How many of you artists/creatives out there have been wondering how/why it seems as though the quality of art and design with money behind it (in the mainstream) has lessened considerably over the years (saturation aside)?

Ever hear of Marx’s “base and superstructure” theory? 😏
This one goes a bit deeper than what we’ll explore here (as usual), but we’re going to try to simplify this as much as we can without oversimplifying.

We’re also going to focus on Marx’s ideas exclusively instead of covering the works of others that try to build on this concept.
Marx essentially explains that in our society, the “base” represents the means + relations of production.

The “base” is what mostly influences the ideas that shape what we call the “superstructure.”

Our “superstructure” is our art, culture, political frameworks, and much more.
The “base” is currently defined by capitalist relations, which means private ownership and the rigid pursuit of profit maximization.

Capitalist firms putting lots of money behind anything “creative” want to minimize costs, and therefore the amount of risk involved as well.
Minimizing “risk” in art means thwarting artistic innovation.

In a capitalist system, cost concerns often constrain efforts, which typically starts to lead to low-quality work.

Those putting up capital through capitalist relations also tend to have the most creative control.
Capitalism presents lifestyle challenges for artists.

Internet brings saturation, which creates exposure challenges for artists + overwhelms potential consumers.

Capitalism + the internet calcify the “barriers to entry” for anyone trying to create at a certain level + be heard.
For many years, anticapitalist academics have debated the usefulness of art in changing or shifting society for the better.

Let’s start to use a more technical framing for such an inquiry.

We are asking:

Can the “superstructure” significantly influence the “base” in society?
The short answer is... maybe?

The long answer is that while the superstructure technically has the ability to shape and maintain economic conditions, our “base” (economic) reality dominates in terms of what influences and shapes the bigger picture of “society.”
No superstructure can stand without a base.

But this does not mean that the superstructure rules out all alternatives in conforming to the base.

This, however, does not mean the core virtues of the base will change in light of any ideological alternatives (even if socialist).
There is a dialectic between the base and the superstructure; they play off of each other.

But at the end of the day, the material, economic conditions that the “base” represents mold the concrete environments from which our artists/creatives sprout.

What does this mean?
This means that our artists and/or creatives must begin to work in a democratic, cooperative, socialist fashion at the material, “base” (economic) level in order to foster communal support networks that lend themselves to the development of a new, rich “superstructure” (culture).
When artists/creatives begin to work cooperatively, individual (financial) successes within this framework mean not just creative control and democratic control of resources, but the potential for infrastructural development that leads to new forms of curation and innovation.
Artists and creatives must begin to organize in a new way, tying whatever they create and the financial fruits that their creations yield into a strong, democratic, economic foundation that supports new creative communities (across various mediums) that can reinforce one another.
Artists must shake the hyper-individualistic and competitive mentalities promoted by our exploitative socioeconomic system, surpass the collaborative (yet capitalistic, monetization-wise) relations of our older generations’ artistic titans, and make a new way forward.
Art suffers under late Capitalism.

This is no secret.

This does not mean we can’t begin to spearhead new relations between artists/creatives and usher in new creative cultures + subcultures marked by exceptional quality and innovation.

Imagine the impact our artists can have!

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More from @BlackSocialists

Nov 19, 2021
Even if Rittenhouse had been found guilty, what would that have done? Proven the system “works”?

For those saying they’d rather just see him “pay” via the “justice” system, isn’t that just reinforcing what emboldened him to begin with?

Maybe it’s time to think outside the box…
Those saying “vote” or discussing political parties in response to this are thinking “cart before the horse.”

The political is shaped by capital as power.

Until we organize via our labor and build new, directly democratic power, it’s rinse and repeat.

“Abolition” has become a buzzword in these last few years, but abolition isn’t happening without an alternative. We now have to speak to the imagination if we wish to transcend these oppressive systems, and we have to organize + BUILD on that imagination.

Read 12 tweets
Nov 13, 2021
Manipulation of fiat currencies – self-sovereign, fed-regulated, etc. – embedded in proprietary logics focused on mere accumulation can’t define social relations that’d determine systems change.

The most it can be leveraged for are prefigurative world-building projects and tech.
Ironically, “grassroots + non-hierarchical” is nearly synonymous with “decentralized + autonomous,” and we have centuries of history showing advantages of this organization.

The issue in these times is largely related to culture + fragmentation (which new tech can help address).
Our challenge is less around “leadership,” and more around our capacity to put everyone in a position to lead themselves via directly democratic decision-making processes (governance before government).

Nostalgia (+ tradition) is indeed an enemy, though.

Read 10 tweets
Aug 17, 2021
Your entire understanding of the world and what we’re up against as a species changes radically once you realize how hierarchy operates.
An introductory thread on this point (please watch the video).

It is a very, very dense read.

But it is worth everyone’s time.

Please check it out.

theanarchistlibrary.org/library/murray…
Read 7 tweets
Aug 12, 2021
Some of us squander so many opportunities for good-faith discourse and education on here because we’re more concerned with looking smart for followers or going viral than appealing to the humanity of others.

Don’t be a “Leftist” absorbed by the neoliberal logic of this platform.
Also, here’s a Wiki primer on groupthink:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink

Some of us really, really need to read this.
Anyone with a conscience should be using everything at their disposal – which includes social media and technology more broadly – for problem-solving right now, with the urgency of someone trapped in a burning building with everyone else on here and in need of an escape plan.
Read 6 tweets
Jul 26, 2021
The fact that both Russia and China have invaded various territories aside:

To speak on nation-states in this manner disregards how capital (and, subsequently, imperialism) works globally.

Russian, Chinese, and American Capitalists are all doing great business with one another.
The sentiments espoused in the clip above are steeped in a dangerous, neoliberal logic of competitive, industrial expansionism, as opposed to a social logic of cooperation for ecologically sustainable democratization of productive forces for the commons.

Nothing “Left” about it.
Please see the clip below for a quick introduction to how/why the sentiments expressed in the clip featured at the top of this thread are an issue.

Also consider looking into the concepts of “hard” and “soft” power – very crucial for this specific topic.

Read 5 tweets
Jul 23, 2021
Anarchists (Libertarian Socialists) are perceived as a threat and attacked by all sides of the political spectrum (if you will) because what all other sides have in common (Left or Right) is an acceptance of top-down hierarchy and coercive authority (even if some try to hide it).
Anarchists understand Capitalism as not only a system of exploitation, but a system of domination as well, and they understand that domination (in some form or another) has essentially existed since human beings have been around (well before Capitalism even had a name).
Anarchists believe production must be controlled by the people themselves in service to the commons, just as most self-described Socialists/Communists do.

But they have never believed that production must first pass through the hands of some bureaucratic body for this to happen.
Read 10 tweets

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