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We've seen in the K-shaped economy of late a new kind of consumerism. The top 10% of consumers accounted for half of all spending in the second quarter of 2025

We've seen in the K-shaped economy of late a new kind of consumerism. The top 10% of consumers accounted for half of all spending in the second quarter of 2025. Capitalism will happily chug along while leaving a massive number of people desperately poor. There's a reason the AI CEOs have all become obsessed with the concept of a "permanent underclass." If a UBI is ever "given" it will be just enough to keep the underclass from rising up and killing the owner class and not one cent more.

red-iron-pine 1mo ago
> There's a reason the AI CEOs have all become obsessed with the concept of a "permanent underclass. it's not for nothin that they've been slipping Zachariah 13:8 into discussions that show up in places like 8chan or ssethtzeentech videos "Declares the LORD: 'in all the land, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but one-third will be left alive' " The marketing and agit-prop types would call this "priming" or "conditioning"
- svieira 1mo ago
  Then they are in for a very rude awakening, given that the same God says "You must not wrong the widow and the orphan; wronged, they will cry out to me for redress, and their cry will be heard. My anger will blaze out against you, and I will smite you with the sword, making widows of your own wives, orphans of your own children." (Exodus 22:22-24).
  - red-iron-pine 1mo ago
    i think you are completely missing the point amigo
    - svieira 1mo ago
      That one person is (according to the previous comment) using words to suggest "this is a thing that will happen" though they are planning to make it happen? And that those words are attributed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? And that the selfsame God also has the other words attributed to Him? Or are you suggesting a particular ontological presumption about the declared speaker of those words, which would then reflect a different shade of meaning onto my declaration?
lanfeust6 1mo ago
It's funny, because extreme poverty rates as defined by the UN have been decimated in the last century, and continue to drop, because of growth qua capitalism. You're reflecting the populist notion that wealth is zero-sum. If that were true we'd still be in caves fighting over sticks. The average quality of life has skyrocketed in the last century alongside growth, and there's no non-capitalist country now or in history that's been an enviable place for average people to live.
- skulk 1mo ago
  Why post this thought-terminating cliche when the the great-grandparent comment already addresses it?
  - lanfeust6 1mo ago
    It doesn't. Thought terminating clichés are rhetorical devices, I pointed out what real world data reflects. You're free to actually address it unless you want to redefine poverty to suit vibes.

red-iron-pine 1mo ago

> There's a reason the AI CEOs have all become obsessed with the concept of a "permanent underclass. it's not for nothin that they've been slipping Zachariah 13:8 into discussions that show up in places like 8chan or ssethtzeentech videos "Declares the LORD: 'in all the land, two-thirds will be cut off and perish, but one-third will be left alive' " The marketing and agit-prop types would call this "priming" or "conditioning"

svieira 1mo ago
Then they are in for a very rude awakening, given that the same God says "You must not wrong the widow and the orphan; wronged, they will cry out to me for redress, and their cry will be heard. My anger will blaze out against you, and I will smite you with the sword, making widows of your own wives, orphans of your own children." (Exodus 22:22-24).
- red-iron-pine 1mo ago
  i think you are completely missing the point amigo
  - svieira 1mo ago
    That one person is (according to the previous comment) using words to suggest "this is a thing that will happen" though they are planning to make it happen? And that those words are attributed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? And that the selfsame God also has the other words attributed to Him? Or are you suggesting a particular ontological presumption about the declared speaker of those words, which would then reflect a different shade of meaning onto my declaration?

lanfeust6 1mo ago

It's funny, because extreme poverty rates as defined by the UN have been decimated in the last century, and continue to drop, because of growth qua capitalism. You're reflecting the populist notion that wealth is zero-sum. If that were true we'd still be in caves fighting over sticks. The average quality of life has skyrocketed in the last century alongside growth, and there's no non-capitalist country now or in history that's been an enviable place for average people to live.

skulk 1mo ago
Why post this thought-terminating cliche when the the great-grandparent comment already addresses it?
- lanfeust6 1mo ago
  It doesn't. Thought terminating clichés are rhetorical devices, I pointed out what real world data reflects. You're free to actually address it unless you want to redefine poverty to suit vibes.