capitalism gripe, software
under capitalism, all labor saved is labor disenfranchised. so software, that endeavor whose sole purpose is to multiply labor, finds itself worsening the situation of the worker, even its own! layers of engineers are invalidated by "innovation" and left adrift, used and abandoned.
it doesn't have to be this way! the plow is not the enemy of the farmer, so why under capitalism is it?
we must defeat capitalism to make good software.
re: capitalism gripe, software
thanks for listening, this has been a repeat rendition of one of the only three takes i have
re: capitalism gripe, software
like, i really like software! i think it holds an incredible promise! so it is fucking mind-boggling that capitalism can only marshal the resources for petty profiteering half-shits, and on the margins we struggle to organize libre works on a nebulous volunteer corps that harbors flabbergasting blindspots — from racism to sexism to class consciousness, software as an industry is astonishingly wedded to the wedges of late capitalism. i feel like a carpenter but all i build are chairs that fall apart, that prick you with loose nails should you unfortunately find cause to sit in it. we could build monuments that honor all people, that stand as testament to the promise of plenty, to the power of the craft! we could do right by each other.
re: capitalism gripe, software
software developers must unionize, must organize their labor in global solidarity with all peoples. not so your boss sends a couple bucks, but so we can assert a humane scope over all our works. we could tear out the ads, the surveillance, the weaponry, the princelings who control us! capitalism will never do this on its own, so we must organize the power to force its hand -- to defeat it for all time and welcome that brighter day where labor saved is not labor disenfranchised, where our craft is not a threat to our collective welfare.