LXIII – On Facebook

Scoot Blogger

Max Barry is one of my favorite authors. I was introduced to him by way of the online game Nation States back in the early 2000’s, and then decided to read the book that inspired it, Jennifer Government. I loved it, and I love all his books, I recommend them all. He’s got a new one coming in 2020, I’m going to buy it. I don’t even know what it’s about.

Jennifer Government is a “Capitalizt” answer to 1984. Corporations run the world, and governments are mewling and weak and ineffective. Employees take the name of their employer: John Nike, Buy Mitsui, Jennifer Government. Corporations formed “loyalty programs” that became so extreme that they became territorial, and the worlds conflicts are fought between American Airlines, McDonalds, and Nike vs. United Airlines, Burger King, and Adidas.

Wired has an article out that is making waves, because it describes Facebook as behaving like a country. It’s got easily 1 billion+ unique users, it’s got corporate partnerships with dozens of organizations, and most recently it just released it’s own currency.

It’s the ultimate loyalty program: When you control the money, you can control not just where it gets spent, but how it gets spent. This is a logical move for Facebook, to exploit a regulatory void for it’s own benefit.

Dystopia

The frustrating thing about Social Media is that it is absolutely within our control. I left social media platforms in 2014. Someone once described social media by the seven deadly sins, and I think it’s fairly accurate:

• Lust – Tinder
• Gluttony – Grub Hub
• Greed – Linkedin
• Sloth – Netflix
• Wrath – Twitter
• Envy – Facebook
• Pride – Instagram

You can see that there is truth in this. Social Media is not about Social anything, it is about you. “Look at me! Look at me! Look at my opinions! Entertain me! Have sex with me! Feed me! Give me money!” Pride, through and through. Facebook is the king of the socials, and even owns many subordinate sites. Now it wants to control your money through it’s crypto program.

We are giving Facebook this power. Facebook is not out there to help us. Facebook exists to hinder us, or actively hurt us.

Do not trust Facebook to do the right thing. The pursuit of virtue requires clarity of Mind, Body, and Soul, and Facebook does not forward that aim.

Pray for those addicted to Social Media, that their hearts might be turned to Christ.

AMDG

XIV – A Travel Guide to Edeny and Anakay

I often refer (or will refer!) to this idea of a ‘population of perfectly formed Christians’, or to an individual ‘perfectly formed Christian’. In order to simplify reference to this idea, I am going to refer to a fictional utopian state I will call ‘Edeny’ (IPA: idɛni) after our original utopian society in Eden. Residents of Edeny I will refer to as Edenites. Adjectival form of Edeny will be ‘Edenic’.

The traits of the Edenites are simple: They are a virtuous people who follow the teachings of Christ to the letter. They are still human, but they respond perfectly to human trials. I might refer to a certain political system being applied in Edeny, and explain the impact it would have on Edenites based on this fiction.

I, of course, do not have a perfect understanding of Christianity, so naturally my description of Edenites will bear all of my hubris and human error. The intent is not to perfectly represent Edenic society, but rather it is to illustrate and symbolize how a perfect society might operate given certain parameters.

The inspiration of this comes from a concept first discussed with a friend of mine: He argued (and I agreed) that a sufficiently formed populace could make any political system work. The real challenge is in cultivating ‘sufficient formation’.

While i’m here, why don’t I create an antithesis to help with our hypothetical explorations of philosophical, theological, and political concepts.

Lets create a land of perfectly unformed people. A land of Anarchy and Instinct, a perfect ‘Dystopia’. Lets call it Anakay (IPA: ænake). The residents will be called Anakites and the adjective form will be Anakish.

Lets draw some parallels, shall we?

On Authority of a Sovereign: Edenites perfectly accept Authority. Anakites perfectly reject authority.

On Truth: Edenites believe Truth is objective and extrinsic. Anakites believe Truth is subjective and intrinsic.

On Morality: Edenites believe Morality is a component of Truth. Anakites believe morality is subjective based on circumstances.

Those are some key elements.

I will be revisiting this concept often. It will expand and grow as I apply it.

AMDG