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I am in general surprised and worried about the role media is playing in priming us for big military conflict. An unfortunate outcome of the collapse of Iron Cu

I am in general surprised and worried about the role media is playing in priming us for big military conflict. An unfortunate outcome of the collapse of Iron Curtain has in fact been the triumph of capitalism at the expense of freedom and democracy (which it could have been). This triumph of capitalism then set the foundations of returning the world to pre WWI tensions between great powers, which is exactly what is happening in Ukraine and Middle East, both of which are key gateways for flow of resources. I predict that soon there will be a big influx of wealthy families into places like South America due to its relative geographical safety from nuclear conflict. Part of me wishes that US and Russia resume testing of nuclear weapons just to remind people how terrible such weaponry really is.

f6v 3y ago
> just to remind people how terrible such weaponry really is. I can just pull up the video of past tests. Will having it in 4K make any difference?
- medo-bear 3y ago
  The point is to reach mass media.
nickpp 3y ago
> triumph of capitalism at the expense of freedom and democracy As someone who was born on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, I can assure you capitalism, freedom and democracy came together while we had communism, lack of freedom and dictatorships.
- medo-bear 3y ago
  > As someone who was born on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain Why is there still a need to start responses in such a cliche manner. As someone who was also born there ... who cares > I can assure you capitalism, freedom and democracy Capitalism, freedom, and democracy are all seperate concepts. Capitalism seeks to maximize capital at the expense of labour time. Freedom mens nothing if you dont have the time (eaten up by labour) and capital to enjoy it. Democracy means nothing if you dont have time to be educated about policies you vote for (we have objective mass media for that). Anyway, if you want a more extreme example of freedom and democracy not equal capitalism just look at Russia and China
  - nickpp 3y ago
    > who cares Most people spouting anti-capitalism rhetoric never even bothered to visit some of communism's success stories like Cuba or Venezuela, but how about living there? > Capitalism, freedom, and democracy are all seperate concepts. They come together. Capitalism gives you economic power and pulls you out of abject poverty. Together with free markets this gives you freedom. First freedom is to choose where you work and thus maximise your earning potential and free time. With free time you can educate yourself more, including about democracy. I have seen this process happening in Eastern Europe with my own eyes when switching from communism, hunger and poverty to capitalism, freedom and eventual (relative) prosperity during the 90's.
    - medo-bear 3y ago
      None of this addresses my point that capitalism is bringing international relations to pre WWI levels between great (imperialist) powers and that we are on the cusp of being dragged into another World War for (ultimately) someone else's interests. But I can see you drank the kool-aid, so it is no use repeating myself.
      - nickpp 3y ago
        > capitalism is bringing international relations to pre WWI levels And how exactly does it do that? Offering Eastern European countries too much freedom and prosperity and thus making thugs like Putin envious and hungry for conquest? Hmm maybe you have a point.
        medo-bear 3y ago
        > And how exactly does it do that? By seeking a monopoly on resources > Offering Eastern European countries too much freedom and prosperity TOO MUCH LOOOL
        nickpp 3y ago
        > By seeking a monopoly on resources How exactly is capitalism seeking a monopoly on resources? > TOO MUCH LOOOL Absolutely. Eastern Europeans are now in the EU and we have freedom of movement, expression and to work anywhere we wish. During communism machine guns and barbed wire kept us locked down so we wouldn’t escape its wonders. Financially we’ve never been better: our PIB is at an all time high and people enjoy Teslas and city breaks, ski vacations and shopping trips. Compare it to the 80's when we were cold, starving in lines for half a bread and a bottle of milk. It’s night and day, you can’t even imagine it unless you’ve lived it . Of course all Eastern Europe (including Ukraine) vigorously rejects any closeness to Russia and its ilk. Of course an authoritarian like Putin was furious and did the only thing he could think of: war, murder and genocide.

f6v 3y ago

> just to remind people how terrible such weaponry really is. I can just pull up the video of past tests. Will having it in 4K make any difference?

medo-bear 3y ago
The point is to reach mass media.

nickpp 3y ago

> triumph of capitalism at the expense of freedom and democracy As someone who was born on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, I can assure you capitalism, freedom and democracy came together while we had communism, lack of freedom and dictatorships.

medo-bear 3y ago
> As someone who was born on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain Why is there still a need to start responses in such a cliche manner. As someone who was also born there ... who cares > I can assure you capitalism, freedom and democracy Capitalism, freedom, and democracy are all seperate concepts. Capitalism seeks to maximize capital at the expense of labour time. Freedom mens nothing if you dont have the time (eaten up by labour) and capital to enjoy it. Democracy means nothing if you dont have time to be educated about policies you vote for (we have objective mass media for that). Anyway, if you want a more extreme example of freedom and democracy not equal capitalism just look at Russia and China
- nickpp 3y ago
  > who cares Most people spouting anti-capitalism rhetoric never even bothered to visit some of communism's success stories like Cuba or Venezuela, but how about living there? > Capitalism, freedom, and democracy are all seperate concepts. They come together. Capitalism gives you economic power and pulls you out of abject poverty. Together with free markets this gives you freedom. First freedom is to choose where you work and thus maximise your earning potential and free time. With free time you can educate yourself more, including about democracy. I have seen this process happening in Eastern Europe with my own eyes when switching from communism, hunger and poverty to capitalism, freedom and eventual (relative) prosperity during the 90's.
  - medo-bear 3y ago
    None of this addresses my point that capitalism is bringing international relations to pre WWI levels between great (imperialist) powers and that we are on the cusp of being dragged into another World War for (ultimately) someone else's interests. But I can see you drank the kool-aid, so it is no use repeating myself.
    - nickpp 3y ago
      > capitalism is bringing international relations to pre WWI levels And how exactly does it do that? Offering Eastern European countries too much freedom and prosperity and thus making thugs like Putin envious and hungry for conquest? Hmm maybe you have a point.
      - medo-bear 3y ago
        > And how exactly does it do that? By seeking a monopoly on resources > Offering Eastern European countries too much freedom and prosperity TOO MUCH LOOOL
        nickpp 3y ago
        > By seeking a monopoly on resources How exactly is capitalism seeking a monopoly on resources? > TOO MUCH LOOOL Absolutely. Eastern Europeans are now in the EU and we have freedom of movement, expression and to work anywhere we wish. During communism machine guns and barbed wire kept us locked down so we wouldn’t escape its wonders. Financially we’ve never been better: our PIB is at an all time high and people enjoy Teslas and city breaks, ski vacations and shopping trips. Compare it to the 80's when we were cold, starving in lines for half a bread and a bottle of milk. It’s night and day, you can’t even imagine it unless you’ve lived it . Of course all Eastern Europe (including Ukraine) vigorously rejects any closeness to Russia and its ilk. Of course an authoritarian like Putin was furious and did the only thing he could think of: war, murder and genocide.