From the Manifesto
Historical Parallels
Then and now. Side by side. History does not repeat, but it rhymes at higher clock speeds.
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№ 01
Then · 1811
Luddites smash power looms in Nottingham. They are not afraid of machines. They are afraid of what the factory owner will do with them.
Now · 2024
Hollywood writers strike over AI-generated scripts. They are not afraid of LLMs. They are afraid of what the studio will do with them.
The tool is never the enemy. The hand that holds it without sharing the surplus is.
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№ 02
Then · 1914
Henry Ford raises wages to $5 a day so his workers can afford the cars they build.
Now · 2025
OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google race to replace the knowledge workers who are the only people left who can afford a $200/month subscription.
A consumer economy cannot survive the abolition of the consumer.
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№ 03
Then · 1933
The New Deal forces capital to share with labour the productivity gains of electrification and the assembly line.
Now · TBD
Nothing. Gains from AI flow to seven companies and the funds that own them. There is no deal, new or old.
Productivity without redistribution is not progress. It is theft at a higher clock speed.