Chester Davis
@chesterdavis.bsky.social
I read & write science fiction, fantasy, horror, and nonfiction on social science and propaganda. Here to connect with people who have similar interests. Fiction: @cdavis1999 Nonfiction: https://medium.com/@chesterdavis & howsocietyworks.substack.com
Years ago, I wrote and self-published a bunch of stuff on activism tools and tactics. I drew heavily on my sociology background and material from books like Serious Creativity and Thinkertoys. (I created this today using NotebookLM!)
Comments are welcome!
youtu.be/68OU5jTptr4
Comments are welcome!
youtu.be/68OU5jTptr4
Social Innovator s Toolkit
YouTube video by Chester Davis
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Years ago, I wrote and self-published a bunch of stuff on activism tools and tactics. I drew heavily on my sociology background and material from books like Serious Creativity and Thinkertoys. (I created this today using NotebookLM!)
Comments are welcome!
youtu.be/68OU5jTptr4
Comments are welcome!
youtu.be/68OU5jTptr4
Thoughts for your weekend. Do have a look at PragerU or American Renaissance and tell me if my assessment is fair. And tell me what to write about in greater depth sometime.
open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
Be Scientific or Be Conned
How Thinking Like a Social Scientist Helps Protect your time, money, and mind
open.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Thoughts for your weekend. Do have a look at PragerU or American Renaissance and tell me if my assessment is fair. And tell me what to write about in greater depth sometime.
open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
Reposted by Chester Davis
“Survival of the fittest”
is often used to justify capitalist society, but this wasn’t a phrase that Darwin used.
He described it as “better designed for an immediate, local environment" and wrote of groups that survived through empathy and sharing rather than greed.
We must change
Or die
is often used to justify capitalist society, but this wasn’t a phrase that Darwin used.
He described it as “better designed for an immediate, local environment" and wrote of groups that survived through empathy and sharing rather than greed.
We must change
Or die
November 20, 2025 at 1:18 PM
“Survival of the fittest”
is often used to justify capitalist society, but this wasn’t a phrase that Darwin used.
He described it as “better designed for an immediate, local environment" and wrote of groups that survived through empathy and sharing rather than greed.
We must change
Or die
is often used to justify capitalist society, but this wasn’t a phrase that Darwin used.
He described it as “better designed for an immediate, local environment" and wrote of groups that survived through empathy and sharing rather than greed.
We must change
Or die
This is also a problem at the national level and the corporate one. Power and wealth get concentrated but the effects of bad decisions get spread around. Some like to ignore this sociohistorical truth when they talk about the private sector being better than government, or vice versa.
THE GLOBAL ELITE ARE THE PROBLEM: Throughout history, societies have organized themselves into hierarchies—structures that concentrate decision‑making power and resources in the hands of a relatively small group.
November 20, 2025 at 12:16 AM
This is also a problem at the national level and the corporate one. Power and wealth get concentrated but the effects of bad decisions get spread around. Some like to ignore this sociohistorical truth when they talk about the private sector being better than government, or vice versa.
Reposted by Chester Davis
Reposted by Chester Davis
Willfully ignoring science - especially in vital areas like health, safety, defense, education, climate, and the economy - is a recipe for disaster. We are crippling our nation by dumbing down our children, just to coddle those who are fearfully insecure in their religious faith.
November 17, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Willfully ignoring science - especially in vital areas like health, safety, defense, education, climate, and the economy - is a recipe for disaster. We are crippling our nation by dumbing down our children, just to coddle those who are fearfully insecure in their religious faith.
Let this serve as yet another reminder that "science-like" information can be a propaganda tool of powerful institutions and groups.
Your daily reminder that the fossil fuel industry is propped up by billions of dollars in U.S. government subsidies and a multimillion dollar campaign to spread climate disinformation. 💵
November 18, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Let this serve as yet another reminder that "science-like" information can be a propaganda tool of powerful institutions and groups.
Agreed!
Some people talk down on history and sociology degrees but having knowledge in those areas helps you understand the world a lot better.
November 16, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Agreed!
