcity, we treasure tools. In a world of abundance, we treasure taste. The barriers to entry are low, competition is fierce, and so much of the focus has shifted — from tech to distribution, and now, to something else too: taste. [2]

Taste is

As much as Americans envy the French way of life—from a health care system that is one of the best in the world to the lengthy vacations—few actually think about everything else that comes with it, namely steep social charges (that pay for the health care), waiting for hours in disorganized lines to throw yourself at the mercy of les fonctionnaires

On another level, the story of the New Internet is a story of individuals and their psychologies. Over the last decade, technology workers have opened themselves up to a tremendous amount of value drift (the process in which previously steadfast values are compromised over time).