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Ever felt like something is very wrong with the world but can't put it into words? Here are those words. (henryfudgeofficial.substack.com)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/longreads@sh.itjust.works
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Degeneracy is a Symptom: On Conspicuous Despair, the Ponzi stage of being alive, and why your grandparents are wrong about you.

tl;dr: Wealth consolidation and oligopolies have stagnated economic growth. This you probably know, but the author amazingly shows that the rise of "social degeneracy" is merely a symptom of this problem. He tracks this phenomenon around the world and throughout history. We either tackle the problem early and directly or--my words, not his--the rivers will flow with blood.

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[–] 3 points 1 month ago* (1 child)

propertyless class

from "They are the way the propertyless class makes its position visible to itself and to others."

The proletarii constituted a social class of Roman citizens who owned little or no property. The name presumably originated with the census, which Roman authorities conducted every five years to produce a register of citizens and their property, which determined their military duties and voting privileges. Those who owned 11,000 assēs (coins) or fewer fell below the lowest category for military service, and their children—prōlēs (offspring)—were listed instead of property; hence the name proletarius (producer of offspring).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proletariat

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