True. Our government policies are always going to be skewed in favor of those who have money and use it. (Government is a social institution that, love it or hate it, has to function.)
You will never have a government that watches out for working people unless you get money out of politics.
November 15, 2025 at 3:16 PM
True. Our government policies are always going to be skewed in favor of those who have money and use it. (Government is a social institution that, love it or hate it, has to function.)
Treadmills aren't just for exercise...learn more in this week's Substack Post. open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
Exercise, Power, and Society
Notes on Inequality, Social Change, and Economics
open.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Treadmills aren't just for exercise...learn more in this week's Substack Post. open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
Reposted by Chester Davis
I remain skeptical that any rich people plot to control the media requires them to bother dictating day to day coverage, when class solidarity can also get it done, and with less effort
November 13, 2025 at 11:45 PM
I remain skeptical that any rich people plot to control the media requires them to bother dictating day to day coverage, when class solidarity can also get it done, and with less effort
Sociologically speaking, it isn't a stretch to believe so many elites in business and government are thick as thieves. They grow up in limited social circles, belong to the same clubs and fraternities, go to the same debutante balls, and so on.
Whats so unnerving, among many other aspects of the whole sordid Epstein miasma, is how incestuous the world of these elites are. Everyone knows everyone. The personal, social, and professional spheres all overlap.
November 13, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Sociologically speaking, it isn't a stretch to believe so many elites in business and government are thick as thieves. They grow up in limited social circles, belong to the same clubs and fraternities, go to the same debutante balls, and so on.
Reposted by Chester Davis
Important to understand the Epstein stuff and the fascism and the corruption are, in a lot of ways, really all the same story from different angles: powerful men who can and do abuse vulnerable people around them because they can, and because systems of elite accountability catastrophically failed
November 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Important to understand the Epstein stuff and the fascism and the corruption are, in a lot of ways, really all the same story from different angles: powerful men who can and do abuse vulnerable people around them because they can, and because systems of elite accountability catastrophically failed
Heard of Stockholm Syndrome?
Whether people truly come to identify with their kidnappers sometimes is a question worth considering.
But I think there is a form of the Syndrome that affects people who aren't doing well in our current social system.
Whether people truly come to identify with their kidnappers sometimes is a question worth considering.
But I think there is a form of the Syndrome that affects people who aren't doing well in our current social system.
November 12, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Heard of Stockholm Syndrome?
Whether people truly come to identify with their kidnappers sometimes is a question worth considering.
But I think there is a form of the Syndrome that affects people who aren't doing well in our current social system.
Whether people truly come to identify with their kidnappers sometimes is a question worth considering.
But I think there is a form of the Syndrome that affects people who aren't doing well in our current social system.
Capitalism is the best. Socialism always fails. Guns make us all safer. People are poor because they are lazy and entitled. I could go on...
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us.”
Carl Sagan, born on this day in 1934
Carl Sagan, born on this day in 1934
November 9, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Capitalism is the best. Socialism always fails. Guns make us all safer. People are poor because they are lazy and entitled. I could go on...
I gambled that I could go out and get home last night before the thunderstorms hit. I got drenched but at least my running shoes got a wash. Next time maybe I won't be against Mother Nature.
November 8, 2025 at 4:16 PM
I gambled that I could go out and get home last night before the thunderstorms hit. I got drenched but at least my running shoes got a wash. Next time maybe I won't be against Mother Nature.
I had a few thoughts about the practical value of thinking scientifically about society. Please read, and comment!
open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
You Should Be Thinking Like a Scientist
3 Notes on How Science Literacy is Good for You
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:16 AM
I had a few thoughts about the practical value of thinking scientifically about society. Please read, and comment!
open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
open.substack.com/pub/howsocie...
The just world fallcy is one of many biases and errors that can keep us from thinking (accurately) about how society works. Count on politicians and pundits to exploit these biases when they can.
The just world fallacy is exactly that—a fallacy. But believing in a just world is more comfortable than realizing that any of us can become destitute pretty much anytime, through no fault of our own.
The Present Illness is available wherever you get your podcasts.
