Tyranny of Appearance, and the Loss of Human Dignity (High Effort)

[got.daim]

This is me coming out as a Neo Luddist.

If this thread garners enough traction, then I will make more of these types of posts in the future.

In modern industrial society, the human being has become subject to forces that compel conformity not only in behavior but in physical appearance. This obsession with aesthetics is not a natural phenomenon, but a construct born out of a system that prioritizes superficial values over intrinsic worth. The drive for looks maxing is a direct result of technological society’s commodification of the human body. Industrial progress, combined with mass media, has created unattainable standards of beauty, reinforcing dissatisfaction to ensure continuous consumption. The fashion industry, cosmetic surgery, and digital filters all serve the interests of a system that profits from human insecurity. The problem is not merely the social pressures imposed upon individuals. It is the underlying mechanism of technological society that divorces people from genuine self worth. In a world where appearance dictates social value, human beings are reduced to objects, evaluated and ranked according to arbitrary, industrially constructed standards. This is a profound degradation of human dignity. The system perpetuates this cycle through feedback loops: the more one attempts to conform to these aesthetic standards, the more the standards shift. The technological infrastructure continuously refines and amplifies societal expectations, tightening the noose of conformity. True liberation lies not in the perfection of appearance but in the rejection of a society that equates worth with aesthetics. The pursuit of autonomy, authenticity, and freedom from technological domination must replace the superficial quest for physical optimization. Technology has not only alienated us from our labor but also from our own bodies. To reclaim freedom, one must resist the endless spiral of self modification demanded by a system that profits from our dissatisfaction. This begins with questioning the very premises upon which the ideology of beauty is built.

@Gengar @TechnoBoss

TLDR:
society makes people care too much about looks because of things like social media and advertisements, this makes people feel bad about themselves.. true freedom is about not worrying so much about how we look and being happy with who we are

 

[got.daim]

0

 

[got.daim]

i'm killing myself if i get zero interaction with this thread, i spent like 20 minutes writing this out

 

[got.daim]

@_MVP_ @MoggerGaston

 

[got.daim]

@notsocommonthumb @Xangsane @Underdog9494 @wsada @Nickmas

 

[notsocommonthumb]

dnr

 

[Underdog9494]

Dnrd

 

[Underdog9494]

Stopped reading at Luddist, you're using words too big for me buddy

 

[got.daim]

@swt @ey88 @BigJimsWornOutTires @mrdouchebag @noodlelover

 

[got.daim]

dnr

Dnrd

Stopped reading at Luddist, you're using words too big for me buddy

TLDR:
society makes people care too much about looks because of things like social media and advertisements, this makes people feel bad about themselves.. true freedom is about not worrying so much about how we look and being happy with who we are

i added a TLDR using simple words.

 

[Underdog9494]

Me not umderstand

 

[got.daim]

Me not umderstand

technology=bad

 

[Underdog9494]

Oh, yeah i agree. But im addicted to social media.

 

[Underdog9494]

technology=bad

Wat iz teknology?

 

[got.daim]

Wat iz teknology?

 

[got.daim]

b

 

[got.daim]

b

 

[mrdouchebag]

I disagree. Attractive people have some advantage professionally and socially, it's not up for debate. But unless you're significantly unattractive or a midget, it's not even remotely close to insurmountable(unless we're talking about modeling or something of course). Generally, ability/talent, hard work, some balls and some charisma is all you need. You can do very well in many areas of your life and be respected, even if you're a normie or below average. Making friends or doing well in your field has little to do with your looks. The only area where attractive people have a huge advantage is mating/dating. And unfortunately, that's arguably the most important area. We're all here to reproduce and pass on our genes after all.

 

[noodlelover]

If this thread garners enough traction, then I will make more of these types of posts in the future.

In modern industrial society, the human being has become subject to forces that compel conformity not only in behavior but in physical appearance. This obsession with aesthetics is not a natural phenomenon,

Nature disagrees.

but a construct born out of a system that prioritizes superficial values over intrinsic worth. The drive for looks maxing is a direct result of technological society’s commodification of the human body.

It's nature. The entertainment industry only gives people what they want.

Industrial progress, combined with mass media, has created unattainable standards of beauty, reinforcing dissatisfaction to ensure continuous consumption. The fashion industry, cosmetic surgery, and digital filters all serve the interests of a system that profits from human insecurity.

