Not that I'm particularly against that - quite the opposite, in fact. But I'm wondering if anyone sees, or had seen a path to social and climate recovery/progress that could occur without first eradicating the class of people who most enjoy the present status quo.
Turns out that the people who love capitalism the most and want to protect it at all costs don't think that it inevitably leads to democracy. In fact they think too much democracy leads inevitably to socialism, and sought (often successfully) to encase capitalism within the protection of national and international law in order to fend off democratic attacks on "economic freedom," aka, the right of a small slice of humanity to take their piles of money wherever they want and be assured of finding desperate low-wage workers wherever they go.
So, every other subthread is someone talking #capitalism this and #socialism that with very poor commonality of definitions. So here's one to try on for size:
Capitalism: a system of economics in which the state determines through threat of violence a special group of people who have exclusive say in how capital goods are used.
That covers for example both the USA, and USSR pretty well. any other capitalist countries we'd like to discuss?
Look, at this point, I’m as critical about our current capitalist system as much as anyone else. At the most, I’m willing to consider myself a social democrat. Maybe even a socialist. But I can never be a #communist un-ironically.
I can’t, for the life of me, understand how anyone can look at communist countries from the Soviet Union to China and North Korea and think to themselves, “yeah, that’s a system we need to emulate.”
A primer on how Commons Capitalism (CC) works to replace traditional capitalism, i.e., corporations or other entities owned directly or indirectly by individuals. 1/8
Organizers from the Tampa 5 with @tampabaysds the Florida 4 with @sfl_arc and the Young Lords with @newerayounglordsflorida are joining us for a panel on political repression hosted by our chapter!
Florida is becoming an epicenter for the repression of mass movements and organizers, especially those who are BIPOC and LGBTQ, are facing violence from the state as well as from the far right.
We'll discuss the repression our panelists have faced and are currently facing, what it means to fight for bodily autonomy and public education in the era of Ron DeSantis, and how we can begin to fight back with a working class movement!
The panel will be held on Sept 22nd, hybrid and in-person, at Florida International University's Ryder Business Building room 140 and online at https://allmylinks.com/ydsafiu
If you support Biden you support the killing of minorities by the police , the arrest of activists, the death of the planet to the climate crisis, violence against refugees, the genocide of Palestinians and many more similar policies. Saying Biden deserves anything other than a very quick trial and equally quick death for crimes against humanity is absurd.
Let’s get personal, shall we? I’ve been here a while now, and as I’m feeling quite comfortable at Mastodon, I’d like to share a bit more about myself beyond my passion for the climate and the environment.
To begin with, I’m a male, he/him, hetero, strongly supporting LGBTQ rights. I’m a baby boomer, born at 312 PPM 🌏, a United Statesian, although I lived in Europe (mostly Hungary) for several years, and traveled extensively for work before retiring in 2012. I’ve never been good at sustaining long-term romantic relationships, and I’ve finally settled into comfortable singlehood.
I like to say I’m made of contrasts.
For example, I’m rather funny and quite personable, but I don’t enjoy small talk and I hate parties. I currently live in the Bible Belt, but I’m an outspoken atheist. While I can easily fit into most social situations, I don’t feel comfortable around large groups and prefer being alone most of the time. I live near two huge military bases, but I detest the USA’s militaristic, troop-worshiping culture. I’m almost always cheerful, which masks my deeply felt existential nihilism. I’m a neat freak, but also rather lazy, preferring fun over work.
I’ll finish up with some hashtags to add flavor...
I'm a very #leftist kinda lawyer in a very rightist kinda region.
In meeting with clients over the years, I note that they often like to talk about politics. I'm not entirely sure why. Some, perhaps do so to "feel out" whether I'm their type of attorney. Some maybe think lawyers have some deeper political insight due to their connection to the law. I don't know. I just know it happens with great regularity.
And being a leftist in an extremely rightist world, you can imagine my discomfort.
Fortunately, I've found a strategy that seems to allow me to bond with clients no matter how rightwhackadoodle they seem. Are you ready for it?
For a long time in Scotland, Labour been pretty much the same as the Tories. Labour supporters deny this and get annoyed so am sorry to burst such folk's bubble but here is it straight from your leader's mouth.
