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'need' : no 'preference' : yes The whole entertainment industry can go away over the next month, it wouldn't matter much. But most would prefer it didn't. The

'need' : no 'preference' : yes The whole entertainment industry can go away over the next month, it wouldn't matter much. But most would prefer it didn't. There's also more than enough movies/tv shows/sports recordings/music etc for anyone's lifetime, but most would prefer to see newer ones. Enough people can afford their preference to have new ones produced every day.

Mz 9y ago
The Roman policy of "bread and circus" helped prevent rioting in the streets. I would much rather our resources go to entertainment than to more police and prisons. So, I am happy to put entertainment in the category of need.
- coldtea 9y ago
  You seem to have gotten the lesson of bread and circuses backwards. It's not meant to be understood as a good thing. It was meant maintain a docile public that's easily manipulated, taken advantage of and ordered around, as long as it was given enough food to eat and BS arena shows to distract it. Rioting against scum like Nero (and modern equivalents) would have been the good and democratic option.
  - wruza 9y ago
    Your view seems to be pretty shallow on why Nero was alive for so long while being a monster. One doesn't simply kill Nero and continue to rule TRE. Easy manipulation of "docile" public is an inseparable part of democracy, actually. Most people have little to no political education, not to mention the understanding of methods and processes. Most of us simply believe, because politics is boring, bread and circuses is fun. And today almost everyone can get fun without going into boring details.
    - literallycancer 9y ago
      >Easy manipulation of "docile" public is an inseparable part of democracy, actually. Most people have little to no political education, not to mention the understanding of methods and processes. But surely this is not a universal truth and can changed with time and effort?
      - wruza 9y ago
        Of course! Billions of people are interested in politics, just provide them some classes.
    - coldtea 9y ago
      >Your view seems to be pretty shallow on why Nero was alive for so long while being a monster. One doesn't simply kill Nero and continue to rule TRE. It wasn't about "one simply killing Nero", it was about the people revolting and restoring the republic, which Rome once was. >Easy manipulation of "docile" public is an inseparable part of democracy, actually. Most people have little to no political education, not to mention the understanding of methods and processes. They don't need to. Democracy, as defined by the ancient Athenians, is not about "political education" or understanding of fancy "methods and processes". It's also not about what's "best" (always defined by some narrow "experts" or partial interests). It's about representing the will and interests of the majority, good or bad. Distracting the people with with "pan and circuses" is not part of the democracy (and of course at this point Rome wasn't a democracy, not even a republic).
      - wruza 9y ago
        Those citizens were not the majority in no countable sense. And many of them were in big charge in fact. I'm not sure where this goes though. Our thing not meant to be understood good, nor bad. It is just a fact.
  - Mz 9y ago
    IIRC, Nero's own guard took his sorry ass out and replaced him with Claudius, the only remaining male relative (or something like that) of Nero because he drooled on himself and appeared to be completely incompetent. He promptly stopped drooling on himself and turned out to be a fine leader. I am satisfied with how that went.

Mz 9y ago

The Roman policy of "bread and circus" helped prevent rioting in the streets. I would much rather our resources go to entertainment than to more police and prisons. So, I am happy to put entertainment in the category of need.

coldtea 9y ago
You seem to have gotten the lesson of bread and circuses backwards. It's not meant to be understood as a good thing. It was meant maintain a docile public that's easily manipulated, taken advantage of and ordered around, as long as it was given enough food to eat and BS arena shows to distract it. Rioting against scum like Nero (and modern equivalents) would have been the good and democratic option.
- wruza 9y ago
  Your view seems to be pretty shallow on why Nero was alive for so long while being a monster. One doesn't simply kill Nero and continue to rule TRE. Easy manipulation of "docile" public is an inseparable part of democracy, actually. Most people have little to no political education, not to mention the understanding of methods and processes. Most of us simply believe, because politics is boring, bread and circuses is fun. And today almost everyone can get fun without going into boring details.
  - literallycancer 9y ago
    >Easy manipulation of "docile" public is an inseparable part of democracy, actually. Most people have little to no political education, not to mention the understanding of methods and processes. But surely this is not a universal truth and can changed with time and effort?
    - wruza 9y ago
      Of course! Billions of people are interested in politics, just provide them some classes.
  - coldtea 9y ago
    >Your view seems to be pretty shallow on why Nero was alive for so long while being a monster. One doesn't simply kill Nero and continue to rule TRE. It wasn't about "one simply killing Nero", it was about the people revolting and restoring the republic, which Rome once was. >Easy manipulation of "docile" public is an inseparable part of democracy, actually. Most people have little to no political education, not to mention the understanding of methods and processes. They don't need to. Democracy, as defined by the ancient Athenians, is not about "political education" or understanding of fancy "methods and processes". It's also not about what's "best" (always defined by some narrow "experts" or partial interests). It's about representing the will and interests of the majority, good or bad. Distracting the people with with "pan and circuses" is not part of the democracy (and of course at this point Rome wasn't a democracy, not even a republic).
    - wruza 9y ago
      Those citizens were not the majority in no countable sense. And many of them were in big charge in fact. I'm not sure where this goes though. Our thing not meant to be understood good, nor bad. It is just a fact.
- Mz 9y ago
  IIRC, Nero's own guard took his sorry ass out and replaced him with Claudius, the only remaining male relative (or something like that) of Nero because he drooled on himself and appeared to be completely incompetent. He promptly stopped drooling on himself and turned out to be a fine leader. I am satisfied with how that went.