The Present Illness is available wherever you get your podcasts.
November 7, 2025 at 6:14 PM
The just world fallcy is one of many biases and errors that can keep us from thinking (accurately) about how society works. Count on politicians and pundits to exploit these biases when they can.
She makes some good points about the need to recognieze (a) that systems like our economy and our education system are human constructions that (b) can be changed if we want to change them. Stop blaming minorities or welfare recipients or whatever group the propagandists are going on about.
Your struggles are connected to mine!
Organize and fight back. Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair: hilaryagro.com/resources/
Organize and fight back. Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair: hilaryagro.com/resources/
November 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
She makes some good points about the need to recognieze (a) that systems like our economy and our education system are human constructions that (b) can be changed if we want to change them. Stop blaming minorities or welfare recipients or whatever group the propagandists are going on about.
Add to the time element some effective marketing.
Capitalists love capitalism because they profit from it.
Other people profit by stirring up outrage over things that change.
Take a minute and try to think of something that seems 'natural' even though people invented it.
Capitalists love capitalism because they profit from it.
Other people profit by stirring up outrage over things that change.
Take a minute and try to think of something that seems 'natural' even though people invented it.
November 7, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Add to the time element some effective marketing.
Capitalists love capitalism because they profit from it.
Other people profit by stirring up outrage over things that change.
Take a minute and try to think of something that seems 'natural' even though people invented it.
Capitalists love capitalism because they profit from it.
Other people profit by stirring up outrage over things that change.
Take a minute and try to think of something that seems 'natural' even though people invented it.
Capitalism is not natural.
Neither are the other economic systems.
One lesson you can take from sociology is that these things change, sometimes dramatically and suddenly and mostly at a slug's pace. This can create the illusion of something inevitable and right in a sense.
Neither are the other economic systems.
One lesson you can take from sociology is that these things change, sometimes dramatically and suddenly and mostly at a slug's pace. This can create the illusion of something inevitable and right in a sense.
November 7, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Capitalism is not natural.
Neither are the other economic systems.
One lesson you can take from sociology is that these things change, sometimes dramatically and suddenly and mostly at a slug's pace. This can create the illusion of something inevitable and right in a sense.
Neither are the other economic systems.
One lesson you can take from sociology is that these things change, sometimes dramatically and suddenly and mostly at a slug's pace. This can create the illusion of something inevitable and right in a sense.
We're #1!
This is propaganda, generally speaking.
We feel that we really are #1 and don't have to listen to critics whining about poverty, inequality, housing, and stuff like that.
In reality, quality of life can be measured. We might be better off caring about that.
This is propaganda, generally speaking.
We feel that we really are #1 and don't have to listen to critics whining about poverty, inequality, housing, and stuff like that.
In reality, quality of life can be measured. We might be better off caring about that.
November 6, 2025 at 2:00 AM
We're #1!
This is propaganda, generally speaking.
We feel that we really are #1 and don't have to listen to critics whining about poverty, inequality, housing, and stuff like that.
In reality, quality of life can be measured. We might be better off caring about that.
This is propaganda, generally speaking.
We feel that we really are #1 and don't have to listen to critics whining about poverty, inequality, housing, and stuff like that.
In reality, quality of life can be measured. We might be better off caring about that.
Someone needs to teach people what an industrial reserve army is and why you don't want to be in one. I am someone, so I will do it :-)
November 5, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Someone needs to teach people what an industrial reserve army is and why you don't want to be in one. I am someone, so I will do it :-)
Losing $30 might suck or it might not. If you have $2 million it will suck much less than it does for someone who had $100 before.
Scale matters.
We can forget about this when someone talks about a social issue like crime or welfare fraud.
Scale matters.
We can forget about this when someone talks about a social issue like crime or welfare fraud.
November 5, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Losing $30 might suck or it might not. If you have $2 million it will suck much less than it does for someone who had $100 before.
Scale matters.
We can forget about this when someone talks about a social issue like crime or welfare fraud.
Scale matters.
We can forget about this when someone talks about a social issue like crime or welfare fraud.