[indiantinker]

Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them. Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965

[chii]

So why didn't this happen with electricity, water and food, but would with thinking capacity?

[mrkeen]

> food

  Can you sell or share farm-saved seed?
  "It is illegal to sell, buy, barter or share farm-saved seed," warns Sam. [1]

  Can feed grain be sown?
  No – it is against the law to use any bought-in grain to establish a crop. [1]

  FTC sues John Deere over farmers' right to repair tractors
  The lawsuit, which Deere called "meritless," accuses the company of withholding access to its technology and best repair tools and of maintaining monopoly power over many repairs. Deere also reaps additional profits from selling parts, the complaint alleges, as authorized dealers tend to sell pricey Deere-branded parts for their repairs rather than generic alternatives. [2]

[1] https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/the-dos-and-donts-of-farm-saved...

[2] https://www.npr.org/2025/01/15/nx-s1-5260895/john-deere-ftc-...

[midtake]

What do you mean? This is very much true. We are economically compelled to buy food from supermarkets, for instance, because hunting and fishing have become regulated, niche activities. Compared to someone from the 1600s who could scoop a salmon out of the river with a bucket, we are quite oppressed.

[Cthulhu_]

These are regulated by governments that, at least for now, are still working for the people. They're some of the first that get attacked and taken away when said government fails though, or when another government invades.

(ex: Palestine got their utilities and food cut off so that thousands starved, Ukraine's infrastructure is under attack so that thousands will die from exposure, and that's after they went for their food exports, starving more that people that depended on it)

[tomnipotent]

> electricity, water and food

Wars are frequently fought of these three things, and there's no shortage of examples of the humans controlling these resources lording over those that did not.

[shaky-carrousel]

Oh, because if the electric company banned you for trying to recharge a dildo they'd be sued to oblivion.

[gregoriol]

Try to get banned from any of these, or from the banking system, and find out

[adastra22]

It did. Look around you.

[jfyi]

Ask Ukraine about Holodomor.

[GeoAtreides]

Funny enough Herbert does address this EXACT point, he calls it hydraulic despotism

[dragonwriter]

It... has, historically, in many different ways happened with food, particularly.

[snowmobile]

> How is thinking different from electricity?

...

[leoh]

Prophetic