BILLY BOB—Liberalism’s emphasis on abstract values like “freedom” and “democracy” allows the oligarchy to maintain its dominance while masking the systemic exploitation inherent in capitalism. By framing politics in terms of individual rights and freedoms rather than collective class interests, liberalism diverts attention from the structural inequalities perpetuated by capitalism.
MIKE WHITNEY—It sounds like a lot of people are very concerned, and for good reason. DeepSeek is a nuclear bomb detonated in the heart of Silicon Valley. It is a straight-up challenge to America’s de facto Royal Family of tech Brahmins who thought their reign would last forever. Now they find themselves playing ‘catch-up’ with an upstart cadre of bluestocking brainiacs who are bringing their world crashing down around them. More importantly, the future of AI is being decided in Hangzhou not Palo Alto which means we might see a lull in the warmaking as Uncle Sam finds it harder to finance his endless bloodletting. What a welcome reprieve that would be.
