Word of the day: enshittification (coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022)
Meaning:
Extrapolation:
Society in general experiences enshittification (in a more general sense of degradation) on large time scales. Let me explain with a few examples:
1. US started in 1776 with a bold and lofty statement: "all men are created equaland independent", with the second part getting erased almost immediately to appease the slavers, remediated (partially) a century later, remediated again further another century later and still not quite right. Many argue that US is going through a regressive stage right now and that it might take quite some time to swing forward again.
2. Abrahamic religions started off millennia ago with great promises (e.g. care for the poor and the outcast, love thy neighbor, etc). Today, we have a tribalization of the original promising start with many tribes killing each other en masse (in truth, ever since the beginning, given that YHWH himself asks his people to commit genocide against the Amalekites, e.g. Deut 25:17-19) and with further schisms in the near past and undoubtedly in the future as well. Tower of Babel indeed. More precisely, Orthodox priests today are blessing Putin's big bombs, rabbis are contorting themselves into pretzels to justify the treatment of Palestinians through that Amalek passage in the Torah or white US evangelicals overwhelmingly support a philanderer and pseudo-Christian.
Meaning:
(neologism, Internet, vulgar) The phenomenon of online platforms gradually degrading the quality of their services, often by promoting advertisements and sponsored content, in order to increase profits.
Extrapolation:
Society in general experiences enshittification (in a more general sense of degradation) on large time scales. Let me explain with a few examples:
1. US started in 1776 with a bold and lofty statement: "all men are created equal
2. Abrahamic religions started off millennia ago with great promises (e.g. care for the poor and the outcast, love thy neighbor, etc). Today, we have a tribalization of the original promising start with many tribes killing each other en masse (in truth, ever since the beginning, given that YHWH himself asks his people to commit genocide against the Amalekites, e.g. Deut 25:17-19) and with further schisms in the near past and undoubtedly in the future as well. Tower of Babel indeed. More precisely, Orthodox priests today are blessing Putin's big bombs, rabbis are contorting themselves into pretzels to justify the treatment of Palestinians through that Amalek passage in the Torah or white US evangelicals overwhelmingly support a philanderer and pseudo-Christian.