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In the 20th century, Gramsci theorized how the ruling class manufactures consent to construct a hegemony. Capitalism did not destroy itself because the individuals within capitalism were ingratiated in its apparent self-evidence. What is seen now in contemporary society is an expansion of this concept and a general closing of the hegemonic loop. Gramsci's counter-hegemony is an implicit possibility in his theory, but the idea of the voluntary panopticon, a prison of one's own making, is an implication of the capitalist realism described by Fisher. The possibility space of alternatives disappears.

Capitalism is now not only self-evident but an ontology of the way things are done. Structure is organized to be financial and corporate. Action is influenced by accumulation and the black box of surveillance capitalism. Accumulation directed by the prediction of behavior is the mechanism that allows the hegemony to be further entrenched. The fog of what is "real" obscures the very idea that something could exist beyond it.

The forces of capital have diminished the space of thought for most people and "freedom" cannot be said to truly exist if you consider the theories of hegemony and surveillance capitalism. Fisher argues that there is no longer a view of an "else," and Han posits that there no longer exists a "we" from which to frame political action. And so, questions remain about how to build Gramsci's counter-hegemony, if such a thing as he described it is even possible.

Is capitalist realism an ontology, or is it possible to rebuild the possibility space beyond it? How specifically does surveillance capitalism enforce the space of what is real, and can collective action be organized outside of it? Most specifically, if the hegemony is so fortified, if collective actions are constitutively at the mercy of surveillance, if capitalism is made real, how do you organize in its opposition?

[ excerpt from Surveillance Capitalism as a Tool of the Hegemony ]

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... Biogerontology research was, until recently, a science of the symptoms of aging. It wasn’t until more modern research and the advent of artificial intelligence technology that a real hope has opened for research into treating aging itself as a disease. This disease is considered to be curable and curable at short hand by much of the scientific community in biogerontology. Aubrey de Grey, a biogerontologist and strong contender for what he calls the “longevity escape velocity,” believes that “The escape velocity cusp is closer than you might guess. Since we are already so long lived, even a 30% increase in healthy life span will give the first beneficiaries of rejuvenation therapies another 20 years—an eternity in science—to benefit from second-generation therapies that would give another 30%, and so on ad infinitum.” It is this idea of an escape velocity that is the theme of current aging research. Obstacles delaying longevity escape velocity exist, but the overall trend of technology points to a positive near-future outcome for radical life extension. ...

... Traditional ideas opposing the “meaning” of an extended life pose a significant threat to the implementation of radical life extension, but the current pace of progress suggests that people conforming to these traditions will either be forced to change or left behind altogether. Examples of such traditions are primarily found in the world’s major religions, specifically Christianity, with over two billion people belonging to the faith (Encyclopædia Britannica). The tenets of the major world religions usually align with the existence of a higher power or structure to reality and the existence of a life after death, rendering the necessity of an extension to life unnecessary. However, for people who don’t align with the faith of the majority of the planet, the only path to the continuation of life is the scientific solution of radical life extension, which, if realized as imagined, would lead to an indefinite continuity of life, barring all but accident and existential threat.

There are several underlying conclusions for rejecting the usage of faith over the scientific path to continuation, structuring mainly on physicalism. In describing physicalism, it is said that “The general idea is that the nature of the actual world (i.e. the universe and everything in it) conforms to a certain condition, the condition of being physical” (Daniel). If it is assumed that reality comprises everything we can see and test, then it is physical. It tracks that metaphysical or spiritual objects would then be nonexistent as a consequence of causing no detectable or non-negligible empirical actions on the physical world. If something is untestable and therefore unprovable, it has no basis in scientific conclusions about the world and its decisions. This also means that there could be some unknown or unknowable phenomenon that allows for the existence of such objects. If such is the case, then it introduces Pascal’s famous wager.

