Does the modern attention economy make political apathy inevitable?
This deserves loud pushback.
Are people too distracted and exhausted to push back against political power? It's not just the US and the disaster that it is. But globally far-right governments are on the rise and economic systems often create the conditions for that. Less regulation, weaker labour rights, more privatization… plus endless culture wars to keep people distracted.
Apathy really helps that setup. When people are tired or overwhelmed, they stop questioning power and just cope. It feels a bit like the “bread and circuses” dynamic from the Roman Empire, just with better UX. As long as life is comfortable enough, there’s no urgency to flip the table. The system kind of banks on people being too fed, distracted and exhausted to organize. Outrage gets vented online, then absorbed by the next show, the next app, the next delivery.
This deserves loud pushback.
Are people too distracted and exhausted to push back against political power? It's not just the US and the disaster that it is. But globally far-right governments are on the rise and economic systems often create the conditions for that. Less regulation, weaker labour rights, more privatization… plus endless culture wars to keep people distracted.
Apathy really helps that setup. When people are tired or overwhelmed, they stop questioning power and just cope. It feels a bit like the “bread and circuses” dynamic from the Roman Empire, just with better UX. As long as life is comfortable enough, there’s no urgency to flip the table. The system kind of banks on people being too fed, distracted and exhausted to organize. Outrage gets vented online, then absorbed by the next show, the next app, the next delivery.
Does the modern attention economy make political apathy inevitable?
This deserves loud pushback.
Are people too distracted and exhausted to push back against political power? It's not just the US and the disaster that it is. But globally far-right governments are on the rise and economic systems often create the conditions for that. Less regulation, weaker labour rights, more privatization… plus endless culture wars to keep people distracted.
Apathy really helps that setup. When people are tired or overwhelmed, they stop questioning power and just cope. It feels a bit like the “bread and circuses” dynamic from the Roman Empire, just with better UX. As long as life is comfortable enough, there’s no urgency to flip the table. The system kind of banks on people being too fed, distracted and exhausted to organize. Outrage gets vented online, then absorbed by the next show, the next app, the next delivery.
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