What if we banned all advertising? Not regulate it—abolish it. This proposal would transform manipulation machines, and maybe save democracy itself. A thought experiment worth considering.

The idea feels like sci-fi because you’re so used to it, imagining ads gone feels like asking to outlaw gravity. But humanity had been free of current forms of advertising for 99.9% of its existence. Word-of-mouth and community networks worked just fine. First-party websites and online communities would now improve on that.

The traditional argument pro-advertising—that it provides consumers with necessary information—hasn’t been valid for decades.

    • frezik@midwest.social
      0·
      19 days ago

      A lot of people have jobs that aren’t really necessary, and exist so that the working class doesn’t revolt too hard under capitalism.

    • flying_sheep@lemmy.ml
      0·
      19 days ago

      Any progress does that. The issue is not that there’s less work, the issue is that capitalism makes that into a bad thing.

      Less work should mean more leisure, more time for hobbies and passion projects, not reduced living standards.