• TheDoctor [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    6 months ago

    I think it’s a good metaphor for what the state does for capital. Capitalism by its nature destroys cultural signifiers by co-opting them over and over until they become meaningless. It can’t afford to do the things humans have historically done to preserve culture over long periods of time. It needs growth and therefore it needs the speed at which culture transforms to accelerate. It acts a lot like an intrusive species, burning through its food source and destroying the balance of the ecosystem. The state acts like an insulator, slowing this process and making it more sustainable.