Chris Hayes

If you put a gun to someone's head and say, dig a ditch, you're coercing, you're forcing that labor, but they know they're doing it. If you fire a gun, your head will snap around before you know you're even doing it. And so because of this involuntary compelled aspect of our biological wiring for attention,

this new competitive attention capitalism is working to extract it at such a deep level that it's compelling it in some way before we're even able to make a volitional choice about it. And that feeling is this profound, deep feeling of alienation. I think this alienation is so ubiquitous. I think we all feel versions of it.

this new competitive attention capitalism is working to extract it at such a deep level that it's compelling it in some way before we're even able to make a volitional choice about it. And that feeling is this profound, deep feeling of alienation. I think this alienation is so ubiquitous. I think we all feel versions of it.

this new competitive attention capitalism is working to extract it at such a deep level that it's compelling it in some way before we're even able to make a volitional choice about it. And that feeling is this profound, deep feeling of alienation. I think this alienation is so ubiquitous. I think we all feel versions of it.

And I found the concept of alienation, which I always found a little foggy in the past, very clarifying. Something that should be within us is outside of us. And that within us is my control over my own thoughts. That's the thing that should be within me. That's the nature of consciousness itself and what it means to be a free will.

And I found the concept of alienation, which I always found a little foggy in the past, very clarifying. Something that should be within us is outside of us. And that within us is my control over my own thoughts. That's the thing that should be within me. That's the nature of consciousness itself and what it means to be a free will.

And I found the concept of alienation, which I always found a little foggy in the past, very clarifying. Something that should be within us is outside of us. And that within us is my control over my own thoughts. That's the thing that should be within me. That's the nature of consciousness itself and what it means to be a free will.

And yet that is being extracted and commodified and taken outside me.

And yet that is being extracted and commodified and taken outside me.

And yet that is being extracted and commodified and taken outside me.

Yes, that's a good point. Yes. There's not the same sense of violation, right? Because in some ways it feels like we're consenting. I think you're right. That muddies it and also gives us a weird feeling of shame and guilt.

Yes, that's a good point. Yes. There's not the same sense of violation, right? Because in some ways it feels like we're consenting. I think you're right. That muddies it and also gives us a weird feeling of shame and guilt.

Yes, that's a good point. Yes. There's not the same sense of violation, right? Because in some ways it feels like we're consenting. I think you're right. That muddies it and also gives us a weird feeling of shame and guilt.

Well, look, here's what unites them, right? It's fundamentally these are people that understand that attention matters more than anything, even at the cost of negative attention. And this is really the key thing to understand, I think, that has really warped our public discourse.

Well, look, here's what unites them, right? It's fundamentally these are people that understand that attention matters more than anything, even at the cost of negative attention. And this is really the key thing to understand, I think, that has really warped our public discourse.

Well, look, here's what unites them, right? It's fundamentally these are people that understand that attention matters more than anything, even at the cost of negative attention. And this is really the key thing to understand, I think, that has really warped our public discourse.

The thing that separates social attention from other more elevated forms of human interaction is that it's necessary but not sufficient. Someone flirting with you across the bar is social attention, pleasant kind. Someone screaming at your face because you're too close to them on the subway is also attention. And that's the weird thing about attention.

The thing that separates social attention from other more elevated forms of human interaction is that it's necessary but not sufficient. Someone flirting with you across the bar is social attention, pleasant kind. Someone screaming at your face because you're too close to them on the subway is also attention. And that's the weird thing about attention.

The thing that separates social attention from other more elevated forms of human interaction is that it's necessary but not sufficient. Someone flirting with you across the bar is social attention, pleasant kind. Someone screaming at your face because you're too close to them on the subway is also attention. And that's the weird thing about attention.

It could be of either valence and everything in between. In a world that increasingly values attention over all else, what you get is you unlock the universe of negative attention and its power. Because if all that matters is attention, then negative attention is just as good as positive attention.