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Because modern governments are the epitome of human decency? I'm as cynical as about corporations as the next guy , but what makes you so rosy eyed about the g

Because modern governments are the epitome of human decency? I'm as cynical as about corporations as the next guy , but what makes you so rosy eyed about the government? Is it because governments invade foreign countries and subjugate their people? That they incarcerate millions of their own people for abusing the wrong kind of drug? That they surveil all of our communications? For sure private philanthropy is not perfect, but neither are government programs.

losteric 9y ago
Are you being serious? That's the most absurd argument I have ever heard. "The government" is not an entity, it's a collection of separate organizations run by democratically elected officials. Military and law enforcement agencies have no relation to domestic programs. Furthermore, it could be argued that your examples actually demonstrate the effectiveness of government programs... I oppose surveillance and warfare, but citizens keep voting those politicians into office, and those programs are achieving their results with astoundingly undesirable effectiveness. I suspect our domestic problems would be resolved overnight if they had similar funding levels.
accountyaccount 9y ago
Government behavior isn't immediately tied to profit (bear with me). Profit's tied to government (in the US especially), but there's at least a single degree of separation (maybe less so recently). Our democracy still has the theoretical power to change it. When it's corporate it's entirely inflexible, directly tied to profit (and the economy), and there's little to no requirement for transparency. It's all the downsides of government, with an included layer of obscurity... and also some more downsides. I think our current administration makes this pretty clear. If left to corporate interests major assets like Planned Parenthood, National Parks, and The National Endowment for the Arts would likely not exist at all (that's just the tip of the iceberg). Corporate funded initiatives can be completely ejected on a whim when profits are down. With the federal government you can't just remove these things without some level of checks & balances...
piva00 9y ago
Modern governments != your government. No government is perfect but there are a lot of examples of governments taking good care of their citizens, just look at Netherlands or Scandinavia for some inspiration.

losteric 9y ago

Are you being serious? That's the most absurd argument I have ever heard. "The government" is not an entity, it's a collection of separate organizations run by democratically elected officials. Military and law enforcement agencies have no relation to domestic programs. Furthermore, it could be argued that your examples actually demonstrate the effectiveness of government programs... I oppose surveillance and warfare, but citizens keep voting those politicians into office, and those programs are achieving their results with astoundingly undesirable effectiveness. I suspect our domestic problems would be resolved overnight if they had similar funding levels.

accountyaccount 9y ago

Government behavior isn't immediately tied to profit (bear with me). Profit's tied to government (in the US especially), but there's at least a single degree of separation (maybe less so recently). Our democracy still has the theoretical power to change it. When it's corporate it's entirely inflexible, directly tied to profit (and the economy), and there's little to no requirement for transparency. It's all the downsides of government, with an included layer of obscurity... and also some more downsides. I think our current administration makes this pretty clear. If left to corporate interests major assets like Planned Parenthood, National Parks, and The National Endowment for the Arts would likely not exist at all (that's just the tip of the iceberg). Corporate funded initiatives can be completely ejected on a whim when profits are down. With the federal government you can't just remove these things without some level of checks & balances...

piva00 9y ago

Modern governments != your government. No government is perfect but there are a lot of examples of governments taking good care of their citizens, just look at Netherlands or Scandinavia for some inspiration.