The Star Trek world certainly has singular individuals. Richard Daystrom, Noonian Soong, Zefram Cochrane.

None are billionaires. They are names known for their scientific achievements, not their ability to hoard wealth. Billionaires don't exist in the Federation. The people wouldn't celebrate a deranged Elon Musk, they would celebrate artists and poets and actors and scientists and philosophers. Because of course they would!

As I keep saying: "there are so many of us, so few of them."

What I mean by that is that there are so many normal, every-day, down-to-earth human beings. And there are so few hyper-greedy ego-maniacal billionaire overlords.

But something I don't mention often enough is that *we created them*.

The wealthy and powerful are wealthy and powerful only because we all believe they are. But imagine if we just all stopped believing it, then all their wealth and all their power would simply vanish.

I'm not speaking metaphorically. I mean literally.

If we billions of normal human beings just all agreed that the billionaires don't own and control everything, then that *literally* means they don't. Because that's all it is: a belief.

So spread the good word! The wealthy and powerful are not actually wealthy and powerful. We, the meek, are ready to inherit the Earth.

If we all truly believe in a better world, it will come to pass.

#startrek #socialism #freepalestine #anarchism

They thought a 4-day cease-fire would distract the world. The massive protests and direct actions showed them we won't give up.

Once again for those in the back: There are SO MANY of us willing to stand up for what's right, stand up for a better world against colonialism and capitalism. And there are SO FEW of them. #freepalestine #solidarity #liberation #landback #congo #rojava #sudan

Feeling inspired by this post:

"You have no idea the world they took from us. If you did, your rage would be barely contained." - a recent post by https://kolektiva.social/@Adam_Cadmon1@mastodon.online

... I would like to imagine what kind of a world might we be living in if capitalism hadn't won.

What transport systems might we have if capitalists hadn't forced us to be dependent on car infrastructure? What well-built, long-lasting technology would we have, had we not been force-fed the manipulative marketing and wasteful planned-obsolescence of greedy corporations' gadgets? How much food would we have, if capitalists didn't destroy their excess food just because some poor bloke didn't transfer some made-up numbers? We kind of already know how much housing we would have (there are 5 homes sitting empty for every homeless person). And perhaps most importantly, what could we be spending our time on, instead of the mostly-useless jobs we have today?

The many wars of colonialism / oil, and the many ethnic genocides could have been avoided. Instead of the competitive greed that pervades our capitalist culture, we could have had a culture of working together and helping one another in solidarity. We could have been putting people above profit this whole time.

That's why t.v. shows like Star Trek and The Orville are important. They don't necessarily show us what could have been (I would still love to see that) but they do show us what could be.

2/2

#fuckcars #foodjustice #housingjustice #colonialism #solidarity #startrek #theorville

I wonder if global worker solidarity is measurable.

(In case the word "worker" throws you off, just replace it with "not-a-billionaire-overlord")

I see more and more people around the world standing up in solidarity for Palestine and Congo and Sudan and Syria and Myanmar. In many ways, the feeling of global worker solidarity is stronger now than I can remember in my entire life. It is exciting and makes me wonder if real change is actually coming for once.

Chants of "we will not forget" and "shut it all down" are echoing around the world, and there is a palpable energy in the air.

The revolutions of the early 20th century were paired with a sense of global worker solidarity. Could that be happening again? Could the cycle of revolution be happening again?

The message from one episode of The Orville is that rather than advanced technologies bringing about social change / revolution, it is social change / revolution that allows for advanced technologies.

But predicting a revolution is as useful as predicting the end of the world, so I won't attempt it.

1/2

#solidarity #palestine #congo #sudan #syria #myanmar #revolution #theorville

I tend to focus here on imagining a better world, free from capitalism. I tend to focus more on criticizing the billionaire owning class from the perspective of the working class.

The brutal and horrific events of the past week urge me to take a slightly different tack for this post.

Star Trek has a long and beautiful history of forcing us to look at the world in a different way than what we are fed by society at large. In the midst of the Cold War, we saw a Russian man on the bridge of the Enterprise. The Civil Rights movement was in full swing, and a Black woman sat on the bridge. A Japanese man was there as well, with the memories of WWII still haunting viewers' minds (many ignorant viewers were probably reminded of Vietnam here as well).

This was a deliberate, healing, tactic of solidarity and humanization that Gene Roddenberry put forth to television audiences to show we are better together. All human. And I personally believe it changed hearts and minds.

But it didn't end at the bridge of NCC-1701. On the 1701-D, in "The High Ground," Star Trek portrayed a group of people, the Ansata, that had been referred to as "terrorist" in a humanizing light. Notably this was aired during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It was a flawed but still powerful episode that again I think healed minds and hearts.

And it goes on. From the introduction of the "terrorist" Maqui in "Journey's End" (and later most notably in Voyager) to Kira Nerys of Deep Space Nine, Star Trek has warned us that we should look with a critical eye anyone that uses the label of "terrorist."