The dating market has always been a brutal competition for passing on ones genes.

It's only worse now because men and women have access to so many options. This started the aggricultural revolution which allowed towns and cities to form and grow.

And it's been getting worse and worse as population has risen, and now with the internet women have access to men from around the world.

The problem is not merely the social pressures imposed upon individuals. It is the underlying mechanism of technological society that divorces people from genuine self worth.

There is no objective self worth. There are only those who acquire resources (Money/Power/Mates) and those who can not.

In a world where appearance dictates social value, human beings are reduced to objects,

Humans are objects.

evaluated and ranked according to arbitrary, industrially constructed standards. This is a profound degradation of human dignity. The system perpetuates this cycle through feedback loops: the more one attempts to conform to these aesthetic standards, the more the standards shift. The technological infrastructure continuously refines and amplifies societal expectations, tightening the noose of conformity. True liberation lies not in the perfection of appearance but in the rejection of a society that equates worth with aesthetics. The pursuit of autonomy, authenticity, and freedom from technological domination must replace the superficial quest for physical optimization. Technology has not only alienated us from our labor but also from our own bodies. To reclaim freedom, one must resist the endless spiral of self modification demanded by a system that profits from our dissatisfaction. This begins with questioning the very premises upon which the ideology of beauty is built.

You're making the right decision. Drop out and become a neat. Less competition for the rest of us.

 

[Nickmas]

agreed very nice read

 

[got.daim]

I disagree. Attractive people have some advantage professionally and socially, it's not up for debate. But unless you're significantly unattractive or a midget, it's not even remotely close to insurmountable(unless we're talking about modeling or something of course). Generally, ability/talent, hard work, some balls and some charisma is all you need. You can do very well in many areas of your life and be respected, even if you're a normie or below average. Making friends or doing well in your field has little to do with your looks. The only area where attractive people have a huge advantage is mating/dating. And unfortunately, that's arguably the most important area. We're all here to reproduce and pass on our genes after all.

While it is true that attractiveness can offer certain advantages in specific areas this view fails to acknowledge the broader and more insidious effects of technological society. The fact that attractiveness might confer social and professional benefits is a symptom of the larger problem: a system that equates human worth with superficial qualities. The “ability/talent, hard work, charisma” that you mention are, in an ideal world, sufficient for success. However, in industrial society, these qualities are often overshadowed by the relentless emphasis on appearance, a byproduct of a system designed to profit from human insecurities. Even if one is a normie or below average in looks, the pressure to conform to artificially constructed beauty standards can still undermine personal fulfillment and self-worth. This is especially true in an age where algorithms and social media reinforce the idea that only those who meet these standards are worthy of attention or success. You mention that looks matter most in mating and dating, and this is indeed where society’s fixation on appearance becomes most pronounced. But this is not simply a personal issue it reflects the broader dehumanization fostered by the technological system, where individuals are reduced to their biological value rather than their true essence. The obsession with reproduction and genetic legacy, while natural in a biological sense, is intensified by a system that commodifies even our most intimate relationships. The real question is whether we want to live in a world where our value is determined by external factors or whether we can reclaim a deeper, more authentic sense of self that is not subjugated to the whims of industrial society. True freedom lies not in adapting to these superficial measures, but in rejecting them entirely and embracing a more meaningful and autonomous existence.

 

[got.daim]

Nature disagrees.


It's nature. The entertainment industry only gives people what they want.


The dating market has always been a brutal competition for passing on ones genes.

It's only worse now because men and women have access to so many options. This started the aggricultural revolution which allowed towns and cities to form and grow.

And it's been getting worse and worse as population has risen, and now with the internet women have access to men from around the world.


There is no objective self worth. There are only those who acquire resources (Money/Power/Mates) and those who can not.


Humans are objects.


You're making the right decision. Drop out and become a neat. Less competition for the rest of us.

Let me clarify the core of my argument: the issue is not the human drive to compete or seek partners, it is the technological system that has distorted and magnified these drives, creating a society where human beings are reduced to mere objects (objects to be exploited, ranked, and commodified.)

Nature disagrees.

You fail to acknowledge is the way that technology interferes with natural processes. The instincts you refer to (competition, reproduction, status) are natural forces. But the technological industrial system exploits these very instincts for its own purposes. The entertainment industry does not merely reflect what people want; it creates desires, amplifies them, and binds people to an ever tightening cycle of consumption. This is not a natural consequence of evolution... this is a consequence of a system that commodifies every aspect of human existence. To say “it’s nature” is to ignore the artificial nature of the world we now inhabit.

