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It's always funny to see liberalism used to defend oligarchy. Arguing simultaneously that AI data centers are critical for European sovereignty and that democra
by idle_zealot 7mo ago
It's always funny to see liberalism used to defend oligarchy. Arguing simultaneously that AI data centers are critical for European sovereignty and that democratic institutions should keep their hands off them and let three American plutocrats build them wherever and however they choose is genuinely insane.
I don't know for sure, but when enlightenment thinkers pioneered liberal ideology and included in it respect for private property, I don't think they had in mind that the roads and water and means of transportation, communication, the land you live on and the air you breathe being the private property of a totally-not-a-king very smart businessman.
- wakawaka28 7mo agoI had to look. Private and toll roads have a long history, and enlightenment thinkers did have varying opinions about whether private roads made sense or not. Generally, if labor is required to maintain a thing (whether water, roads, etc.), running it as a business can make a lot of sense. What you don't want is someone using monopoly power and/or regulatory capture to extract excessive profits for necessities like that.