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This observation seems to hold true no matter the time or place: "Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition amon
by celtoid 3y ago
This observation seems to hold true no matter the time or place:
"Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights."
- WalterBright 3y agoGovernment control of the main sources of information hasn't worked out very well.
- hotpotamus 3y agoI'm rather a fan of the BBC and not aware of anything particularly equivalent to it in the US. I have certainly seen the immense degradation that private ownership has had on the half century journalistic career of my mother however - she's extremely skilled as a reporter, but is basically reduced to a few soundbites between songs and commercials and a few weekend shows that I suspect are to fulfill an FCC mandate.
- hackererror404 3y agoIsn't PBS/NPR sort of close to the BBC?
- WalterBright 3y agoPBS and NPR both tilt strongly to the left.
- avgcorrection 3y agoTo you.
- HDThoreaun 3y agoNPR has gotten worse in the last decade I'll give you that. PBS has always seemed unbiased to me. PBS newshour is easily the least biased new program in the US.
- celtoid 3y agoThe combine of government/corporate control of information isn't so great either. “Interlocking directorates, revolving doors of personnel and financial stakes and holdings connect the corporate media to the state, the Pentagon, defense and arms manufacturers and the oil industry.” [0] [0] https://commonreader.wustl.edu/how-a-company-called-blackrock-shapes-your-news-your-life-our-future/ https://commonreader.wustl.edu/how-a-company-called-blackroc...
- WalterBright 3y agoIs HackerNews part of that government/corporate grip on information?
- Apocryphon 3y agoBizarre non sequitur
- csb6 3y agoNeither has corporate control.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- ryan93 3y agoRevealed preference is that people move to countries with free speech
- dukeyukey 3y agoPeople move to places with economic opportunity. That _tends_ to be places with free speech, but look at how many people move to places like Saudi Arabia or the UAE.
- ryan93 3y agoI looked. Its an absurdly small fraction of what europe and america have gotten historically.
- csb6 3y agoThe total number of job opportunities in two countries over the span of the ~50 years they have been major oil producers is necessarily less than the number of opportunities available in an entire continent + one of the largest nations in the world over a period of centuries. Almost 90% of the UAE’s population consists of migrant workers. The U.S. can’t get anywhere near that. Since people flock to countries with free speech, then the UAE must have extremely free speech laws. QED. Of course this is as wrong as your original claim because seeing where people migrate is not a reliable indicator of whether their destination has “free speech” or not.
- dukeyukey 3y agoAround 80-90% of the UAE's population is a migrant worker, far _far_ above anywhere in the Americas or Europe.
- waihtis 3y agoDespite its potential flaws, modern capitalism is still a thousand times more preferable than any kind of communism.
- celtoid 3y agoEinstein never mentions communism. The essay's topic is socialism.
- AlgorithmicTime 3y agoWhich is just as much a pipe dream
- wernercd 3y agopotato, patato. The only difference is methodology and extremity. otherwise the results are largely the same.
- celtoid 3y agoSocialism and communism are two different things. It's sloppy thinking to conflate them.
- waihtis 3y agoThey're the exact same except socialism is a more "watered down" version. Definitions: > Socialism is a political philosophy and movement encompassing a wide range of economic and social systems which are characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. > Communism is a political and economic ideology that positions itself in opposition to liberal democracy and capitalism, advocating instead for a classless system in which the means of production are owned communally and private property is nonexistent or severely curtailed.
- consilient 3y agoIn practice "Communism" means Leninism and its descendants, or occasionally revolutionary Marxism in general. No one reasonable would ever use it to refer to the likes of Olof Palme.
- HardlyCurious 3y agoThat last bit about the media is both true and perhaps uncomfortable for Democrats today whose political will aligns with the media narratives.
- sabarn01 3y agoMore hands than ever before in history.