The dating market has always been a brutal competition for passing on ones genes.

It's only worse now because men and women have access to so many options. This started the aggricultural revolution which allowed towns and cities to form and grow.

And it's been getting worse and worse as population has risen, and now with the internet women have access to men from around the world.

Yes, the dating market has always been competitive, but in the past, people were not subjected to a continuous bombardment of media that dictates who is worthy of affection and who is not. In ancient societies, access to mates and resources was more constrained, and there was at least some element of organic choice. Now, we live in a world where dating apps, algorithms, and societal pressures push people to optimize every facet of themselves in the image of some arbitrary standard. The rise of cities and the internet may have expanded choices, but they also expanded the scope of exploitation. This is not a simple natural progression (this is the expansion of a system that commodifies every facet of human existence, amplifying insecurities and fostering dissatisfaction.)

There is no objective self worth. There are only those who acquire resources (Money/Power/Mates) and those who can not.

This is part of the problem. The idea that worth is defined by external factors (money, power, mates) demonstrates how deeply the industrial system has shaped human identity. Under industrial capitalism, a person’s value is based on their ability to fit into predefined roles, which are often determined by looks, wealth, and social status. True self worth (based on intrinsic qualities such as character, intellect, creativity, or integrity) is lost in a world that equates value with what one can buy or how one can appear. The belief that self-worth is purely based on external factors is not an expression of truth, but the result of a system designed to keep people in a state of constant competition and dissatisfaction.

Humans are objects.

While this is a grim reflection of the truth, it is not natural. It is a result of technological society’s reduction of human beings to units of production, consumption, and labor. It is true that humans are treated as objects in this system, but this dehumanization is not inevitable (it is a consequence of a system that needs to commodify human beings to function. A truly free society would allow people to exist as more than mere objects to be bought, sold, and ranked. It would recognize human dignity in a more profound way than the industrial system ever could.)

You're making the right decision. Drop out and become a neat. Less competition for the rest of us.

The problem is not simply about opting out and becoming a neet. Withdrawal may seem like a solution, but it is not liberation. True freedom is not about escaping the competition, it is about rejecting the ideological foundation of that competition. It is about confronting the system that has created the need for self optimization and questioning the very notion that our value lies in our appearance, wealth, or status. The endless spiral of self modification is a product of a society that profits from dissatisfaction. To break free, we must not simply reject self modification but the system that demands it. True liberation lies in a complete rejection of the ideology that equates self worth with conformity to superficial standards.

What you call “nature” is not nature at all. It is the result of a technological system that distorts natural human drives for its own benefit. The real question we must ask is whether we are content to continue living in a world where our worth is measured by external factors, or whether we will resist the technological domination that strips us of our humanity and reclaim a deeper, more authentic sense of self. True freedom comes not from playing the game, but from rejecting the very rules that make the game necessary.

Also can you rep this, took me a while and my WiFi kept going out.

 

[got.daim]

agreed very nice read

Thanks brocel!

 

[got.daim]

@Lonenely sigma @Gargantuan @anthony111553 @autistic_tendencies @funkyflamingo

 

[got.daim]

@Thinking_CEL @HeresJohnny @psychomandible @Charisma @afroheadluke

 

[got.daim]

@_Tigrim_ @cromagnon @Veganist @thereallegend @IAMNOTANINCEL

 

[got.daim]

please someone respond i want someone to talk to
@heightmaxxing @14vic @Edgarpill

 

[got.daim]

@BigJimsWornOutTires

 

[thereallegend]

@_Tigrim_ @cromagnon @Veganist @thereallegend @IAMNOTANINCEL

meh

 

[got.daim]

meh

can you rep everything i posted on this thread please.. i'm losing rep so badly

 

[got.daim]

meh

TLDR:
technology bad

 

[lifeless]

"High effort"
Literally one small essay

 

[heightmaxxing]

THE IPHONE CAME OUT IN 2007.
society was fucked the moment steve jobs was born. He fucked everything up
the number of virgins tripled in a decade. This is outdated as well it could very well be 50% especially with covid

 

[afroheadluke]

i read it all but i cant relate since i dont care about my looks

 

[got.daim]

