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Communism? Really? Sorry, no thanks. I'm fine without being murdered by my own government for having unclean thoughts. Long live the individual.

by brc 12y ago

quasque 12y ago
But if it was run by a benevolent robot intelligence rather than humans, it would probably work out really well. Indeed I think it would be about as close to utopian as we're ever going to get.
- learc83 12y ago
  Yeah, but who get's to decide what's "benevolent" in the first place? One man's benevolent ruler is another's tyrannical despot.
  - quasque 12y ago
    That's a very interesting point. Perhaps, to ensure that a range of ethical frameworks have been taken into consideration (each with their varying ideas of what benevolence really means) a more equitable situation would be a plurality of utopias each with its own ruling AI? And free movement of individual humans to whichever aligns best to their own personal code of ethics.
    - brc 12y ago
      Or, you could try a liberal democracy with a strong constitution and separation of powers, based on common law and strong rights of individuals.
      - quasque 12y ago
        If such a system was incorruptible, constructed such that it would be impossible for a small group of individuals to hoard the majority of the global wealth, and guaranteed a pleasant and equitable standard of living for all - then it might work. Unfortunately, the current implementations of this ideal fall far short.
justinreeves 12y ago
Communism == Execution for Thought Crime, apparently.
- brc 12y ago
  Yes, this point is not in dispute. A small sample : http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gulags-reveal-awful-secrets/story-e6frg6so-1226096743081 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gulags-reveal-awf...
  - justinreeves 12y ago
    It's most certainly in dispute. I'm disputing it right now. You seem to think that communism is the same thing as "communism under Stalin", and that's incorrect.

Communism? Really? Sorry, no thanks. I'm fine without being murdered by my own government for having unclean thoughts. Long live the individual.

by brc 12y ago

Communism? Really? Sorry, no thanks. I'm fine without being murdered by my own government for having unclean thoughts. Long live the individual.

quasque 12y ago

But if it was run by a benevolent robot intelligence rather than humans, it would probably work out really well. Indeed I think it would be about as close to utopian as we're ever going to get.

learc83 12y ago
Yeah, but who get's to decide what's "benevolent" in the first place? One man's benevolent ruler is another's tyrannical despot.
- quasque 12y ago
  That's a very interesting point. Perhaps, to ensure that a range of ethical frameworks have been taken into consideration (each with their varying ideas of what benevolence really means) a more equitable situation would be a plurality of utopias each with its own ruling AI? And free movement of individual humans to whichever aligns best to their own personal code of ethics.
  - brc 12y ago
    Or, you could try a liberal democracy with a strong constitution and separation of powers, based on common law and strong rights of individuals.
    - quasque 12y ago
      If such a system was incorruptible, constructed such that it would be impossible for a small group of individuals to hoard the majority of the global wealth, and guaranteed a pleasant and equitable standard of living for all - then it might work. Unfortunately, the current implementations of this ideal fall far short.

justinreeves 12y ago

Communism == Execution for Thought Crime, apparently.

brc 12y ago
Yes, this point is not in dispute. A small sample : http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gulags-reveal-awful-secrets/story-e6frg6so-1226096743081 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gulags-reveal-awf...
- justinreeves 12y ago
  It's most certainly in dispute. I'm disputing it right now. You seem to think that communism is the same thing as "communism under Stalin", and that's incorrect.