Equal
Original: Equal on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Man (hiking with a backpack): Why do you think society has gotten less equal over time?
Robot (walking alongside him with a backpack): That's the natural state of things in a world where capital returns more than labor.
Panel 2:
Robot: People have nice ideas about how to stop it, but historically the only successes are total war, ultra-high mortality pandemics, and societal collapse.
Panel 3:
Robot: Nuclear weapons stopped total war.
Panel 4:
Robot: Modern medicine stopped plagues that wipe out half the population.
(The man and robot are seen as small figures standing on a cliff edge.)
Panel 5:
Man (looking unsettled, facing the robot): So, you're saying I should become one of those guys with a bunker full of dried beans and ammo.
Panel 6:
Robot: Or cooperative friendship networks, whatever sounds easier.
(The two are silhouetted standing on a hilltop.)
Votey:
A close-up of the man's smiling face, with a speech bubble: We can cooperate in order to kill! Best of both worlds!
Man (hiking with a backpack): Why do you think society has gotten less equal over time?
Robot (walking alongside him with a backpack): That's the natural state of things in a world where capital returns more than labor.
Panel 2:
Robot: People have nice ideas about how to stop it, but historically the only successes are total war, ultra-high mortality pandemics, and societal collapse.
Panel 3:
Robot: Nuclear weapons stopped total war.
Panel 4:
Robot: Modern medicine stopped plagues that wipe out half the population.
(The man and robot are seen as small figures standing on a cliff edge.)
Panel 5:
Man (looking unsettled, facing the robot): So, you're saying I should become one of those guys with a bunker full of dried beans and ammo.
Panel 6:
Robot: Or cooperative friendship networks, whatever sounds easier.
(The two are silhouetted standing on a hilltop.)
Votey:
A close-up of the man's smiling face, with a speech bubble: We can cooperate in order to kill! Best of both worlds!
Alt text
A six-panel SMBC comic. A man with a backpack hikes alongside a robot companion (also carrying a backpack) along a trail. The man asks why society has gotten less equal over time. The robot explains it's the natural state of a world where capital returns more than labor, and that historically the only things that ever reversed it were total war, ultra-high-mortality pandemics, and societal collapse. The robot notes that nuclear weapons stopped total war and modern medicine stopped population-halving plagues. In a small wide shot the two stand at a cliff edge. The man, looking unsettled, asks if this means he should become one of those people with a bunker full of dried beans and ammo. The robot replies, 'Or cooperative friendship networks, whatever sounds easier,' as the two stand silhouetted on a hilltop. Votey: a close-up of the man's grinning face as he says, 'We can cooperate in order to kill! Best of both worlds!'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.