View attachment 3406074
THE IPHONE CAME OUT IN 2007.
society was fucked the moment steve jobs was born. He fucked everything up
the number of virgins tripled in a decade. This is outdated as well it could very well be 50% especially with covid

exactly..

i read it all but i cant relate since i dont care about my looks

you don't need to, you're already teratyrone

 

[longjohnmong]

If this thread garners enough traction

society makes people care too much about looks because of things like social media and advertisements

no, it's because women won't have sex with us

 

[afroheadluke]

exactly..

you don't need to, you're already teratyrone

THANKS

 

[Mediterranean]

everything ur saying self-contradicts with the fact that ur on a website about looks improvement

 

[laaltin]

Not reading allat, bump for effort

 

[got.daim]

?

no, it's because women won't have sex with us

Saying this is the sole cause of appearance obsession misses the broader, systemic mechanism at play. The technological industrial system is not a simple mirror of biological drives, it is an engine that amplifies and distorts these instincts for profit and control. In pre industrial societies, physical attractiveness had relevance, but it was only one of many factors in forming bonds and communities. Social roles, shared labor, and personal character were valued more holistically. The rise of mass media, advertising, and social platforms, however, reshaped human relationships into commodities. These systems exploit the biological desire for mating and status, transforming it into a relentless drive to conform to ever changing standards of beauty. Why? Because dissatisfaction is profitable. A person convinced they are inadequate will buy products, pay for procedures, and endlessly chase validation in an arena designed to keep them wanting more. The obsession with appearance is not simply a consequence of human nature, it is a result of a system that converts human insecurities into capital. Women, like men, are themselves subject to these pressures, bombarded by unattainable ideals crafted not by nature but by corporate interests. The problem, therefore, is not that women have preferences, it is that technological society weaponizes these preferences to deepen alienation and dependence on the very system causing our dissatisfaction. To attribute this dynamic solely to biological desire is to accept the system’s terms. True freedom lies not in blaming individuals or groups, but in understanding and resisting the machinery that manipulates our most basic drives for profit.

 

[got.daim]

everything ur saying self-contradicts with the fact that ur on a website about looks improvement

I'm here for shitposting and therapy, just like @Idontknowlol

 

[longjohnmong]

?

Saying this is the sole cause of appearance obsession misses the broader, systemic mechanism at play. The technological industrial system is not a simple mirror of biological drives, it is an engine that amplifies and distorts these instincts for profit and control. In pre industrial societies, physical attractiveness had relevance, but it was only one of many factors in forming bonds and communities. Social roles, shared labor, and personal character were valued more holistically. The rise of mass media, advertising, and social platforms, however, reshaped human relationships into commodities. These systems exploit the biological desire for mating and status, transforming it into a relentless drive to conform to ever changing standards of beauty. Why? Because dissatisfaction is profitable. A person convinced they are inadequate will buy products, pay for procedures, and endlessly chase validation in an arena designed to keep them wanting more. The obsession with appearance is not simply a consequence of human nature, it is a result of a system that converts human insecurities into capital. Women, like men, are themselves subject to these pressures, bombarded by unattainable ideals crafted not by nature but by corporate interests. The problem, therefore, is not that women have preferences, it is that technological society weaponizes these preferences to deepen alienation and dependence on the very system causing our dissatisfaction. To attribute this dynamic solely to biological desire is to accept the system’s terms. True freedom lies not in blaming individuals or groups, but in understanding and resisting the machinery that manipulates our most basic drives for profit.

Bro, even Nietzsche (and the Classical Greeks) hated ugly people:

In origin, Socrates belonged to the lowest class: Socrates was plebs. We know, we can still see for ourselves, how ugly he was. But ugliness, in itself an objection, is among the Greeks almost a refutation.

Facial disfigurement is also one of the only reasons Native American people killed themselves:

Among tribes that
were ravaged by smallpox, it was also understood that a person whose face
had been hideously disfigured by lesions might kill themselves. According
to The Ethics of Suicide: Historical Sources, early chroniclers of the
American Indians couldn’t find any other examples of suicide that were
rooted in psychological causes.

 

[noodlelover]

Let me clarify the core of my argument: the issue is not the human drive to compete or seek partners, it is the technological system that has distorted and magnified these drives, creating a society where human beings are reduced to mere objects (objects to be exploited, ranked, and commodified.)

