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The simple truth is that we need a mixed economy: a free market to give people what they WANT, which is then taxed to provide the things people NEED. Instead p
by LatteLazy 3y ago
The simple truth is that we need a mixed economy: a free market to give people what they WANT, which is then taxed to provide the things people NEED.
Instead people pretend we should either ALL or NEVER do "social" work.
Social democracy is the right answer, but everyone is either a communist or a libertarian because those are so much simpler and people prefer simple, wrong, answers, to complex correct ones.
- shove 3y agoIsn’t it just a touch hypocritical to say that xxx is “the right answer” but “people prefer simple, wrong, answers, to complex correct ones”? “The right answer” almost always turns out to be “it depends” (just like any good engineer would say) which is btw why I, like Graeber, would self-identify more anarchist than social democrat or communist.
- kaashif 3y agoHow does the answer being "it depends" imply you should be an anarchist?
- shove 3y agoThere’s no system quite as flexible as anarchy ;) In all seriousness, the contextually relevant factors tend to be local details. Anarchy embraces the idea that people closest to and most impacted by the issues should be more involved in determining how those issues are dealt with
- paulryanrogers 3y agoThis doesn't sound sustainable. People will inevitably organize for defense and fiat because a few bad actors can do too much damage and barter is too inefficient.
- shove 3y agoAnarchists also organize into affinity groups. Not all anarchists are anti-market. Anti capitalist !== anti market
- kaashif 3y agoThat doesn't work. People locally will decide that people far away should pay the costs while locals reap the rewards. People upriver will use all of the water. People in fertile, temperate, not low lying areas will be affected less by climate change and burning fossil fuels. If the wind blows east, people to the west won't care about smog until made to care by force. And so on.
- fullshark 3y agoMost people are not communist or libertarian but selectively socialist/liassez faire depending on the domain. Which is why almost all politicians end up seeming hypocritical, people don’t hold principled positions but practical ones based their own value judgements.
- mandelbrotwurst 3y agoWhy would social democracy lead toward taxes being spent on needs rather than wants?
- macinjosh 3y agoIts kinda like gang rape. the majority just decides they must have what the minority has and then they just take it no matter what the minority says.
- macinjosh 3y agowho gets to decide if i want something or need something? there is no right answer for everyone. this is how we know social dems arent the answer. i don't need a mommy state
- JuanPosadas 3y ago> but everyone is either a communist or a libertarian because those are so much simpler and people prefer simple, wrong, answers, to complex correct ones. eh, no, the average communist and average libertarian, if given rational circumstance, would compromise with each other. Current authoritarian power structures stir up division and stonewall progress. More people find the extremes attractive as the center of the overton window remains stagnant and mutually regressive.