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Flashmag! Issue 166November 2025
Everything was recycled— even protest. Capitalism was no longer being destroyed; it was being made sustainable. The oligarchy, draped in the colors of the Earth, sold everyone the illusion of saving the world with every purchase. Thus, the act of resistance was transformed into a commercial gesture, and virtue into a subscription. Ecological slogans were printed on the biodegradable packaging of the new slaves of the supply chain. Renewable energy became the energy of control, stored in the hands of the same multinationals that once burned oil. Under hashtags of compassion and green campaigns, the old system regenerated itself, cleaner, gentler, more total. And in this world where every commitment could be measured, labeled, delivered, freedom was no longer sold— it was downloaded.
Hope in the old underdeveloped world
While the Meta-Cities of the North sank into total digital control, it was on the margins, in the so-called“ underdeveloped” lands of Africa and South America, that the spark of consciousness was rekindled. Ironically spared from full integration into global networks and their massive surveillance infrastructures, these regions became unexpected havens for those fleeing algorithmic control. In the African savannahs and lush Amazonian forests, communities have come together, reviving ancestral knowledge about connection to the land, collective resilience, and autonomy. They have developed alternative communication networks based on low-tech technologies and strict ethical codes, thus protecting anonymity and freedom of expression. Far from the hyper-connected megacities, where every thought was tracked and monetized, these areas became incubators for new forms of participatory democracy, where human dignity was not measured by a social score, but by the ability to think freely and live in harmony. It was there, in the shadow of the dominant powers, that the real battle for the human spirit found its refuge, offering a horizon of hope for a humanity in search of meaning.
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