You fail to acknowledge is the way that technology interferes with natural processes. The instincts you refer to (competition, reproduction, status) are natural forces. But the technological industrial system exploits these very instincts for its own purposes. The entertainment industry does not merely reflect what people want; it creates desires, amplifies them, and binds people to an ever tightening cycle of consumption. This is not a natural consequence of evolution... this is a consequence of a system that commodifies every aspect of human existence. To say “it’s nature” is to ignore the artificial nature of the world we now inhabit.

Yes, the dating market has always been competitive, but in the past, people were not subjected to a continuous bombardment of media that dictates who is worthy of affection and who is not. In ancient societies, access to mates and resources was more constrained, and there was at least some element of organic choice. Now, we live in a world where dating apps, algorithms, and societal pressures push people to optimize every facet of themselves in the image of some arbitrary standard. The rise of cities and the internet may have expanded choices, but they also expanded the scope of exploitation. This is not a simple natural progression (this is the expansion of a system that commodifies every facet of human existence, amplifying insecurities and fostering dissatisfaction.)

This is part of the problem. The idea that worth is defined by external factors (money, power, mates) demonstrates how deeply the industrial system has shaped human identity. Under industrial capitalism, a person’s value is based on their ability to fit into predefined roles, which are often determined by looks, wealth, and social status. True self worth (based on intrinsic qualities such as character, intellect, creativity, or integrity) is lost in a world that equates value with what one can buy or how one can appear. The belief that self-worth is purely based on external factors is not an expression of truth, but the result of a system designed to keep people in a state of constant competition and dissatisfaction.

If you can't acquire what you want in the real world, you should feel bad about yourself.

You as a machine are not functioning to meet your own desires. You are a machine that manipulates your environment to meet your needs. I'm not "reducing you to a machine". It's what you are.

If you genuinely don't want a partner, or a roof over your head, or food, or have less needs and you're meeting them, then great.

Your value to some one else, is your ability to meet their needs more than the competition. That's not capitalism, that's reality. Even when we were living in tribes that was the case.

While this is a grim reflection of the truth, it is not natural. It is a result of technological society’s reduction of human beings to units of production, consumption, and labor. It is true that humans are treated as objects in this system, but this dehumanization is not inevitable (it is a consequence of a system that needs to commodify human beings to function. A truly free society would allow people to exist as more than mere objects to be bought, sold, and ranked. It would recognize human dignity in a more profound way than the industrial system ever could.)

There's idealism, and then there's physical reality.

If you want to go live in the woods in some tribe hunting animals, go ahead but don't be surprised when your forest get's bulldozed to build a shopping mall.

The problem is not simply about opting out and becoming a neet. Withdrawal may seem like a solution, but it is not liberation. True freedom is not about escaping the competition, it is about rejecting the ideological foundation of that competition. It is about confronting the system that has created the need for self optimization and questioning the very notion that our value lies in our appearance, wealth, or status. The endless spiral of self modification is a product of a society that profits from dissatisfaction. To break free, we must not simply reject self modification but the system that demands it. True liberation lies in a complete rejection of the ideology that equates self worth with conformity to superficial standards.

I'm enjoying this conversation by the way. But the practical application of the philosophy you're preaching is done by both men and women.

Women - Fat women that say "I don't need no man" and watch netflix and get fucked by chads occasionally from tinder, often living on welfare because their value isn't defined by their income.

Men - Subhumans that say "My value isn't defined by women or my income" that live on welfare and don't pursue relationships or financial well being.

If you however think that you can some how ideologically push women to have lower standards and accept you, or companies you want to work for to have lower standards and accept you, you're wrong.

Capitalism didn't create the brutality of the law of the jungle. It has always been kill or be killed. The only difference is in tribal times, most humans were nearly an apex preditor. Evolution continued, which includes societal and technological evolution, and most humans are no longer apex predators.

You really thought evolution was going to stop? That you would get to say apex predators forever? Every species would have preferred that, but evolution doesn't stop.

Corporations, CEOs, Media conconglomerates, are now the apex predators, and you are the prey. How does it feel?

You can survive in this environment if you're lucky but you need to understand what it is. It has the misleading veneering of artificiality. Of being a well oiled mechanism.

But it has always been a jungle. Where everything fights for survival. Everything fights for resources to survive, and spread.

