When I was growing up, I recall reading these magazines, and it made me really excited about technological progress and the future. I found these sorts of ambitious ideas and grand scale engineering to be really inspirational.
This is the kind of vision that's sorely lacking under western capitalism where the best and brightest minds end up wasting their talents working on utterly useless, and often harmful, garbage like Facebook or Twitter.
Instead of people figuring out how to advance humanity and solve big problems in the world, they're working on figuring out how to shove as many ads as possible in people's faces.
There's a stark contrast between the west and China in this regard. China has a vision for the future and it implements large scale engineering projects today. It's pretty much the only place where real meaningful technological advancement is happening at scale today. This is the power of central planning and communism!
I think technology is wonderful, and it should be used in a way that benefits humanity. My comment that western capitalist values ruin the way we use those things might not be considered a “Marxist” viewpoint by some. I don't know, but I feel like so many kids these days want to be famous influencers. I see this as an extension of Hollywood celebrity nonsense. This online culture from social media produces crap like fidget spinners. There are always new fads and products emerging. Almost none of them have any real benefit. Capitalism has destroyed literally everything, including culture.
The text below was written by the revolutionary Che Guevara.
In this period of the building of socialism we can see the new man and woman being born. The image is not yet completely finished — it never will be, since the process goes forward hand in hand with the development of new economic forms.
Aside from those whose lack of education makes them take the solitary road toward satisfying their own personal ambitions, there are those — even within this new panorama of a unified march forward — who have a tendency to walk separately from the masses accompanying them. What is important, however, is that each day individuals are acquiring ever more consciousness of the need for their incorporation into society and, at the same time, of their importance as the motor of that society.
They no longer travel completely alone over lost roads toward distant aspirations. They follow their vanguard, consisting of the party, the advanced workers, the advanced individuals who walk in unity with the masses and in close communion with them. The vanguard has its eyes fixed on the future and its reward, but this is not a vision of reward for the individual. The prize is the new society in which individuals will have different characteristics: the society of communist human beings.
awesome post btw. The future of humanity rests on China's shoulders...
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
― Socrates
The idea that the youth of today are more spoilt and lazy and interested in only the superficial is as old as youth itself.
Though obviously this youthful obsession with things that are "in" is actively encouraged by capitalism for sure. You're not wrong about capitalism commodifying everything, including human relationships, but it isn't the fault of kids today. If anything, I think things like streamers show promise for them, as they would rather watch a person having a good time, an actual person, rather than another mindless tv show their parents would've consumed at their age.
Kids have always wanted to be famous actors, rockstars, authors, and celebrities.
Nowadays that’s just in the online sphere.
Nothing has changed
That's true. However, capitalism pollutes everything, including jobs in the entertainment industry. Have you ever thought it odd that society allows kids to play in movies or other forms of entertainment? Putting children to work in this way constitutes child labor. In my opinion, this Hollywood capitalist fantasy is now exploiting children for their own benefit. Those are the signs of capitalist decadence.
I mean, how would you then portray children in movies? In my eyes child actors would be understandable, however not something that should accepted in the current state of things.
Communism will give children better working conditions, as well as a great reduction in work hours. Child acting and other stuff like that should strictly be a hobby. I think we agree on this since you said it should not be accepted presently. By hobby I'm just talking about the hours they put in not money. They should get paid obviously.