I hate to sound like a conservative here, but I do… kinda blame modern-day culture (not just digital capitalism)… but that in itself is informed by capitalism, of course.

Culture mixed with the modern-day Internet produces bad results.

I would venture to say part of what you’re touching on is a result of bougie idealism and imperialism mixed with rabid anti-communism resulting in people generally being lost in this headspace of something like a romanticized and distorted imitation of an ancient Greek philosopher, constructed largely from internet quotes of things they never said, mixed with PT Barnum, some fundie Christian preacher here and there for fire, and a dash of good ole western chauvinism.

Basically, what I’m trying to get at is this thing of people talking in such a way it sounds like they’re saying something as an authority on the subject, but they’re mostly saying nothing and most of it boils down to vibes. I don’t excuse myself from this either. It’s a tendency I more so had as a lib, but something I still struggle to shake in spite of being ML-minded now.

I think it usually comes from a place of good intention, but nevertheless, the end result is a lot of meaningless spew that is not grounded in much of anything.

The funny thing is, from my own experience, when I do investigate and learn well on a given topic, suddenly the need to go into that mode tends to evaporate. Because I can just… plainly say what I know. It’s when I’m too ignorant on a topic but am trying to add something to it anyway that I most tend to slip into that headspace. I kind of miss old internet forums too, but if I’m being real, they had this kind of problem in their own way. Threads with 2 people going back and forth for 30 pages in a way that no one but them can follow. Each stubbornly convinced they’re enmeshed in the argument of the century.