What you call “nature” is not nature at all. It is the result of a technological system that distorts natural human drives for its own benefit. The real question we must ask is whether we are content to continue living in a world where our worth is measured by external factors, or whether we will resist the technological domination that strips us of our humanity and reclaim a deeper, more authentic sense of self. True freedom comes not from playing the game, but from rejecting the very rules that make the game necessary.

I do envy your naive idealism.

Those who "reject the game" ultimately die. This is true for every level to include nation states. A nation state that rejects the game and adopts communism will get out competed by other countries and starve.

In the real world there is only competition and constant evolution.

Also can you rep this, took me a while and my WiFi kept going out.

I repped. Rep me too because that's fair.


@ey88

 

[LTNUser]

Bump

 

[BigJimsWornOutTires]

This is me coming out as a Neo Luddist.

If this thread garners enough traction, then I will make more of these types of posts in the future.

In modern industrial society, the human being has become subject to forces that compel conformity not only in behavior but in physical appearance. This obsession with aesthetics is not a natural phenomenon, but a construct born out of a system that prioritizes superficial values over intrinsic worth. The drive for looks maxing is a direct result of technological society’s commodification of the human body. Industrial progress, combined with mass media, has created unattainable standards of beauty, reinforcing dissatisfaction to ensure continuous consumption. The fashion industry, cosmetic surgery, and digital filters all serve the interests of a system that profits from human insecurity. The problem is not merely the social pressures imposed upon individuals. It is the underlying mechanism of technological society that divorces people from genuine self worth. In a world where appearance dictates social value, human beings are reduced to objects, evaluated and ranked according to arbitrary, industrially constructed standards. This is a profound degradation of human dignity. The system perpetuates this cycle through feedback loops: the more one attempts to conform to these aesthetic standards, the more the standards shift. The technological infrastructure continuously refines and amplifies societal expectations, tightening the noose of conformity. True liberation lies not in the perfection of appearance but in the rejection of a society that equates worth with aesthetics. The pursuit of autonomy, authenticity, and freedom from technological domination must replace the superficial quest for physical optimization. Technology has not only alienated us from our labor but also from our own bodies. To reclaim freedom, one must resist the endless spiral of self modification demanded by a system that profits from our dissatisfaction. This begins with questioning the very premises upon which the ideology of beauty is built.

@Gengar @TechnoBoss

TLDR:
society makes people care too much about looks because of things like social media and advertisements, this makes people feel bad about themselves.. true freedom is about not worrying so much about how we look and being happy with who we are

 

[got.daim]

Bro, even Nietzsche (and the Classical Greeks) hated ugly people:

It is true that Nietzsche and other thinkers observed that physical appearance carried weight in human judgments, and historical examples demonstrate that disfigurement could lead to social alienation or despair. But these observations, though insightful, are not refutations of the systemic argument against industrial society’s commodification of human life. What Nietzsche condemned as weakness, the technological system has transformed into a mass market weapon (ugliness is no longer merely a personal disadvantage, it is a manufactured condition for profit.) Pre industrial societies, for all their harshness, placed limits on how deeply appearance dictated a person’s fate. Small, tight-knit communities relied on cooperative labor, kinship, and shared tradition, factors that transcended physical flaws. Even among the Greeks, where beauty had cultural significance, social roles were still anchored in personal merit, wisdom, and contribution to the polis. Today, these connections are severed by a technological structure that amplifies superficial metrics as the ultimate measure of worth. The point is not to deny that humans have always valued beauty, it is to expose how the modern system exploits and weaponizes this instinct. Capitalism, fused with media technology, hijacks biological preferences, expanding them into unattainable ideals that breed perpetual dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction feeds consumption. Cosmetic surgery, skincare industries, influencer culture, and dating apps are built to sustain a cycle where self worth becomes a product. Ugliness, far from being a natural flaw, is socially constructed and manipulated to keep people chasing illusions.

Facial disfigurement is also one of the only reasons Native American people killed themselves

If suicide, once rare among indigenous tribes except for extreme cases like disfigurement, has become more widespread in modern times, it reflects the deeper alienation and despair wrought by technological society. What was once a tragedy of circumstance (scarred faces after smallpox) has now become a generalized affliction of the soul, where social media filters and advertising standards scar the psyche of millions. Blaming individual deficiencies or invoking ancient philosophy as justification overlooks the systemic machinery of exploitation. Nietzsche’s disdain for ugliness cannot explain why today’s world profits from it. True freedom is not in embracing ancient prejudices, but in dismantling the mechanisms that turn human beauty into capital and ugliness into a sentence of perpetual inadequacy.

