this is an interesting reading but i would disagree (to a certain amount) with it - the last scene isn't about the judge's artistic fulfillment or the attention on the judge, because (as far as I remember) he's not playing in like a concert, but in a dance. In other words, its a participatory performance, in which everyone in the room is involved in. Attention isn't focused entirely on the judge, but rather on the "ecstasy" produced by the dancing; even the prose that describes it has a certain breathless, mystical quality to it. This esctatic quality is the same in the violence of the glanton gang. to me, the ending is far more about connecting the forms of frontier American society with the forms of violence (war, ethnic cleansing, etc.) that paved the way for that society. the judge, of course, would have to be involved with both

lol this is more or less what I was trying to say but much more clear and concise. I think you're absolutely right: Marxism is a methodology, and one that has to be applied differently at different places and times to be effective. Its a tactical mistake to think of it as a science

I appreciate the fervor but this is a very childish take. revenge for revenge's sake is not only definitely not a moral good, but also often tactically counterproductive. I also would say that probably most of the oppressed are not longing for revenge but liberation, which are emphatically not the same thing. I don't mean to put words in anyone's mouth, but (as an example) I have not seen or read anything since october 7th that suggests that Gazans are eager for revenge itself. In fact portraying the oppressed as foaming at the mouth for revenge seems like it aligns well with Israeli colonialist narratives about Palestinians

No he's gotta make it to inauguration at least, enough time for his abject failure to really sink in

This has to just be a child right? There's no way an actual adult would be this oblivious to how the world works

beyond this being just a stupid take, wouldn't having protestors audible made a more interesting version of 4'33'' than fucking birds or people walking or whatever

Also love the take that anyone in power in America who proposes gun control is only concerned about disarming the working class, not maybe stopping children from getting slaughtered in schools. Like yeah mental health services would be great but also there is absolutely a connection between the number of mass shootings and the fact that America has more guns than people

If you like the stuff about Paul and his prescience, you should read the second book! It takes a lot of those themes around foresight and power and spends more time fleshing them out, I thought it worked really well as a counterpoint to Dune.

Can't speak for the other sequels, but it seems like they get a bad rep

Here's an article.

The abstract:

Due to chronic high densities and preferential browsing, white-tailed deer have significant impacts on woody and herbaceous plants. These impacts have ramifications for animals that share resources and across trophic levels. High deer densities result from an absence of predators or high plant productivity, often due to human habitat modifications, and from the desires of stakeholders that set deer management goals based on cultural, rather than biological, carrying capacity. Success at maintaining forest ecosystems require regulating deer below biological carrying capacity, as measured by ecological impacts. Control methods limit reproduction through modifications in habitat productivity or increase mortality through increasing predators or hunting. Hunting is the primary deer management tool and relies on active participation of citizens. Hunters are capable of reducing deer densities but struggle with creating densities sufficiently low to ensure the persistence of rare species. Alternative management models may be necessary to achieve densities sufficiently below biological carrying capacity. Regardless of the population control adopted, success should be measured by ecological benchmarks and not solely by cultural acceptance.

As this ecologist notes, hunters are essential parts of maintaining healthy, biodiverse ecosystems.

Nothing is pre-determined per se

I don't think too hard about how everything that happens is inevitable, but that is the logical conclusion

These seem to be saying the exact opposite of each other - if everything is inevitable, it is therefore pre-determined.

As for the relation between the physical (chemical, biological, etc) processes of the brain and consciousness, you're absolutely right that the latter necessarily arises from the former, but that does not mean that our consciousness is reducible to just those processes. Consciousness is an emergent phenomenon and, even if we were able to trace all the physical processes of the brain, we would still not be able to entirely explain our subjective experience.

For scientific socialism, I think relying too much on a deterministic outlook creates a very sterile, complacent ideology. Look at the pre-WWII communist parties of Europe, who were positivistic determinists par excellence. They believed wholeheartedly in the inevitability of a socialist revolution, and look where that got them. I think a more productive view would be to embrace the inherent unpredictability of human action, our capacity to break out of a given historical moment. Nothing is guaranteed or pre-determined (however probable), and it is precisely because of that fact that our actions are meaningful, that praxis is a worthwhile endeavor.

I hope this doesn't come off as too critical, I appreciate you sharing your views comrade

the above quote is very clearly anti-determinist: we may act within a web of social-economic conditions, and may have our actions altered by said conditions, but we still actively choose within those conditions

That last point is definitely something I worry about a lot, and I've always thought this Brecht poem phrased it well:

It is true: I work for a living But, believe me, that is a coincidence. Nothing That I do gives me the right to eat my fill. By chance I have been spared. (If my luck does not hold, I am lost.)

They tell me: eat and drink. Be glad to be among the haves! But how can I eat and drink When I take what I eat from the starving And those who thirst do not have my glass of water? And yet I eat and drink.

unfortunately I do not have any actual answers for this lol