Scripting News: We're still socialists

Tuesday August 4, 2026; 2:44 PM EDT

I was into Ayn Rand when I was a teen until I realized that a Great Man theory was a lot of bunk written for teenagers who can't believe how stupid the adults are. The teens are right about that, the adults have no idea wtf they're doing. Never did. And yet somehow the world can support most of the humans born here on this planet. And the reason that works is we build systems iteratively to meet the needs for everyone, not just a few. We're a species-oriented animal. And that means unfortunately for the dreamers among us, we are socialists. All of us. Even the people who say they aren't. #

Last update: Tuesday August 4, 2026; 2:58 PM EDT.

You know those obnoxious sites that pop up dialogs when they think you're about to leave, asking you to subscribe to their email newsletter? Well that won't do for Scripting News readers who are a discerning lot, very loyal, but that wouldn't last long if I did rude stuff like that. So here I am at the bottom of the page quietly encouraging you to sign up for the nightly email. It's got everything from the previous day on Scripting, plus the contents of the linkblog and who knows what else we'll get in there. People really love it. I wish I had done it sooner. And every email has an unsub link so if you want to get out, you can, easily -- no questions asked, and no follow-ups. Go ahead and do it, you won't be sorry! :-)