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Without capitalism you wouldn't have an international communications network to moan about capitalism on.

by mzw_mzw 10y ago

knieveltech 10y ago
Incorrect. Initial research and construction of said network was a DoD project. Additional build-out of said network was handled largely by state run telecoms. You forget that privatization of the telecoms industry is a relatively recent occurrence. If anything, without capitalism access to the network would be substantially cheaper than it is today.
- mzw_mzw 10y ago
  Putting aside your odd belief that the USSR would have built international fiber-optic lines, last-mile broadband, and iPhones, it's neat how as soon as it's needed for the socialist argument all of a sudden the military is a force for good. Maybe you want to take that up with all the other people in this thread screaming how evil it is because it prosecuted someone for stealing and distributing classified information.
  - knieveltech 10y ago
    I have no idea what you're talking about and suspect you've brought some baggage into the conversation. It's instructive that you think iphones are in some way relevant to the argument.
    - mzw_mzw 10y ago
      They're highly relevant given that they're how huge numbers of people access the Internet. Would a socialist system have produced smartphones? Also, if by "baggage" you mean "basic knowledge of 20th century history" then yes, I've got some of that. You should try it too.
      - knieveltech 10y ago
        Neither of us can credibly answer if a socialist system would have created cellphones. A socialist system certainly put both the first man-made object and the first man in orbit, so it's certainly not out of the question. A more interesting question is would a socialist system have designated smartphones worthy of the R&D & manufacturing efforts or would they have merely been brushed off as substandard replacements for existing personal computing technology if multi-billion dollar international firms weren't burning cash on marketing to convince people that they needed them in the first place.

Without capitalism you wouldn't have an international communications network to moan about capitalism on.

by mzw_mzw 10y ago

Without capitalism you wouldn't have an international communications network to moan about capitalism on.

Incorrect. Initial research and construction of said network was a DoD project. Additional build-out of said network was handled largely by state run telecoms. You forget that privatization of the telecoms industry is a relatively recent occurrence. If anything, without capitalism access to the network would be substantially cheaper than it is today.

mzw_mzw 10y ago
Putting aside your odd belief that the USSR would have built international fiber-optic lines, last-mile broadband, and iPhones, it's neat how as soon as it's needed for the socialist argument all of a sudden the military is a force for good. Maybe you want to take that up with all the other people in this thread screaming how evil it is because it prosecuted someone for stealing and distributing classified information.
- knieveltech 10y ago
  I have no idea what you're talking about and suspect you've brought some baggage into the conversation. It's instructive that you think iphones are in some way relevant to the argument.
  - mzw_mzw 10y ago
    They're highly relevant given that they're how huge numbers of people access the Internet. Would a socialist system have produced smartphones? Also, if by "baggage" you mean "basic knowledge of 20th century history" then yes, I've got some of that. You should try it too.
    - knieveltech 10y ago
      Neither of us can credibly answer if a socialist system would have created cellphones. A socialist system certainly put both the first man-made object and the first man in orbit, so it's certainly not out of the question. A more interesting question is would a socialist system have designated smartphones worthy of the R&D & manufacturing efforts or would they have merely been brushed off as substandard replacements for existing personal computing technology if multi-billion dollar international firms weren't burning cash on marketing to convince people that they needed them in the first place.