Week 1489 - Immanentize the Eschaton

I am trying something new. For a few days now, I have been writing short essays on different topics in a paper diary. It is interesting that I am able to do this without needing much correction. The entire exercise uses the mind very differently. My handwriting of course remains terrible.

After writing it, I take a photo for archival in my computer. This one I then asked Claude to parse and convert to digital text. I might have even just put up the picture of the writing, but it is not fair to inflict my handwriting on anyone. Claude doesn't seem to have a problem.

I have not edited this further.

I read this first in a post by Cory Doctorow on Tuesday 14th July on my way back home from work in his Pluralistic blog.

I had never heard the phrase or the word "immanentize" and had vaguely heard of "eschaton", though I was unable to remember its meaning.

Cory used it to describe the fantasy that the megacorp tech companies are selling... that their tech can eventually bring utopia on Earth, though in truth all they do is enshittify us, another term that Cory has coined to describe a situation where they force us to use their services by binding us to them, using whatever means, fair or foul to do so.

Immanentize means making an abstract concept real. Eschaton is the ultimate destiny of humankind.

So the phrase implies attempts to bring about utopia on Earth in a pejorative way when we say, "Don't immanentize the eschaton."

Our politicians do that all the time... promising a heaven on Earth, which obviously doesn't ever happen because you can't make real what is not possible. When anyone, whether a business tycoon or a leader or even an evangelist whether religious or tech promises the Earth, Moon & Sun, telling us that our lives will become simpler and easier as long as we give them what we want... votes, money, respect, power... remember... "You Can't Immanentize the Eschaton".

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