I now pirate for ethical and moral reasons.

[soulcity]

Privatization is the crux of the problem

Look at the mess the world is in today and that's because of too much socialism. (And also digital technologies)

1. We need drastically less government
   
2. Zero government regulations (Gov. Regs. only create mega corporations and monopolies and squeeze out the little guy)
   
3. 110% Capitalism.  Everything that can be owned should be own-able.  (including people)
   

[Fant0men]

Thanks, waregim, for your posts in this thread thus far. I don't know enough about China as a whole to make any comments on it, and I'm full aware of the fact that our knowledge of competitors to US global domination is going to be filtered through the US. We have basically three candidates for a future global system, and those are the US, Russia and China. They are in constant competition with each other, and shit-talk each other to try to steer public opinion in their preferred direction.

You are right that the unhinged privatization is what has led to the corrupt political system we have now. Whether a government is big or small is a separate issue from the fact that its job should be to protect citizens against corporate interests, and to hold corporations accountable for their actions. It's my opinion that we no longer live in a democracy, and I'm not sure if we ever did. I'm not so inclined to believe that democracy, as we've come to define it, has ever been tried in the field. There are always exceptions, certain classes of people who aren't allowed to vote, and even when we do vote, our votes are ignored. These days we have a fascist system, a corporatocracy, where large corporations can buy politicians and buy legislation that will benefit them at the cost of everyone else. This is not a sane system.

A corporation is legally defined as a person, but they have no responsibilities except increasing profit each and every quarter. As they are an anthill, consisting of many human individuals, they can never truly be punished for the potential harm they're doing. They can abuse people through slave wages, poison and pollute the environment and break the law constantly.

All that happens is that the CEO gets fired and replaced, or worst-case scenario (for them), they're fined or forced into bankruptcy. They never have to pay for the harm they've done, as no one person is responsible, and if they're being financially irresponsible they can be put into bankruptcy and never have to pay. The people in charge can move on with all the dough they've collected, and become CEOs of some other company or start a new one. And so the process repeats. No one is responsible.

Things like UBI don't imply socialism as most people think of it, but social democracy, which is the merger of capitalism and socialism, and the middle way. Usually, the solution is the middle way and not in either extreme of the spectrum.

[waregim]

Unfortunately, here the 'middle way' was defined by the Clintons as has core 'friendly fascist' neoliberalism.

Liberal has long been synonomous with humanism and social benevolence. But it has no such origins. At the end of mercantilism, and the rise of Industrialization the term was used to ensure that the wealth generated could be used to gain political power, and overcome the rigid class system. Some of the nastiest of eugenicists were also noted 'liberals'.

In Europe it was recognized that socialism was really an economic and not a political system, and the Fabians manipulated the situation that the basic political system would remain intact with socialized services to keep the Bolsheviks at arms length.
Democratic Socialism. Worked well in Scandanavia until some countries went suicidal.

In the US it became FDRs 'New Deal'. And then Johnson's Great Society. Democrat party.

[RobertX]

All right, waregim I apologise.

I apologise to everything that displeases you.

I am sorry that I was insolent and made fun of your favourite country in the whole wide world.

I'll just say that China is a champion in human rights; they paid off the WHO just so we can sleep in peace.

I AM SORRY.

[CaptButler]

All right, waregim I apologise.

I apologise to everything that displeases you.

I am sorry that I was insolent and made fun of your favourite country in the whole wide world.

I'll just say that China is a champion in human rights; they paid off the WHO just so we can sleep in peace.

I AM SORRY.

China???  I thought he was supposed to be a russobot.

[waregim]

I am not a fan of the CCP. Though I am amazed at their technological breakthroughs. They were once considered to be masters at copying, not innovating. I believe this is changing at a core level. I do wonder if the basic confucian value system has turned them into an empire of ants, where all nails that stick up must be hammered down, and repression of social nonconformity would exist even under a neoliberal system.

Revolutionaries typically have little respect for human life. Mao, Lenin, George Washington. The first two had loyalists shot. Washington had them drawn and quartered, but erased those incidents from history.

Point being that the the Chinese have done some amazing things, while our infrastructure rots.
They are a police state, and we are poised to exceed them in that aspect.

Cappy, I have worked for and lived around Russkis, and even have them for ancestors. I am a Russopile. They are a fascinating people, even if paranoia is a key part of their cultural heritage.

I believe cultures take precedence over political and economic systems.