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> policies that do the opposite of what’s needed... The jury is definitely out if democracy can actually “do what’s right” with regard to social issues, the en

> policies that do the opposite of what’s needed... The jury is definitely out if democracy can actually “do what’s right” with regard to social issues, the environment, income inequality, etc. In fact it is mainly showing the opposite - that those with $ can buy elections using “weaponized” mis-information directly targeted at emotional humans using Facebook and then do whatever they want. I am rooting for a real Mr. Robot to take down Facebook et al.

zackmorris 8y ago
I'm concerned about democracy issues as well (tyranny of the majority, tragedy of the commons, etc) but can't endorse targeting an ever-present Evil Corp, whoever that might be in these times. Plus I don't think it would work in the long run. I've been having a hard time lately coming to terms with the fact that there is no quick fix. There's probably not much that even Mark Zuckerberg could do at this point to take Facebook in a more equitable direction. It might require a leap of insight even greater than starting it in the first place. All of the important positive changes in history happened through organizing. It's really up to the employees of Facebook to do their part every day to make things better. If the system doesn't allow that, then they need to work to change the system. On a personal level, I'm going to vote and donate to positive causes. But I'm concerned that won't be enough to counter the decline in education and civics that I've witnessed over my lifetime. There are fundamentals that we could work on though. For example, the US was founded on public education. I'd ask anyone reading this to ask themselves why they might favor private education over public, and how that basic idea might lead to college that is more expensive, or dogma in our political discourse. Some ideals are timeless and needed now more than ever.
- tcmb 8y ago
  You raise an important point. Society is the sum of all our individual actions and relations. For societal change to happen, each and everyone has to change. I cannot expect a 20% increase in salary every couple of years for myself and at the same time blame society's demise on Zuckerberg, politicians, or the greedy, immoral bankers.
  - questionasked 8y ago
    >I cannot expect a 20% increase in salary every couple of years for myself and at the same time blame society's demise on Zuckerberg, politicians, or the greedy, immoral bankers. yes you can
RealityVoid 8y ago
I think it's silly to think taking down Facebook or any other big player would do anything. This is a self-sustaining system, and people will resist change unless it comes strongly and abruptly. On the other hand, this is something we built ourselves so maybe we like it this way the most.
Stryder 8y ago
I was surprised to learn as a grown damn man this past week that Democracy, capital letter political system, was designed and architected to be a more stable political system less prone to systemic ripples, rather than a system designed for the people to govern themselves. "For the people, by the people" is basically a marketing slogan. Note that I'm not passing judgement on whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, just that it is, and that I didn't realize it until now.

zackmorris 8y ago

I'm concerned about democracy issues as well (tyranny of the majority, tragedy of the commons, etc) but can't endorse targeting an ever-present Evil Corp, whoever that might be in these times. Plus I don't think it would work in the long run. I've been having a hard time lately coming to terms with the fact that there is no quick fix. There's probably not much that even Mark Zuckerberg could do at this point to take Facebook in a more equitable direction. It might require a leap of insight even greater than starting it in the first place. All of the important positive changes in history happened through organizing. It's really up to the employees of Facebook to do their part every day to make things better. If the system doesn't allow that, then they need to work to change the system. On a personal level, I'm going to vote and donate to positive causes. But I'm concerned that won't be enough to counter the decline in education and civics that I've witnessed over my lifetime. There are fundamentals that we could work on though. For example, the US was founded on public education. I'd ask anyone reading this to ask themselves why they might favor private education over public, and how that basic idea might lead to college that is more expensive, or dogma in our political discourse. Some ideals are timeless and needed now more than ever.

tcmb 8y ago
You raise an important point. Society is the sum of all our individual actions and relations. For societal change to happen, each and everyone has to change. I cannot expect a 20% increase in salary every couple of years for myself and at the same time blame society's demise on Zuckerberg, politicians, or the greedy, immoral bankers.
- questionasked 8y ago
  >I cannot expect a 20% increase in salary every couple of years for myself and at the same time blame society's demise on Zuckerberg, politicians, or the greedy, immoral bankers. yes you can

RealityVoid 8y ago

I think it's silly to think taking down Facebook or any other big player would do anything. This is a self-sustaining system, and people will resist change unless it comes strongly and abruptly. On the other hand, this is something we built ourselves so maybe we like it this way the most.

Stryder 8y ago

I was surprised to learn as a grown damn man this past week that Democracy, capital letter political system, was designed and architected to be a more stable political system less prone to systemic ripples, rather than a system designed for the people to govern themselves. "For the people, by the people" is basically a marketing slogan. Note that I'm not passing judgement on whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, just that it is, and that I didn't realize it until now.