Inside the System as It Falls Apart

This week we talk to friend of What Rough Beast Cy Canterel—whose Substack Abstract Machines is essential reading right now—about why Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney just gave a eulogy for neoliberal capitalism at Davos, and what comes after the fiction falls apart.We discuss:* Why Carney’s Davos speech was the diplomatic equivalent of taking down the communist party slogan from the greengrocer’s wall (Václav Havel would be proud)* The surprisingly dark connection between Horatio Alger, Jeffrey Epstein, and the extractive core of the American Dream* What H-Mart Gate revealed about proximity to power, model minorities, and who gets to be Cassandra* Why we need to stop asking powerful people to change themselves (because they won’t)* Mass transitions, rubber bands, and the moment before the grid snaps* How level three maintenance techs have more power than your congressman (and what that means for resistance)* Direct action vs. endless petitioning: where the real pressure points are in a failing system* Cy’s wild career arc from coding on Andy Warhol’s software to working inside GE as it collapsed to becoming a perfumer because smell can’t be digitizedPlus: why hope means accepting that the future is dark (impenetrable, not doomed), the wealth defense industry as target, and what it means to finally stop living by lies.What Rough Beast is a reader-supported podcast. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit virginiaheffernan.substack.com/subscribe