Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

While I’m with you on attention economy I think it’s simplification of what’s going on:

– we had very dysfunctional legislature for last 20+ years

– quality of life is falling for majority of people

This contributes to feeling of unfairness in the society which pushes authoritarian and populist ideas.



I hate that everywhere in the world when QoL falls people elect idiot authoritarians who make QoL worse


It's almost as if there's a third thing going on that both drives QoL down, and authoritarians up, instead of one leading to the other.


What do you have in mind?

Or many things at the same time? One could be globalisation, making those with resources richer, and making workers unemployed?


With all do respect, I dont think so. The unfairness is relative feeling of judgment brought to you directly by the ability to compare yourself to your neighbors via social.


If only the USA as a country compared themselves with countries that do better.


To be fair, can you name another democratic country that has gone 250 years without conflict?


Define conflict.


One that ends democracy


Can you give some examples about this assertion?

> quality of life is falling for majority of people


Life expectancy has been falling, with the same decline not happening in other countries: https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/us-life-expectancy-decline-why-...

USA is one of of only three countries to have fallen in the Social Progress Index over the last decade: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2020-09-...

The US economy has been strong, but almost every other well-being metric has declined: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/briefing/the-us-economy-i...

Massive rise in income inequality and concentration of wealth: https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/a-guide...

Housing affordability is at historic lows, both for home ownership and rentals: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/state-nations-housing-2023


Inflation, and the even hire steady increases in cost of living with wages lagging far behind; people have to spend a much larger percentage of their income just to sleep somewhere at night than people did in the 2000s, 1990s and 1980s.

This trend has been evident in the US since like the 1960s. If you would like to verify, try comparing median income levels and median cost of living levels for some of those year ranges.


Ya sure but whats the way out? We have to go from Observations to Solutions.

Just look at how people's Attention on all sides is being exploited. If no one can remember what they were hysterical about last week, how can they be relied on to solve anything?

People are able to over night get more Attention than Billionaires and then convert that Attention to cash or influence, and its always fleeting as there is someone else around the corner about to capture Attention next.

How can such system do anything useful? I mean people are in la la land that architecture can produce results.

Why do we have central banks that decide what the interest rate is going to be?

Because the govt, banks and the rest of the market is unfit (proven throughout history) to do so.

Social Media/Attention Economy needs a similar mechanism when it comes to Attention.

We can't just go on living in a day dream that Rate at which the population's Attention is switching from one issue to another (thanks to algo's engineering for quarterly profit maximization) can just be left to Fate.

People's Attention both on Demand side and Supply side is being massively squandered more than at any time in history. Its like watching seizures in the brain. And people are like no no the system can function.

It can't. And the choice is to realize is sooner than later.


I don't get why people expect the government to make their lives amazing?

Has this ever happened, where had some amazing QoL thanks to their countries government.

I expect my government to manage public resources, the economy and defense. It can provide social safety nets for worst case scenarios. But if your eating food and have a home and making money what are people actually expecting from the government?


The precise point is that people are _not_ having a home due to a lack of affordability, that they are not having access to health care, and that rights and ascending social mobility of the past is being taken away.

And yes, government policies can definitely help or hinder in all of these.


The Saudis have oil cash for all—controversial, but it beats arguing politics with broke friends.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: