LWDT IX: Discussing the Left From All Engels

[Cisairse]

OK, now to the current political conundrum (yeah, finally a year that is not so boring and monotone such as the 1990s, the "aughts" and the 10s, finally something groundbreaking).

Do you all think that the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive global crisis that ensued during it has spelled the end for the Fukuyamist perception of both an existential condition of "non-historicness" and the triumph of global liberal capitalism (and liberal democracy for that matter). Personally, I think the answer is quite obviously yes, considering that the authoritarian state China has managed to win an extreme amount of influence during the pandemic (Italy and other EU nations received most help from China, and their slow takeover of HK).

It also seems like free market economics has retreated back and allowed Keynesianism to flourish like never before during the pandemic. I also expect, similarly to what happened during the 1920s and 1930s, that authoritarian corporatism and economic nationalism will be more accepted by the Zeitgeist after 2020. The 2020s will be the ultimate Grand Prix of anti-capitalist ideologies. It is also important to realize that Marxist ideologies will maybe gain a more powerful position during the this decade (it started already during the 2010s, but I think the 2020s will be a gold mine for the Left, especially in the wake of the George Floyd protests in the US). I think very much is predictable.

Fukuyama was always wrong. The End of History was published less than two years after the fall of the Soviet Union, and was proven wrong within its own decade. The financial crisis should have discredited neoconservatism as a whole, but for various reasons it didn't.

Furthermore 2020 can't be the grand-prix of anticapitalist ideologies...Biden won the primary.

[The Reformed American Republic]

Why the fuck are you censoring yourself

idk i just got banned on steam for saying hitler so i wanna be careful
im so fucking stupid

These are the rules.

Profanity is usually allowed, unless it is to insult another poster.

[Cisairse]

The events of the past few days have confirmed my theory that any attempt at creating a Marxist state, whether it be the world’s largest country or a few blocks in the middle of Seattle, is bound to run out of food and end up with starvation and famines

They didn't run out of food.

[What No]

idk i just got banned on steam for saying hitler so i wanna be careful
im so fucking stupid

These are the rules.

Profanity is usually allowed, unless it is to insult another poster.

thanks

[What No]

The events of the past few days have confirmed my theory that any attempt at creating a Marxist state, whether it be the world’s largest country or a few blocks in the middle of Seattle, is bound to run out of food and end up with starvation and famines

They didn't run out of food.

i.imgur.com/cUzMNPZ.jpg read the bottom

[Fahran]

Why the fuck are you censoring yourself

idk i just got banned on steam for saying hitler so i wanna be careful
im so fucking stupid

How?

[Fahran]

Through authoritarian means, naturally.

I entrust you with this task, Inspector Rath.

[Otigan]

Through authoritarian means, naturally.

So what are suggesting, morality police with broad powers? Mass-surveillance? Seems big waste of resources and manpower on something that can be still be relatively easy to hide. Curtailing the porn industry and major redistribution of it (various porn sites and such) can work, but people will still find the means to access/create it.

[What No]

idk i just got banned on steam for saying hitler so i wanna be careful
im so fucking stupid

How?

how could they ban me? pRoMoTiNg NaZiSm

[Proctopeo]

idk i just got banned on steam for saying hitler so i wanna be careful
im so fucking stupid

How?

moderator went on a power trip probably, as they're prone to doing

[Cekoviu]

There's nothing wrong with reddit if it's for a niche hobby

or porn

But dear god reddit is a shithole for anything else, especially politics.

Porn should be banned.

there is some legitimately ethical porn on reddit*, though i do note and to some degree agree with the ethical qualms you have pointed out with pornography in general

*uh, according to people who use it

[Otigan]

I entrust you with this task, Inspector Rath.

Ah, man of culture.

[United Muscovite Nations]

Through authoritarian means, naturally.

So what are suggesting, morality police with broad powers? Mass-surveillance? Seems big waste of resources and manpower on something that can be still be relatively easy to hide. Curtailing the porn industry and major redistribution of it (various porn sites and such) can work, but people will still find the means to access/create it.

Those things already exist.

The same argument persists for all crime.

[Cisairse]

They didn't run out of food.

i.imgur.com/cUzMNPZ.jpg read the bottom

That tweet is fake. Stop peddling it like it's real; it's not.



It's a pretty obvious forgery too: "soy products" is a right-wing meme that was almost definitely added in their to further the lolz.

[Thanatttynia]

This CHAZ thing is so lame, literally the most uncool revolutionary state ever established. Also 'regime occupied safeway' lmao

[Fahran]

Those things already exist.

The same argument persists for all crime.

Plus, historically, porn has been policed and still is policed. We're just laxer on the current rules.

[Novus America]

So what are suggesting, morality police with broad powers? Mass-surveillance? Seems big waste of resources and manpower on something that can be still be relatively easy to hide. Curtailing the porn industry and major redistribution of it (various porn sites and such) can work, but people will still find the means to access/create it.

Those things already exist.

The same argument persists for all crime.

Not all things are equally easy to restrict or ban, and doing so on all thing does not always have equal benefit.

It is much harder to hide a murder than hide sharing a naughty video.

I can see cracking down on the unethical practices of the big companies involved in it like MindGeek but outright banning it altogether (especially when you have not even defined what is porn and what is not) is not a great use of limited resources.

[Otigan]

Those things already exist.

The same argument persists for all crime.

Not everyone does drugs, and not everyone has committed murder, but a wast majority consume pornography on regular basis, and they done it since time immemorial. Sure, you can create a puritanical society that would not condone pornography, but in privacy of their homes sizeable portion of them are gonna jerk off to porn, and no amount of authoritarian measures will stop it.

[Cekoviu]

Those things already exist.

The same argument persists for all crime.

Not everyone does drugs, and not everyone has committed murder, but a wast majority consume pornography on regular basis, and they done it since time immemorial. Sure, you can create a puritanical society that would not condone pornography, but in privacy of their homes sizeable portion of them are gonna jerk off to porn, and no amount of authoritarian measures will stop it.

Unrelated question: is your native language Polish or a related Slavic language?

[Otigan]

Unrelated question: is your native language Polish or a related Slavic language?

I have been exposed as an ESL, it seems. It's Lithuanian, but in a sense you're close, since Baltic languages are somewhat closely related to Slavic.

[South Odreria 2]

]"Yes, and, depending on the technicalities and responsibilities of the particular job, it probably does stretch well beyond the usual eight-hour workday. If you don't believe CEOs and other top administrative officials are earning their keep, you should probably take that up with the people who hire them and tell them they're paying those employees too much."

Neither of those arguments clash on a fundamental level since my argument was more about the value of labor being negotiated as opposed to intrinsic and one post was dealing with general principles while the other was dealing with a singular individual.

The fact that top management decides their own salaries seems to be more relevant than their supposed unique skill sets.

And why are they allowed to do so? Management isn't unaccountable at those levels. Bad CEOs get forced out of the corporate structure pretty often - as a glance at a company like Chrysler will tell you. If you keep someone on for twenty years despite them taking massive compensation, you're either a collective of inept morons or you believe the compensation is worthy of the services they provide.

That’s not particularly relevant to what I said. CEOs get fired sometimes, that doesn’t mean that management setting their own salaries isn’t a problem or doesn’t distort the economy.

[Novus America]

Those things already exist.

The same argument persists for all crime.

Not everyone does drugs, and not everyone has committed murder, but a wast majority consume pornography on regular basis, and they done it since time immemorial. Sure, you can create a puritanical society that would not condone pornography, but in privacy of their homes sizeable portion of them are gonna jerk off to porn, and no amount of authoritarian measures will stop it.

Pornography is in fact widely consumed in areas it is banned: https://www.salon.com/test3/2010/09/27/bradley_qa/

[Cekoviu]

Unrelated question: is your native language Polish or a related Slavic language?

I have been exposed as an ESL, it seems. It's Lithuanian, but in a sense you're close, since Baltic languages are somewhat closely related to Slavic.

You writing "vast" as "wast" is what tipped me off. I'm a linguistics major, so I like trying to figure out people's native languages from their speech and writing patterns. It's a fun little puzzle.

[United Muscovite Nations]

Not everyone does drugs, and not everyone has committed murder, but a wast majority consume pornography on regular basis, and they done it since time immemorial. Sure, you can create a puritanical society that would not condone pornography, but in privacy of their homes sizeable portion of them are gonna jerk off to porn, and no amount of authoritarian measures will stop it.

Pornography is in fact widely consumed in areas it is banned: https://www.salon.com/test3/2010/09/27/bradley_qa/

That's because Western countries undermine bans through the internet and the proliferation of things meant to circumvent the bans.

[Novus America]

Pornography is in fact widely consumed in areas it is banned: https://www.salon.com/test3/2010/09/27/bradley_qa/

That's because Western countries undermine bans through the internet and the proliferation of things meant to circumvent the bans.

I mean in part in that we have satellite broadcasts, but unless you get the whole world to ban it from being sent over satellites you are not going to have much effect on that.

And then there is simple filing sharing, are you going to watch all files being sent too?

And again you never even defined what it is. Sure excess pornography consumption can have adverse effects but outright going Saudi Arabia (which does not even work) is not the solution.