Whiteshirts
Reflecting on Weblogs 14 and 16
Both techno-optimism and Light sold me a specific, noble dream.
Technology that connects humanity, democratises knowledge, and harmonizes with nature? A crime-free world at peace? The dreams themselves are clean. I can't be embarrassed for having wanted them.
But then the execution reveals the cost of the dream, and what it does to the person holding it. Light doesn't become corrupt in some obvious cartoon way - he follows the logic. Each step is defensible from the previous one. That's exactly what makes it uncomfortable to watch and hard to exit cleanly. The Overton window moves one rationalisation at a time.
My techno-optimism works the same way. Each concession felt reasonable in the moment. Of course platforms need engagement. Of course algorithms should surface relevant content. Of course adverts are fine as long as I can circumvent. And here we are. No uniforms. No slogans. Just clean, reasonable steps.
I guess the real question is: at what point does the dream become the rationalization?
And maybe the full answer is still uncomfortable.
Is this what happens to ideologues? Years later, we're left asking ourselves - how could they let it happen?