Pascal’s Wager is an argument for the belief in religion, stating that one who believes in god has the opportunity for neutral or infinite gain after death, depending on the existence of god (Encyclopædia Britannica). The wager assumes a first person linear perspective to life. The person committing to the wager has no knowledge of the validity of a religious deity and as such needs to make a decision. To elaborate, the wager has four possible outcomes. If one is to assume that there is a god or follows the afterlife traditions of a faith, and it is then revealed after death that god exists, then they gain an infinite positive outcome for a struggle in the comparatively short mortal life. If one follows the afterlife tradition and it is revealed there is nothing after death, then they receive a neutral gain with a finite waste of time in their lifetime. However, if one chooses not to follow the afterlife tradition and it is revealed that a religious deity exists after death, then they receive an infinite negative outcome, depending on the interpretation of the faith at hand. And finally, if the person does not choose to follow the afterlife tradition and there is nothing after death, they also receive a neutral outcome. The conclusion of the wager is that there is always a greater net incentive to play it safe and follow the afterlife tradition, even if such a thing does not exist. To build upon the wager, it then also logically follows that, in order to minimize the possibility of a neutral or negative outcome, along with the finite bounds of following the afterlife tradition, one could extend the continuity of life, preventing one from playing the game at all.

This is where radical life extension fits into the equation. If one assumes physicalism to be true, such that metaphysical or spiritual conclusions have no basis on decisions made, and one logically follows Pascal’s wager to its conclusion, the most reasonable next step would be to eliminate the wager altogether. With the optimism and pace of current technology racing towards the possibility of longevity escape velocity, it appears evermore likely that the wager will be eliminated, and the artificial construction of the infinite positive outcome will be available to most of humanity within the near future. Even ignoring the narrow perception of our present, it appears we will reach the event horizon of longevity with conventional research. But on that same horizon is the rising potential of Artifical Intelligence (AI), which further secures the future of the wager.

[ excerpts from The Imminence of Radical Life Extension ]

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UCY 2082 / 32:13 GLIMMERA STANDARD TIME

An earth-shattering boom erupts from mere feet above the cave, sending my ears ringing from the tremendous shockwave. Debris falls from the ceiling of the claustrophobic crevice, threatening to collapse at any moment. I reflexively covered my ears, wincing in agony as an ear-piercing ring drowns out any other racket from the eternal raging chaos above. Millions of unspeakable atrocities wreak absolute havoc on the once-peaceful citizens of our world. The great stomping of war machines and the ceaseless pounding of artillery and the rhythmic trudging of thousands of unfeeling, unspeaking assassins seeking only to inflict the maximum amount of devastation and carnage as possible in as short a time as possible. This rape and desecration of Glimmera's now-adulterated lands brings tears to my dirt-caked eyes, as I cry for the brutal murder of our home.

Far-off wars only seen second-hand in what little outside news was made available to us were suddenly very real. I remember it as though it had happened merely one day ago. Perhaps it had. I no longer had any way to be certain of time's passage in the presence of endless booms from the black harbingers above. Yet again, a violent eruption of carnage bursts from mere meters away, causing the very ground to tremble. I cough and spit as the encroaching dirt caves in further, finding its way into my mouth and eyes. I knew I had to act fast, lest I find myself in a grave of my own construction by the next blast. My cracked, bleeding fingernails go to work on the once-rich soil of my cramped room beneath the earth. I worked away at the tunnel I had previously dug, shoveling masses of dirt into what little room remained. Overhead, I detected the ground-shaking stomps of one of the great machines of war that trundled along our once golden fields.

At last, I burst from my confinement into one of the thousands of miles of trenches that snaked across the scarred lands of my world. Above, the sky was overcast and alight with continuous fire of countless artillery batteries. Small personal fighters flitted busily overhead, occasionally engaging at targets on the ground or skirmishing in the air. I hear the unending fire of anti-aircraft echoing from all angles, bursting at targets obscured by the choking clouds above. I scrabble my way up the muddy, broken walls of the trench and right myself onto the shattered land. All around in every direction are endless fields of dirt, mud, and craters. The smoking wreckage of war rages with thousand degree fires. Two-legged war machines stomp their way across the blasted landscape with platoons of apathetic hands of death. The scars of death wind their way aimlessly throughout this hellscape, a traumatic insult to the once utopian fields of glittering green and gold that swayed in unison. This supreme injustice choked me by the throat and forced me to my knees. The tears that had previously welled within my lids became an open stream of despair. As I stared at the black demonstration around me, I wept for the pulverization of our lives, families, and innocence. The mindless institution of war had claimed yet another victim in its infinite thirst for destruction that lives at no cost within the minds of man.

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