Labour as a socialist party is dead and the only question that remains is which party left wing Labour supporters will vote for now? #Socialism https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/labour-real-conservatives-keir-starmer-protect-way-life-2337576
It’s hotter inside the store than outside. Customers are complaining. In fact I’m sitting in the sun to cool down as I type this. And this note has been left from management #AntiWork#WorkReform#socialism#WorkersRights#LaborUnions
How To Explain Socialism Clearly In a Way That Actually Persuades People
“A ghost is haunting the United States—the ghost of socialism.
“Socialism is a society whose top priority is meeting all of its people’s needs, ranging from food, shelter, and health care, to art, culture, and companionship.
In contrast, capitalism only cares about any of that basic human necessities stuff to the extent that money can be made of it.”
There are some hot and appropriate takes going around about the "leadership" at the top of major fediverse projects, and its imminent failures. One of those leaders literally describes himself as a "dictator". Well, now his technology has a new dictator, one who has no credible pretense to benevolence.
It seems there are two kinds of FOSS-folk among us. One contextualizes their technical work with a political understanding; be it anarchism, socialism, or some variant of an oppositional outlook, which posits FOSS in an anticapitalist, antiracist or liberatory context. They know there's something out there to stand against, and aspirationally, replace. I salute them and hope we can all build together.
The other, while more-or-less into FOSS, seems to be motivated by nothing deeper than a "tech is neato" ethos. One could argue that it's this second type that has brought us to the crisis.
If tech has any chance to facilitate liberatory - or even alternative - agency (and it's arguable if that chance exists), it has to be about something more than itself. As we watch ActivityPub, Mastodon and Pixelfed get recuperated into the Zuckerverse, here's hoping we can figure out a way to sustain and support those developers of next-gen decentralized and peer-to-peer social networking who understand this
Something I noticed when I lived in #Singapore was that some things are heavily subsidized to the point of being essentially free, but almost nothing is ever entirely free. MRT and bus fares, for example, are very cheap. An hour-long, cross-island trip across 20+ stops on the MRT metro costs SGD $2.13 today, or about USD $1.50 (even less for students or people with various concession passes). Last time I was there, this practice of charging some tiny amount for something that is basically free is used pretty often. Basic medicine is free under a socialized healthcare system, but everyone is charged a couple of bucks per prescription anyway.
I suspect this is a psychological trick to prevent a #tragedyOfTheCommons. The perceived difference between $0 and $1 is HUGE, because the latter is no longer “free”, and therefore scarce. Charging even a tiny amount probably helps to prevent systemic abuse.
A great article by @jasonhickel about degrowth, its relationship to technology and the problems of capitalistic growth in development of sustainable technologies.
I could quote something from almost every paragraph, as this is a magnificent piece.
"Is it really reasonable to grow the plastics industry, the beef industry, and the advertising industry in order to get more efficient trains?"
Despite what apologists for capitalism (some even here on Mastodon!) would have you believe, it is possible for humans to live comfortably and sustainably within a system that does not rely on deception, oppression, and exploitation.
It’s so important to remember that capitalism is an extremely recent invention. For almost all of humanity's 200,000+ years of existence, we got along just fine without it, living mostly in harmony with our surroundings.
Our only hope at this point is to get rid of the system that is literally killing us. It’s a matter of survival not only for humans but for countless other animal and plant species being sacrificed on the altar of maximum profits and infinite growth.
Kevin Oleary shilling for Trump after his big fraud judgement. If Oleary wants to be permitted to commit fraud in his business practices without any worry, let him go operate in red states. He seems to think they're open to this kind of thing. Maybe he's right.
"It is not difficult, indeed, to see the absurdity of naming a few men and saying to them, “Make laws regulating all our spheres of activity, although not one of you knows anything about
them!” "
Peter Kropotkin, The Conquest of Bread #communism#socialism#anarchism#libertarianism
Is there any more ethical solution to our current circumstances than "murder all billionaires"?
Not that I'm particularly against that - quite the opposite, in fact. But I'm wondering if anyone sees, or had seen a path to social and climate recovery/progress that could occur without first eradicating the class of people who most enjoy the present status quo.