Equality…but with respect to which variable?
Modern society is obsessed with equality, but let’s not strive for it with respect to furthering capitalism
Equality is a hot topic. Everyone is trying to be inclusive, and get more “groups” into more parts of society. But we cannot speak of increasing equality without specifying which variable of equality we are trying to optimize. For example, some talk of creating equal opportunities for attending universities, while others want equal opportunities to become CEOs.
Ostensibly, these efforts always focus on the effects or benefits to individuals. But what is the ultimate goal or driving pressures of these equality policies? Yes, the proximal cause may be individuals wishing for less discrimination, but that wish doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Instead, is operates within an advanced capitalistic-technological system, and its objectives and actions are heavily influenced by that system.
In considering this, we must be careful that we are not constructing a larger constellation of policies that only aim to further an already violent and destructive society. For example, striving for equality in university education is a good thing in the sense that it provides a decent opportunity to more minorities. But the entire university system itself is mainly set up to train people to further consumerism and technology, and that is ultimately devastating for humanity. Therefore, more equality in university education is nothing else than more opportunities for everyone to participate in a destructive, capitalistic society.
There is a more general phenomenon here: the ultimate aim of technology, or driving force in the context of the true nature of technology, is to continue to grow into a more cohesive organism at our expense. In other words, there is a deterministic pressure on technology to grow more complex, and in the process, it transforms simpler organisms into its subservient cells.
Thus, equality is shaped by capitalism and technology so that all attempts at equality are likely to push towards a greater participation in this process of being enslaved by technology. Ironically then, the very drive towards equality is the drive towards equal and complete subservience by technology.
Where does that leave equality? We should obviously strive for it, but we should strive for equality along specific variables: access to nature, enough food, and the opportunity to live sustainably. What about striving for equality in opportunities to participate in growing technology? The energy to do that should be used to fight technology. Instead of trying to get everyone to participate in STEM fields, we should instead dismantle them.
No, I don’t mean dismantle all of knowledge and science, but we should severely restrict technological development and in particular, we must tear down companies like Google, Apple, and as many of the largest corporations as possible. It would be far better for us if large corporations burned to the ground rather than giving everyone an equal chance to be their CEO, only to have them destroy the world the next day.
And that’s because policies like equality in hiring at big tech is just like trying to get equal opportunity in becoming a murderer: it’s just equal representation on the path of destruction. Of course, we must eliminate discrimination and strive to do so always. And indeed, that striving may result in more equality in the traditional techno-capitalistic society whose only goal is growth that inevitably implies the destruction of the natural world. And yet, with equal effort, we must realize that only striving for equality within consumeristic society is also a fool’s errand: it is simply another climb to a local maximum that is one in a long series of descending local maxima.
It is absolutely important to strive for equality and to help all living beings equally, including non-human beings. But the best way to do this is not to simply play the capitalistic game. Instead, we must create new spaces, new coalitions, and new societies that are independent of consumerism. These new societies will be more egalitarian than any existing one steeped in the techno-capitalistic global environment, and they will out of necessity take down technology and limit it so that our striving for true enlightenment will not simply propel us from one dark age to the next.
Thus, if you are truly concerned about equality, do not fall prey to the siren of capitalism and growth within it. Instead, examine the root cause of our suffering: our primal human nature plugged into the horror that technology has become. In fact, is only by overcoming both our now-maladaptive instincts along with our addiction to technology and consumerism that we will truly be able to have an opportunity to live in harmony with this beautiful earth that gave us life. And personally, I’d rather than everyone have equal access to a safe environment with clean water and pristine forests than live in a world where everyone can be the next CEO of Apple.
As with all of my stories, this one is 100% free: I did not use any AI tools to help with the text or images. Feel free to download this button here and include it in your own articles to fight against AI!
