3 ms·

At the end of the day though, even private individuals are beholden to the people in the nation. It's a social contract, so people may no longer agree to allow

At the end of the day though, even private individuals are beholden to the people in the nation. It's a social contract, so people may no longer agree to allow those private individuals to be wealthy and run the banks. That said, if you're holding the wealth, it's not too hard to keep the shop running (people happy) so long as you don't get bored, reckless and feckless.

mistermann 9y ago
Luckily, they also control the government and military.
- state_less 9y ago
  The citizens elect the government, so I have to take issue with this point. Wealthy people do have quite a bit of influence though. Basically what I'm saying is, we can elect a government that serves our own interest if we cared to. If it does get ugly, and the government/military turns on its citizens then the US as we know it will be dead or on life support. Probably, in such a scenario, people won't go quietly into that night.
  - mistermann 9y ago
    > we can elect a government that serves our own interest if we cared to. In theory, I'm still waiting to see it in practice. The Bernie Sanders situation from last election was a decent illustration of how legitimate the election process is, and they took care of him before the gloves even came off. (Trump was far trickier but as it turns out he's more of the same, if not worse.)
  - cinquemb 9y ago
    >If it does get ugly, and the government/military turns on its citizens then the US as we know it will be dead or on life support. Probably, in such a scenario, people won't go quietly into that night. Not to also mention that government's and militaries need people to supply it, and if their suppliers are now on the list of enemy combatants then such governments and militaries won't have the same leverage/power as those that are not combating it suppliers.

3 ms·

At the end of the day though, even private individuals are beholden to the people in the nation. It's a social contract, so people may no longer agree to allow

by state_less 9y ago

mistermann 9y ago
Luckily, they also control the government and military.
- state_less 9y ago
  The citizens elect the government, so I have to take issue with this point. Wealthy people do have quite a bit of influence though. Basically what I'm saying is, we can elect a government that serves our own interest if we cared to. If it does get ugly, and the government/military turns on its citizens then the US as we know it will be dead or on life support. Probably, in such a scenario, people won't go quietly into that night.
  - mistermann 9y ago
    > we can elect a government that serves our own interest if we cared to. In theory, I'm still waiting to see it in practice. The Bernie Sanders situation from last election was a decent illustration of how legitimate the election process is, and they took care of him before the gloves even came off. (Trump was far trickier but as it turns out he's more of the same, if not worse.)
  - cinquemb 9y ago
    >If it does get ugly, and the government/military turns on its citizens then the US as we know it will be dead or on life support. Probably, in such a scenario, people won't go quietly into that night. Not to also mention that government's and militaries need people to supply it, and if their suppliers are now on the list of enemy combatants then such governments and militaries won't have the same leverage/power as those that are not combating it suppliers.