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This is a pretty glib comment that I think can be made by someone only if they have forgotten the horrors of war.

by dontreact 9y ago

tome 9y ago
Are you sure you understood the spirit in which that comment was made?
- dontreact 9y ago
  I guess not? Heres what I took it to mean: I think the comment is suggesting that war and violence is an acceptable and inevitable outcome of the current economic and social climate.
  - bostik 9y ago
    While I disagree with "acceptable", traditionally wars have been the one socially agreeable way of getting rid of excess (male) population. The economic repercussions of increased local manufacturing (you don't outsource weapons manufacturing to your enemies) combined with increased demand for workforce are pretty well understood. Which also kind of explains why right-wingers tend to be disproportionally warmongers. War's good for business, after all.
    - dontreact 9y ago
      Yes the world has been brutal and violent for a long time. Fortunately there has been a trend towards less violence per capita over time. To me suggesting that we should regress in this dimension in order to deal with the problems being generated by the current economic and political system seems completely unacceptable. I think as long as all labor can be automated and we as a society do not try to keep humans alive, power will just keep concentrating in the hands of fewer and fewer regardless of how many wars are fought.
- qubex 9y ago
  I took the comment to mean that whatever the moral considerations thereof, a violent class war will be the ultimate outcome of this current predicament. I would like to believe that moral considerations will prevail and bring the situation to a more satisfying conclusion without bloodshed. To resign oneself to the supposed inevitability of violence is despicable.
mistermann 9y ago
Any glibness I see is from those who continue to pretend we don't have a very serious problem in western societies, refusing to see the blatantly obvious and increasing warning signs we are seeing all across our societies and economies. Just like the US housing bubble & crash, it is like a train wreck in slow motion that after the impact, everyone will be claiming no one could have seen coming.

This is a pretty glib comment that I think can be made by someone only if they have forgotten the horrors of war.

tome 9y ago

Are you sure you understood the spirit in which that comment was made?

dontreact 9y ago
I guess not? Heres what I took it to mean: I think the comment is suggesting that war and violence is an acceptable and inevitable outcome of the current economic and social climate.
- bostik 9y ago
  While I disagree with "acceptable", traditionally wars have been the one socially agreeable way of getting rid of excess (male) population. The economic repercussions of increased local manufacturing (you don't outsource weapons manufacturing to your enemies) combined with increased demand for workforce are pretty well understood. Which also kind of explains why right-wingers tend to be disproportionally warmongers. War's good for business, after all.
  - dontreact 9y ago
    Yes the world has been brutal and violent for a long time. Fortunately there has been a trend towards less violence per capita over time. To me suggesting that we should regress in this dimension in order to deal with the problems being generated by the current economic and political system seems completely unacceptable. I think as long as all labor can be automated and we as a society do not try to keep humans alive, power will just keep concentrating in the hands of fewer and fewer regardless of how many wars are fought.
qubex 9y ago
I took the comment to mean that whatever the moral considerations thereof, a violent class war will be the ultimate outcome of this current predicament. I would like to believe that moral considerations will prevail and bring the situation to a more satisfying conclusion without bloodshed. To resign oneself to the supposed inevitability of violence is despicable.

mistermann 9y ago

Any glibness I see is from those who continue to pretend we don't have a very serious problem in western societies, refusing to see the blatantly obvious and increasing warning signs we are seeing all across our societies and economies. Just like the US housing bubble & crash, it is like a train wreck in slow motion that after the impact, everyone will be claiming no one could have seen coming.