Enshittification is a perfect word for the digital age. Coined by Cory Doctorow in 2022, it describes how online platforms and digital services start by serving users, then pivot to serving advertisers and shareholders, and eventually degrade for everyone.
Lately, that same pattern feels like it has migrated from our apps to our institutions.
Democracy itself seems to be entering its own enshittification cycle.
I woke up this morning planning to write about a couple of art events happening here in Los Angeles this weekend. Something creative. Something inspiring. Something to remind us that beauty still exists.
Instead, over breakfast I made the mistake of checking the “news” feed. Here are just a few headlines that illustrate what a fucking shit show my country and our world has become:
US and Israel launch “pre-emptive” attack against Iran (Reuters)
OpenAI announces Pentagon deal after Trump bans Anthropic (NPR)
‘David Ellison Scares the S— Out of Me’ (Variety)
Trump says he’s thinking of putting Ted Cruz on Supreme Court (USA Today)
If the headlines are to be believed, we are living in a dystopian drama rather than a functioning democracy. The resemblance to enshittification is difficult to ignore.
At the beginning, democracy promises representation, accountability, and the rule of law. It offers value to the people. Your vote matters. Your voice counts. Institutions serve the public good.
Then comes the pivot.
Donors gain outsized influence. Corporations help draft legislation. Media outlets chase outrage because outrage converts. Public service becomes an exercise in brand management.
The two-party system no longer serves voters first. It serves lobbyists and donors.
Finally, the degradation phase.
Truth becomes negotiable. Norms erode. War is framed as strategy. Corporations cozy up for defense contracts. Political appointments sound like punchlines. Everyone is frustrated. Everyone is exhausted. Everyone feels like they are shouting into the void while algorithms optimize for chaos.
The result looks a lot like a dying social network. The people who believed in the mission feel betrayed. Public servants are sidelined or pushed out. The loudest and most extreme voices are amplified because they drive engagement.
Enshittification is not a law of nature. It is a choice. Platforms do not degrade by accident. They degrade because incentives reward extraction over stewardship.
Democracy is no different.
If it feels like we cannot have nice things, it is not because we are incapable of building them. It is because we keep rewarding the people who break them.
So what can we do?
We can log off when doomscrolling starts to rot our brains.
We can support independent journalism.
We can vote in boring elections, not just sexy ones.
We can show up to city council meetings.
We can fund the arts and artists.
We can build community that does not rely on algorithms or billionaires.
In other words, we become better custodians and users of democracy than all of those trying to monetize it.
This morning, I scrapped my art post because it felt frivolous in the face of war headlines and constitutional absurdity. But maybe that is the trap.
When a system degrades, it wants us exhausted. It wants us cynical. It wants us convinced that nothing matters except the spectacle.
Art matters. Community matters. Joy matters. Activism matters. They are the opposite of enshittification. They build instead of extract. They create instead of destroy.
Maybe the way we fight the enshittification of democracy is not only by resisting the rot, but by refusing to let it define the whole story.
We can still have nice things. But we have to (re)build and protect them ourselves.
Keep calm and keep alert, y’all!
Clint 🌈✌️
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ends 02.28.26
FROM THE ARCHIVES
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
02-28 = Danielle Egnew (1969- ) = American singer-songwriter and psychic 🌈
02-28 = Kehinde Wiley (1977- ) = American artist 🌈
02-28 = Michel De Montaigne (1533-1592) = French philosopher and writer 🌈
02-28 = Stephen Spender (1909-1995) = English writer 🌈
02-28 = Tommy Tune (1939- ) = American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer 🌈
02-28 = Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986) = American theatre and film director 🌈
BORN THIS WAY TOMORROW
02-29 = Pedro Zamora (1972-1994) = Cuban-American AIDS activist, educator, and tv personality 🌈
MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY
“The beauty of art is that it allows you to slow down, and for a moment, things that once seemed unfamiliar become precious to you.”
Kehinde Wiley
The rot's acceleration was inevitable once the Supreme Court defined corporations as persons for the purposes of political speech. We have to focus on what we can affect most, of course. No system will save us from ourselves if we ourselves are corrupted, so our personal standards and behavior are of paramount importance. Carry on!
🚢🎁🦜😱🐧🍰🏳️🌈🎵🌈🎶 Thanks Clint 🎶🌈🎵🏳️🌈🍰🐧😱🦜🎁🚢