4 ms·

You will own nothing and you will be happy. I am waiting all this to crumble under its own weight. The concept of ownership will not go away. It takes time the

• narrator 5y ago
  We'll all just eventually "lay flat" like they do in China now when we figure out that hard work doesn't get one anywhere meaningful. https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/the-lying-flat-movement-standing-in-the-way-of-chinas-innovation-drive/ https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/the-lying-flat-movement...
  • kybernetyk 5y ago
    That’s what happened in communist Poland. When a doctor makes the same amount as a receptionist or a street sweeper the motivation to be a doctor is pretty low.
    • homero 5y ago
      Respect and power are still strong drivers
      • ghuin 5y ago
        Who's going to respect you if you make the same money as a grocery store cashier? Personally I would think you're a sucker. Also what power would you have in a Communist country?
        • A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
          I will answer this since I believe I can offer some insight ( born in the old country during Communism reign ). People sometimes erroneously assume that money equals power. That may be true in the west, but a more accurate statement is that money is a good proxy for power. Absent that, power moves to another useful resource that can be bartered for power. In the old country, people were getting paid regardless so 'everyone had work' and money was a secondary consideration. As local currency became less of a good proxy for power, it immediately became about relationships ( can you ensure make this bureaucrat assign this job/flat/whatever to me? ). And as always, some people do get power and since it was communism, quite a lot of it. Not to search very far, police had tremendous amount of power. Communism is just a name we gave to the system. People are the same everywhere.
      • rasz 5y ago
        Under Iron Curtain in Poland all the respect and power were in the hands of car mechanics and meat shop clerks.
  • imtringued 5y ago
    When some people supply work more than they demand work, then others must demand more work than they supply work. That is what it means to lay flat and it explains the whole credit/debt crisis thing. The problem isn't a mythical fixed demand in the labor market, demand is entirely up to the people making up that economy. The real problem is that people desire to supply more work than they demand, which then inevitably has to be redistributed through income sharing, usually known as charity or welfare. Supplying more work than we demand has become a cultural phenomenon. People insist on working hard even if they have no use for that hard work themselves. Saving (the act of demanding less than you supply) has become sacred and is considered morally good. It's like people don't believe in the market anymore. The interest rate tells you how much you should save or spend. You are supposed to save and spend according to the interest rate which is determined by the availability of solvent borrowers who need slack capacity in the economy (supplying more than you demand), not according to your morals. For some absurd reason people want the central bank to get out of the way of their manipulative morals that distort the market. It's not just the government that distorts markets, the entirety of reality distorts them. Getting rid of governments just gives rise to other forms of distortion like outdated moral frameworks.
• bserge 5y ago
  They'll give you all the shit for free so you can integrate and be a productive member of society, then rent higher quality stuff.
  • nbzso 5y ago
    I have lived trough transition from communistic regime toward capitalism in Eastern Europe. The factual things are: The secret services operatives highjacked the political process and subverted the economy to become Big Capitalists. Practically speaking, there is no political candidate without connections with criminal underground or ex secret service overlords. In my humble opinion, the aftermath of the Cold War is manifested trough "The Deep States" operatives from the both sides. They exchanged know-how and now are creating unified model, a hybrid between the worst from communistic "experiments" of the past - surveillance and citizen control under "the common good" mantra, planned economy, hidden class of elites, with the worst from unregulated capitalism - the monopolies and corrupt political process. The problem is that Western world has never seen the results of communistic regimes. They think that socialism is libertarian and are willing to fall in the same ideological trap that we have lived trough in the past. Yes, I am for Great Reset, but in different terms. Tax the wealthiest multinationals and regulate capitalism towards free market stimulus. Capitalism implemented without lobbyist protections and with precise regulations is the most beneficial form for societies longterm. But this will not happen. Call me a pessimist, or even nihilist but I cannot remove my realistic way of thinking, or close my eyes on my past experiences. The world is global and interconnected now. One policy implemented in Australia will come to life in some form or direct implementation in other "democratic" country. In summary I see the world moving towards totalitarian reality pushed by common good agenda, protecting the wealthiest families trough surveillance, automation and total digital control. It will be Technologically advanced Middle Ages. The only hope that I have is that "implementing the Great Reset" will be not effective from an economy stand point. People on the Eastern side of the world have lived in capitalistic society to little ( 30 years ). If you tell them that "they will not own nothing" they will revolt and kill the messenger on the spot. EU planned economy (just like communistic Comecon, https://wikiless.org/wiki/Comecon?lang=en https://wikiless.org/wiki/Comecon?lang=en) actually will bring back the shadow economy in every Eastern Europe country. On a first glance this will be bad. But actually this will force administration to adapt and create more realistic scenarios than this medieval billionaires dream.
• jokethrowaway 5y ago
  I'm also bearish on the western world but I don't look forward to the end. Once the dollar is worthless and Europe collapse on its debts and corruption, the Chinese Communist party will own the world - if they don't already (think of the WHO not recognising Taiwan, the ties and donations of various government officials with China). We're going from socialist governments who still pretend to give a crap about citizens' freedom to a full blown regime who "disappears" people, censor even more than our big tech overlords and create Nazi style concentration camps. Unless South America or Africa somehow step up their game in terms of security and quality of life, there won't be a place to run to. Maybe creating safe bubbles for relatively wealthy individuals in unsafe countries could be a solution.
• watt 5y ago
  Things you own, end up owning you. I can see how the diminishing concept of "ownership" might work out for the good.
  • crocodiletears 5y ago
    I'll feel light as a feather once I upgrade my 5usd/mo toaster package to the 10usd/mo toaster-premium package without ads, additional crispness tiers, and bagel compatibility. In theory you may be getting at something, I'm a minimalist myself. But despite flowery marketing rhetoric, the driving forces behind this trend are anything but enlightened, libratory, or benign.
• BizarroLand 5y ago
  When I hear things like this, I'm reminded of the Dr. Seuss story, "Yertle the Turtle". The whole system is built on the lowest rung holding the most stress without so much as a burp. When that burp inevitably comes, the whole thing could come crashing down.