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I was interviewed on a podcast today. I was asked why 'liberally-minded' individuals might create technology that seems to support right-wing politics. Its an interesting question. The confusion arises because ppl often conflate economic liberalism with social liberalism, treating them as one. Economic liberalism is basically protecting private property and less regulation. And social liberalism is its best friend. While social liberalism advocates for individual rights and welfare measures, it only acts as a whitewashing tool to soften the sharper edges of capitalist exploitation without challenging its foundational injustices. If anything, a society based on social liberalism is a society that masks the inherent cntradictions of capitalism to make it more palatable to the working class. Panem et circense.

Focusing on individual rights and identity poltiics without challenging the capitalist economic order is putting a bandaid on a broken bone.