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> I am highly skeptical of any supposed connection between economic equality and increased civil unrest, The French Revolution begs to differ.

gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
I actually doubt the economic equality argument too cause I think it misses the point. The truly angering thing is when there's systemic self-dealing in government/big business, which is probably best described as crony capitalism. Too big to fail, etc. There's something more precise and outside the scope of "economic equality" when we have Pelosi with a fridge stocked with $100 ice cream and nothing to show in Congress in terms of relief while Americans are missing rent payments. I'll use Pelosi as an example cause she's visible but the same argument is easily applied to McConnell and everyone else too. Cause at the end of the day, Pelosi doesn't really represent industry. There's a world of difference between, say, Amazon and the US govt. I'd trust Musk or Bezos to get me a vaccine or working covid test any day, over the mess we get from the federal govt. She represents truly useless and asinine government that constrains and leeches off ordinary people. Not only is there historic debt spending, but there's practically nothing to show for when Americans need help the most; what're we paying fortunes for?!
chaorace 6y ago
The underlying glibness is not lost upon me, but I'll engage with your counterpoint seriously, even if that's why I'm not fun at parties. The French revolution happened in just one country. The entire continent of Europe begs to differ. The vast majority of social reform in Europe has been remarkably peaceful, transforming monarchies into democracies, often overnight. These quiet revolutions improved the stability of their respective societies and were largely driven by an emerging middle class.
- grawprog 6y ago
  >The vast majority of social reform in Europe has been remarkably peaceful, The vast majority of social reform in Europe took place after a massive global conflict that left millions dead. World War 1 was a thing....then there was a bunch of violent revolutions that saw dictators put in charge of a bunch of European countries which led to yet another massive conflict that left millions dead.
  - chaorace 6y ago
    I think you're misattributing inter-state violence to domestic violence. At best, your argument discounts European states like Germany, who, of course, had reform imposed by outside forces. (On that note, East/West German reunification is an example in favor of my prior point)

gnusty_gnurc 6y ago

I actually doubt the economic equality argument too cause I think it misses the point. The truly angering thing is when there's systemic self-dealing in government/big business, which is probably best described as crony capitalism. Too big to fail, etc. There's something more precise and outside the scope of "economic equality" when we have Pelosi with a fridge stocked with $100 ice cream and nothing to show in Congress in terms of relief while Americans are missing rent payments. I'll use Pelosi as an example cause she's visible but the same argument is easily applied to McConnell and everyone else too. Cause at the end of the day, Pelosi doesn't really represent industry. There's a world of difference between, say, Amazon and the US govt. I'd trust Musk or Bezos to get me a vaccine or working covid test any day, over the mess we get from the federal govt. She represents truly useless and asinine government that constrains and leeches off ordinary people. Not only is there historic debt spending, but there's practically nothing to show for when Americans need help the most; what're we paying fortunes for?!

chaorace 6y ago

The underlying glibness is not lost upon me, but I'll engage with your counterpoint seriously, even if that's why I'm not fun at parties. The French revolution happened in just one country. The entire continent of Europe begs to differ. The vast majority of social reform in Europe has been remarkably peaceful, transforming monarchies into democracies, often overnight. These quiet revolutions improved the stability of their respective societies and were largely driven by an emerging middle class.

grawprog 6y ago
>The vast majority of social reform in Europe has been remarkably peaceful, The vast majority of social reform in Europe took place after a massive global conflict that left millions dead. World War 1 was a thing....then there was a bunch of violent revolutions that saw dictators put in charge of a bunch of European countries which led to yet another massive conflict that left millions dead.
- chaorace 6y ago
  I think you're misattributing inter-state violence to domestic violence. At best, your argument discounts European states like Germany, who, of course, had reform imposed by outside forces. (On that note, East/West German reunification is an example in favor of my prior point)