I won't delve deeper into the current situation, but I will say that Star Trek has taught me, and I hope it has taught others, that we should never de-humanize a group of people. We should let love and solidarity and knowledge guide us, never hate or division or ignorance.

And just to be perfectly clear, this is still a criticism of capitalist occupiers / imperialism, which DEPENDS on racism, sexism, and all forms of bigotry and hatred and division. If we all suddenly saw things clearly and found solidarity with one another, we might actually change things. And capitalism would hate that.

I leave you with one of my favourite Star Trek quotes of all time. Captain Kirk from the episode "Who Mourns For Adonais":

> Give me your hand. Your hand. (she does) Now feel that. Human flesh against human flesh. We're the same. We share the same history, the same heritage, the same lives. We're tied together beyond any untying. Man or woman, it makes no difference. We're human. We couldn't escape from each other even if we wanted to. That's how you do it, Lieutenant. By remembering who and what you are. A bit of flesh and blood afloat in a universe without end. The only thing that's truly yours is the rest of humanity. That's where our duty lies. Do you understand me?

Another world is possible: a better one. A world that puts people over profit.

But we have been programmed to believe this world is impossible. It seems obvious, but apparently we need reminders: those people that told us the better, "utopian", #startrek -like world is impossible HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN KEEPING THE CURRENT, SHITTY ONE.

Those that profit from the greed and exploitation want you to believe there is no alternative to capitalism. They want us fighting amongst ourselves. They want us to believe that capitalism is SerIoUS BuSinESs (tm) and that anyone advocating for any sort of improvement or change is delusional or naive.

Is infinite growth on a finite planet VeRy mATurE (tm)? Please.

We are waking up. And we have the real power to change the world.

What is naive is thinking a few hundred billionaires should control the world.

There is a billionaire in your head telling you that nothing can change, and that nothing should change.

Phaser the billionaire in your head. Set to "kill," not stun.

When we say "there are more of us than there are of them," what do we mean, exactly and what does it imply?

As a background: we are now leaving the most extreme summer ever, the climate catastrophe is killing a lot of people. Everything is too expensive. We are divided. De-sheltered people are being harassed and abused. Black people are still being murdered by cops. Car infrastructure reliance, profit-driven prisons and city planning, deforestation, and gentrification are keeping vulnerable populations in dire straits. Poverty, hunger, and slave labor is going strong.

In short: everything sucks, and if you spend literally 5 minutes following the money, you will find that billionaires are to blame.

Which is kind of stupid, considering there are SO FEW OF THEM. That's what we mean. These handful of individuals (something like 30 billionaires hold more wealth than the bottom 50% of the world's population) are essentially, not overly hyperbolic here, our masters.

> "You are a slave, Neo."

But I think we are finally waking up. The billionaires need us. We don't need them. We can take back everything they stole and build a people-over-profit, Star Trek-like future where no one goes hungry or shelter-less or without healthcare, where we are free to realize our potential.

Spread the word.

As you may have heard, the Burning Man festival this year has had some... issues. If you're not plugged in, there were some climate protests(!) against these yuppie liberals, cops were called (and *of course* used excessive force), climate change gave attendees a small taste of global south problems; they whined about it and the national guard offered to help. Funny how when rich white folks suddenly find themselves without secure food and shelter, the cavalry itches to come to the rescue (the help was declined).

Homeless people everywhere every day would like a word.

Anyway, if you look up previous successful festivals, you will see a self-described "world of art" on display. Now these resources could of course be put to better use instead of littering the desert and throwing carbon in our atmosphere, but some of it is genuinely beautiful and intriguing, imho.

And why wouldn't it be? One week without having to worry about where you will sleep or what you will eat, where the typical rules of society are suspended and comradery reigns? Of course we make art. [*not directly related, but see the Situationists]

When humans are set free, we are capable of greatness. Why don't we give everyone everywhere that opportunity, not just some rich kids doing drugs at a desert concert?

#anarchism #burningman #solarpunk

I sometimes ask people: "what would you do if you had a billion dollars?" The answers are varied; as many answers as there are people. Here's a sample of answers I've heard: "study engineering," "write open source software all the time," "open a pizza restaurant," "do more volunteering," "do some traveling and learn about sustainability."

What's your answer?

The question of "what would you do if you had a billion dollars?" is, if you think about it, really asking: "what would you do if you didn't have to worry about money?" And most (not all) just want to improve themselves and serve others.

And all that potential to do good in the world is held back by capitalism simply because they DO have to worry about money. And why do they have to worry about money? Food and housing and healthcare. That's it. Just freaking give people food and housing and healthcare and you unlock their superpowers.

That's why Star Trek's society in the Federation is so advanced. Not because they could warp from planet to planet, but because their people were freed from the constant, nonstop stress of needing to work for some rich dude in order to "earn a living," as if you don't deserve one.

What a perverse and wasteful society we live in. It's complete nonsense, and we can do so much better.