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> It enables business of all kind of sorts to grow It also just enables people to communicate and access information. Kinda weird that we need to make a busine

• hervature 6y ago
  How is capitalism part of this conversation? Socialism also has to debate the merits of making something essential. It’s not like the USSR had sparkling water running to every home. As much as some people would have liked it.
  • nix23 6y ago
    >It’s not like the USSR had sparkling water running to every home The USSR was NOT Socialism nor was it Communism, that was just a motto to establish absolute power lead from a small elite circle (the withered core of the communist party). It's kind of the opposite of communism and especially socialism. BTW it would have been extremely interesting if Israel went that route (maybe the first real, and humane communist state?) BTW2 Sparkling water in russia? Maybe Woda but then without sparkles.
    • collyw 6y ago
      Spoiler Alert - all communism seems to end up that way.
      • nix23 6y ago
        Again, the USSR was NOT Communism.
        • collyw 6y ago
          It was another failed attempt at communism.
          • nix23 6y ago
            No it was the continuation of the tsars under a different flag, and putin again is a continuation of the tsars under a different flag. It never had anything todo with communism. Russia always had just Kings/Emperors: The Tsar The Party The Putin
            • collyw 6y ago
              One more try and we will achieve the utopia, eh?
  • oarsinsync 6y ago
    > > > It enables business of all kind of sorts to grow > > It also just enables people to communicate and access information. Kinda weird that we need to make a business pitch to show that something is essential. > How is capitalism part of this conversation? Socialism also has to debate the merits of making something essential Indeed, and the social and societal merits are that it enables equal access to education (per the letter in the article) for all, especially in times of a pandemic. Meanwhile the capitalist merits are that it also enables greater amounts of commerce to occur. The parent commenter is lamenting that the gains to society outside that exclude increase in capital flows aren’t sufficient to justify something, and that a capitalist gain needs to also be present to provide that justification. While also noting that we do live in a capitalist society. > It’s not like the USSR had sparkling water running to every home. As much as some people would have liked it. I’m not sure that the USSR is relevant here. I’m not sure sparkling water adds value to society in the same way as access to electricity, clean running potable water, or the Internet does. One is is a non-essential luxury item. It’s increasingly difficult to argue with a straight face that Internet access is a non-essential luxury. EDIT: that’s not to say there isn’t an argument to be made that access to the Internet today is a non-essential luxury, and if someone actually has a good faith case to make, by all means please do!
• collyw 6y ago
  It's funny that no anti-capitalists ever seem to try moving to Cuba or North Korea. Why is that?