Please rep.

 

[got.daim]

If you can't acquire what you want in the real world, you should feel bad about yourself.

You as a machine are not functioning to meet your own desires. You are a machine that manipulates your environment to meet your needs. I'm not "reducing you to a machine". It's what you are.

If you genuinely don't want a partner, or a roof over your head, or food, or have less needs and you're meeting them, then great.

Your value to some one else, is your ability to meet their needs more than the competition. That's not capitalism, that's reality. Even when we were living in tribes that was the case.


There's idealism, and then there's physical reality.

If you want to go live in the woods in some tribe hunting animals, go ahead but don't be surprised when your forest get's bulldozed to build a shopping mall.


I'm enjoying this conversation by the way. But the practical application of the philosophy you're preaching is done by both men and women.

Women - Fat women that say "I don't need no man" and watch netflix and get fucked by chads occasionally from tinder, often living on welfare because their value isn't defined by their income.

Men - Subhumans that say "My value isn't defined by women or my income" that live on welfare and don't pursue relationships or financial well being.

If you however think that you can some how ideologically push women to have lower standards and accept you, or companies you want to work for to have lower standards and accept you, you're wrong.

Capitalism didn't create the brutality of the law of the jungle. It has always been kill or be killed. The only difference is in tribal times, most humans were nearly an apex preditor. Evolution continued, which includes societal and technological evolution, and most humans are no longer apex predators.

You really thought evolution was going to stop? That you would get to say apex predators forever? Every species would have preferred that, but evolution doesn't stop.

Corporations, CEOs, Media conconglomerates, are now the apex predators, and you are the prey. How does it feel?

You can survive in this environment if you're lucky but you need to understand what it is. It has the misleading veneering of artificiality. Of being a well oiled mechanism.

But it has always been a jungle. Where everything fights for survival. Everything fights for resources to survive, and spread.


I do envy your naive idealism.

Those who "reject the game" ultimately die. This is true for every level to include nation states. A nation state that rejects the game and adopts communism will get out competed by other countries and starve.

In the real world there is only competition and constant evolution.

I repped. Rep me too because that's fair.


@ey88

You describe the world as a jungle (brutal, competitive, and indifferent to ideals.) You frame life as a perpetual contest of survival where evolution marches forward, indifferent to human suffering. But this framing, though tempting in its starkness, obscures more than it reveals. What you call the “law of the jungle” is not nature’s unfiltered truth. It is a system designed and perpetuated by technological and industrial forces that shape every aspect of human existence, including how we perceive value and competition. The comparison of corporations and media conglomerates to apex predators isn’t proof of nature’s dominance, it is evidence of how thoroughly humanity has constructed an artificial ecosystem where survival is measured not in terms of organic balance, but in terms of profit and power. The "jungle" you speak of is a fabrication, a technological machine that transforms the world into a marketplace of endless competition. It profits from defining success in ways that keep us striving and suffering without end, confusing survival with consumption and fulfillment with accumulation. Yes, competition exists in all human societies, past and present. But in simpler societies, competition was moderated by shared values, mutual aid, and communal bonds. Life was harsh, but it was not a perpetual marketplace of self commodification. Today, even friendship, love, and self expression are packaged, optimized, and sold back to us through platforms that thrive on insecurity. Capitalism didn’t invent human ambition, but it did industrialize it, mechanizing our deepest drives into a system of control. You say those who reject the game die. But this is a false dichotomy. True resistance is not escapism or withdrawal, it is the refusal to let our worth be defined by a system that turns human beings into units of production and consumption. It is about rewriting the rules, not fleeing the game. Liberation lies in reclaiming the power to define what it means to live meaningfully, rather than accepting a system that exploits our instincts and calls it evolution. Survival alone is not enough. What matters is the quality of life we create and the values we uphold. A nation (or a person) that blindly pursues power for its own sake loses the very humanity it seeks to protect. Evolution does not have to mean endless competition. It can mean learning, growing, and designing systems that reflect the depth of human potential, not the shallowness of endless acquisition. You speak of realism, but realism without a vision for something better is nothing more than surrender.

I repped. Rep me too because that's fair.

Okii

I'm enjoying this conversation by the way.

Me too : )

 

[FartMaxxer]

This is me coming out as a Neo Luddist.

