Comments on: We http://thetarpit.org/2016/we "Now I feel like I know less about what that blog is about than I did before." Mon, 12 Oct 2026 01:33:40 +0000 http://thetarpit.org hourly 1 By: spyked http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-7813 spyked Sat, 12 Sep 2026 17:30:09 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-7813 > socialist This article makes too much of an effort to overload this term, in the same vein as <a href="http://thetarpit.org/2014/how-and-why-systemd-has-won#comment-7794" rel="nofollow">that guy</a>. We is a satire of Taylorism, the same ideology that was employed, say, by Ford in the West, and also by the Soviets in the East, to "scientifically manage" the affairs of people from the top down, and in this context, the "Science Fiction" label makes the work all the more lulzy. But it's also what I suspect has made it publishable in the USSR: the Soviets thought that he was busting Henry Ford's balls, while my younger self reading this in 2016 saw all the marks of centrally-planned USSR -- or current-day EU, since we're discussing Soviets. But the centralization of power doesn't have all that much to do with socialism. For example, Richelieu also contributed to the centralization of power in late Medieval France, but claiming that was a socialist affair is a bad joke. > socialist

This article makes too much of an effort to overload this term, in the same vein as that guy.

We is a satire of Taylorism, the same ideology that was employed, say, by Ford in the West, and also by the Soviets in the East, to "scientifically manage" the affairs of people from the top down, and in this context, the "Science Fiction" label makes the work all the more lulzy. But it's also what I suspect has made it publishable in the USSR: the Soviets thought that he was busting Henry Ford's balls, while my younger self reading this in 2016 saw all the marks of centrally-planned USSR -- or current-day EU, since we're discussing Soviets.

But the centralization of power doesn't have all that much to do with socialism. For example, Richelieu also contributed to the centralization of power in late Medieval France, but claiming that was a socialist affair is a bad joke.

]]> By: Phonopolis « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-7516 Phonopolis « The Tar Pit Wed, 17 Jun 2026 17:21:15 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-7516 [...] become an empty trope, that manages to keep the subject exactly at the place where it was in, say, We, a story written, mind you, about a century ago. This unfortunate misframing leads me to [...] [...] become an empty trope, that manages to keep the subject exactly at the place where it was in, say, We, a story written, mind you, about a century ago. This unfortunate misframing leads me to [...]

]]> By: They Live « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-6323 They Live « The Tar Pit Sat, 03 May 2025 10:07:07 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-6323 [...] b. leaving aside the poor artistic representation, it gets it somewhat, and in a deeper sense than other dystopias managed to. And also, I confess, because I enjoy the red-pilled [...] [...] b. leaving aside the poor artistic representation, it gets it somewhat, and in a deeper sense than other dystopias managed to. And also, I confess, because I enjoy the red-pilled [...]

]]> By: Squid Game « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-5517 Squid Game « The Tar Pit Tue, 07 Jan 2025 20:01:18 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-5517 [...] how I've got a few of similar items on my blog: there's Brazil, Player Piano or We, for example. They all follow the same recipe, namely that at the end of the day the hero's journey [...] [...] how I've got a few of similar items on my blog: there's Brazil, Player Piano or We, for example. They all follow the same recipe, namely that at the end of the day the hero's journey [...]

]]> By: Life during the time of covid the Great « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-293 Life during the time of covid the Great « The Tar Pit Sat, 04 Apr 2020 14:59:40 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-293 [...] homes for a good while", is that how the story goes? What words will your kids read looking at the mother-state-issued pieces of paper labeled "history book"? I for one am convinced that "the time of covid the [...] [...] homes for a good while", is that how the story goes? What words will your kids read looking at the mother-state-issued pieces of paper labeled "history book"? I for one am convinced that "the time of covid the [...]

]]> By: Brazil « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-64 Brazil « The Tar Pit Fri, 11 Oct 2019 11:16:39 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-64 [...] seemingly paradoxically, makes it your average dystopia, as previously described by authors such as Zamyatin, Huxley, Orwell, Burgess, Vonnegut, Dick, Kafka and many others. So what's so special about it, [...] [...] seemingly paradoxically, makes it your average dystopia, as previously described by authors such as Zamyatin, Huxley, Orwell, Burgess, Vonnegut, Dick, Kafka and many others. So what's so special about it, [...]

]]> By: A declaration of war on the HTTP of Shit « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-53 A declaration of war on the HTTP of Shit « The Tar Pit Fri, 11 Oct 2019 10:51:34 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-53 [...] give? Or let's say Alice and Bob's keys are generated by the Department of Key Generation in the Socialist United State: this reduces to PKI, which reduces Alice and Bob to cattle, but what formal guarantees does this [...] [...] give? Or let's say Alice and Bob's keys are generated by the Department of Key Generation in the Socialist United State: this reduces to PKI, which reduces Alice and Bob to cattle, but what formal guarantees does this [...]

]]> By: Let's find out why most educational institutions yield graduates that make dumb (or otherwise unknowledgeable) people « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-48 Let's find out why most educational institutions yield graduates that make dumb (or otherwise unknowledgeable) people « The Tar Pit Fri, 11 Oct 2019 10:39:58 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-48 [...] roots, where course matters in humanities consisted mostly of useless Marxist shit dictated by the Well-Doer, while the rather difficult matter in sciences was dictated by Party politics in order to raise [...] [...] roots, where course matters in humanities consisted mostly of useless Marxist shit dictated by the Well-Doer, while the rather difficult matter in sciences was dictated by Party politics in order to raise [...]

]]> By: Freedom is Slavery, or how and why everything costs « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-42 Freedom is Slavery, or how and why everything costs « The Tar Pit Fri, 11 Oct 2019 10:28:57 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/we#comment-42 [...] have a right when some controlling entity such as the State allows you to do stuff. So for example We tells the story of a place where people have no freedoms, but they do have certain rights, such as [...] [...] have a right when some controlling entity such as the State allows you to do stuff. So for example We tells the story of a place where people have no freedoms, but they do have certain rights, such as [...]

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