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An incredibly small number of incredibly wealthy individuals buy the compliance of our government through the legalized bribery of political contributions. The
by rectang 8y ago
An incredibly small number of incredibly wealthy individuals buy the compliance of our government through the legalized bribery of political contributions.
The near-term interests of those individuals are not aligned with the long-term interests of the rest of humankind.
- colordrops 8y agoIt's pretty clear to many that this is the problem. What can we do about it?
- rectang 8y agoWe need to build the moral and intellectual case for diminishing inequality until its momentum is irresistible. Perhaps there's an analogue in the abolitionist movement of the nineteenth century? Showing the connection between global warming and unlimited political donations post-Citizens-United is part of that.
- colordrops 8y agoI wonder if there's some way clearly and simply visualize the connection between global warming and actions of elite power brokers. This would be easy to share and quickly grasp on social media.
- clarkevans 8y agoWe have concentrated economic and political power. I think we need to be distributing power and I think Cooperatives are a practical way to accomplish this.
- colordrops 8y agoHow do you go about dissolving the leverage of current power brokers and distributing it? They aren't going to give up their power so easily.
- Udik 8y ago> An incredibly small number of incredibly wealthy individuals buy the compliance of our government... Conspiracy theory.
- rectang 8y agoDo you accept the reality of global warming? If not, we have nothing to talk about. Flat earthers and Galileans are irreconcilable. But if you accept global warming, what other explanation can you present for the continued inaction of our government?
- graeme 8y agoNot OP, but I think people in general are predisposed to: 1. Not believe in things they can’t see 2. Especially when it is convenient not to. The reasoning goes “if global warming were true, we’d have to change a lot of things. I don’t want to change things. It can’t be true”. There’s also a tendency to believe that slow moving things can’t possibly cause big changes. The reasoning goes: “The earth has always seemed basically similar, so why would it change” This reasonong doesn’t happen at a conscious level, it’s more of an impulse that guides what beliefs people let in, and don’t. What rationalizations they use, etc. If it were a conspiracy of elites, you’d see mass support for things like carbon taxes. Instead, they’re unpopular. Now, you could argue that some rich elites have used propaganda campaigns to convince people global warming is false. I think this is correct, but I also think these propaganda campaigns were aided by what people want to believe. As for governments: they can’t undertake politically unpopular actions. They’ll get voted out.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- rectang 8y agoSo, we're in agreement about the two most important points. 1. Global warming is real. (Duh.) 2. Political contributions from the fabulously wealthy are buying government inaction. Now, it may be that, like many on HN, you value inequality and adamantly support the "free speech" rights of the fabulously wealthy few to dominate the U.S. political system through unlimited political contributions. But global warming becomes harder and harder to deny with each passing year. Maybe it will take the loss of the entire Florida peninsula, but eventually all but the most hardcore will have to face reality. Even if you're not reachable, eventually enough others will be reachable.