If this thread garners enough traction, then I will make more of these types of posts in the future.

In modern industrial society, the human being has become subject to forces that compel conformity not only in behavior but in physical appearance. This obsession with aesthetics is not a natural phenomenon, but a construct born out of a system that prioritizes superficial values over intrinsic worth. The drive for looks maxing is a direct result of technological society’s commodification of the human body. Industrial progress, combined with mass media, has created unattainable standards of beauty, reinforcing dissatisfaction to ensure continuous consumption. The fashion industry, cosmetic surgery, and digital filters all serve the interests of a system that profits from human insecurity. The problem is not merely the social pressures imposed upon individuals. It is the underlying mechanism of technological society that divorces people from genuine self worth. In a world where appearance dictates social value, human beings are reduced to objects, evaluated and ranked according to arbitrary, industrially constructed standards. This is a profound degradation of human dignity. The system perpetuates this cycle through feedback loops: the more one attempts to conform to these aesthetic standards, the more the standards shift. The technological infrastructure continuously refines and amplifies societal expectations, tightening the noose of conformity. True liberation lies not in the perfection of appearance but in the rejection of a society that equates worth with aesthetics. The pursuit of autonomy, authenticity, and freedom from technological domination must replace the superficial quest for physical optimization. Technology has not only alienated us from our labor but also from our own bodies. To reclaim freedom, one must resist the endless spiral of self modification demanded by a system that profits from our dissatisfaction. This begins with questioning the very premises upon which the ideology of beauty is built.

@Gengar @TechnoBoss

TLDR:
society makes people care too much about looks because of things like social media and advertisements, this makes people feel bad about themselves.. true freedom is about not worrying so much about how we look and being happy with who we are

Wow good thread, very intelligent musing about how post industrial society forces us into a box. I think looks matter but I think you should be chasing a look that you like, dress how you want, looks and aesthetics are so subjective that basically no matter how you look allot of potential partners will find you unattractive or attractive so you should just be authentic.

 

[noodlelover]

You describe the world as a jungle (brutal, competitive, and indifferent to ideals.) You frame life as a perpetual contest of survival where evolution marches forward, indifferent to human suffering. But this framing, though tempting in its starkness, obscures more than it reveals. What you call the “law of the jungle” is not nature’s unfiltered truth. It is a system designed and perpetuated by technological and industrial forces that shape every aspect of human existence, including how we perceive value and competition.

The comparison of corporations and media conglomerates to apex predators isn’t proof of nature’s dominance, it is evidence of how thoroughly humanity has constructed an artificial ecosystem where survival is measured not in terms of organic balance, but in terms of profit and power. The "jungle" you speak of is a fabrication, a technological machine that transforms the world into a marketplace of endless competition. It profits from defining success in ways that keep us striving and suffering without end, confusing survival with consumption and fulfillment with accumulation. Yes, competition exists in all human societies, past and present. But in simpler societies, competition was moderated by shared values, mutual aid, and communal bonds. Life was harsh, but it was not a perpetual marketplace of self commodification. Today, even friendship, love, and self expression are packaged, optimized, and sold back to us through platforms that thrive on insecurity. Capitalism didn’t invent human ambition, but it did industrialize it, mechanizing our deepest drives into a system of control. You say those who reject the game die. But this is a false dichotomy. True resistance is not escapism or withdrawal, it is the refusal to let our worth be defined by a system that turns human beings into units of production and consumption. It is about rewriting the rules, not fleeing the game. Liberation lies in reclaiming the power to define what it means to live meaningfully, rather than accepting a system that exploits our instincts and calls it evolution. Survival alone is not enough. What matters is the quality of life we create and the values we uphold. A nation (or a person) that blindly pursues power for its own sake loses the very humanity it seeks to protect. Evolution does not have to mean endless competition. It can mean learning, growing, and designing systems that reflect the depth of human potential, not the shallowness of endless acquisition. You speak of realism, but realism without a vision for something better is nothing more than surrender.

You mean pushing towards cooperation rather than competition?

Okii

Me too : )

 

[mogtivism]

a system that prioritizes superficial values over intrinsic worth

over for kazinskycels.

Lookism has existed since ancient times and humans have always valued aesthetics. Your looks are part of your intrinsic worth, anything otherwise is cope. This post gives off the same energy as cuckservatives trying to convert incels to their tradtarded way if thinking.