Another Failed Bureaucratic Utopia - Drs. M.S. DeLay & A.V. Bendebury - DSPod #273

Today we're examining the impact of bureaucracy and
financialization on modern society through the lens of David
Graeber's "Utopia of Rules," with reference to another of his
works, "Bullshit Jobs." We explore how these forces shape
political ideologies, wealth extraction, and everyday life.
Starting with the alienation caused by bureaucratic systems, the
discussion moves through the fusion of finance and bureaucracy,
which influences both worker-corporate relationships and
democratic processes. Then we look into the global justice
movement's exposure of systemic violence and the role of
technology in societal challenges as a potential model for
criticism. We also address the perception of value shaped by
financial abstractions, the issues within the retirement system,
and the personal reassessment prompted by psychedelics. The
podcast concludes with a discussion on the potential of worker
ownership and the importance of societal renewal through new
linguistic templates to combat institutional stagnation. Tell us
your thoughts in the comments! Sign up for our Patreon and get
episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat
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shopping through this link for Graber's work:
https://amzn.to/3WD1yT3 (00:00) Go! (00:08:49) - Bureaucracy
breeds alienation despite material comfort (00:15:06) - Political
disillusionment reflects bureaucratic capture of ideologies
(00:20:08) - Financialization and bureaucracy fuse, extracting
wealth (00:31:25) - Credential inflation bureaucratizes everyday
life (00:37:25) - 1971: Financialization alters
worker-investor-corporate relationships (00:43:43) - Financial
reliability prioritized over democratic processes (00:52:46) -
Global justice movement exposes systemic violence (01:04:24) -
Technology application, not existence, causes issues (01:15:32) -
Financial abstractions shape perception of value (01:28:54) -
Retirement system exposes life-structuring issues (01:33:14) -
Psychedelics confront mortality and reassess values (01:40:57) -
Opting out: freedom versus interconnected challenges (01:45:13) -
Worker ownership addresses external investment problems
(01:52:35) - Societal renewal prevents institutional stagnation
#sciencepodcast, #longformpodcast, #Bureaucracy,
#Financialization, #PoliticalIdeologies, #WealthExtraction,
#GlobalJustice, #WorkerOwnership, #DemocraticProcesses,
#CredentialInflation, #SystemicViolence, #RetirementIssues,
#TechImpact, #Psychedelics, #ValuePerception,
#InstitutionalRenewal, #EconomicJustice, #CorporatePower,
#SocialChange, #FinancialAbstraction, #1971Economy, #WorkerRights
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https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD
studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking
to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time
painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also
did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of
molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring
sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various
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