Five essential questions to ask about systems
And I find myself increasingly frustrated when people talk about “capitalism” as the problem. Yes, a lot of what we’re experiencing that sucks in our lives is a first- or second-order effect of capitalism and the six or seven dudes who sit on top of our financial systems, but this framing makes us feel helpless, fatalistic, and like there’s just one big problem: the system. It’s not because of “capitalism” that we’re all told we’re addicted to our devices and having too much “screen time” by the same people who demand products and services that encourage us to see offline activities, like using cash, as “dirty” and refuse to provide analog versions of essential activities like interacting with public services, riding public transit, or booking a medical appointment. It’s much more complicated than that.
from an excellent and wide-ranging essay about power.