3 ms·

We have the highest standard of living in the world. There will always be thieves. Even in a post-scarcity utopia there will be thieves.

SketchySeaBeast 3y ago
By what measure? Every standard of living / quality of life measurement I look at doesn't put the United States even near the top 10.
- gustavus 3y ago
  You're right after all it's not like there are people all over the world risking their lives for the shot to come to the US. The US is a late stage capitalist hell hole that no one really wants to live in and is worse than every where else in the world (by which we mean a few handpicked countries in Western Europe that have much smaller population and borders).
  - SketchySeaBeast 3y ago
    Asking for some form of proof isn't accusing the US of being a hell hole, and I can't help but feel that a people that actually felt confident in their standard of living supremacy wouldn't be so touchy about it. Belligerence isn't an argument, and "People wants to be there" is only proof of good PR. Speaking as a foreigner, it seems to me that this whole "USA #1" mentality is keeping a lot of people from reflecting on the reality of their situation and from being willing to try and make things better, as is evidenced by the person I was responding to - to paraphrase a bit their take seems to be "we're the best so we can't possibly fix the problem". That argument doesn't really make sense if you're actually not.
- p_j_w 3y ago
  GP forgot to consider what life looks like outside of the “I have a Masters Degree in CS/Engineering” bubble.
crote 3y ago
The problem with the USA is that those "highest standards of living" are not well-distributed, and there is a lack of a safety net at the lower end. 13% of the population lives below the poverty line. 1 in 400 people has to live on less than $2.15 a day. I completely agree that there will still be thieves in a post-scarcity utopia, but those will basically just be bored housewives looking for a thrill. We should definitely work on reducing the number of people who resort to stealing in order to survive, though.
sixothree 3y ago
No offense. But you clearly have not seen the abject poverty millions upon millions of people are living in. Here. In America.

SketchySeaBeast 3y ago

By what measure? Every standard of living / quality of life measurement I look at doesn't put the United States even near the top 10.

gustavus 3y ago
You're right after all it's not like there are people all over the world risking their lives for the shot to come to the US. The US is a late stage capitalist hell hole that no one really wants to live in and is worse than every where else in the world (by which we mean a few handpicked countries in Western Europe that have much smaller population and borders).
- SketchySeaBeast 3y ago
  Asking for some form of proof isn't accusing the US of being a hell hole, and I can't help but feel that a people that actually felt confident in their standard of living supremacy wouldn't be so touchy about it. Belligerence isn't an argument, and "People wants to be there" is only proof of good PR. Speaking as a foreigner, it seems to me that this whole "USA #1" mentality is keeping a lot of people from reflecting on the reality of their situation and from being willing to try and make things better, as is evidenced by the person I was responding to - to paraphrase a bit their take seems to be "we're the best so we can't possibly fix the problem". That argument doesn't really make sense if you're actually not.
p_j_w 3y ago
GP forgot to consider what life looks like outside of the “I have a Masters Degree in CS/Engineering” bubble.

crote 3y ago

The problem with the USA is that those "highest standards of living" are not well-distributed, and there is a lack of a safety net at the lower end. 13% of the population lives below the poverty line. 1 in 400 people has to live on less than $2.15 a day. I completely agree that there will still be thieves in a post-scarcity utopia, but those will basically just be bored housewives looking for a thrill. We should definitely work on reducing the number of people who resort to stealing in order to survive, though.

sixothree 3y ago

No offense. But you clearly have not seen the abject poverty millions upon millions of people are living in. Here. In America.