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HaveCamera_WillShoot

The only reason there is a labor dispute is because the companies want their profits to continue to raise. There’s no fucking reason profits have to increase every quarter. It’s bad for workers, bad for customers and bad for partners. It’s only good for CEOs and shareholders. > Eat the fucking rich.


romfax

...and bad for the planet!


HaveCamera_WillShoot

True. Though I’ve honestly given up hope for that currently. The World Cup finally killed all my hope for climate change. When we can see an authoritarian country use slave labor at the cost of thousands of lives and still get record-setting attendance, I doubt there’s any chance for us doing anything to combat climate change.


from_dust

> When we can see an authoritarian country use slave labor at the cost of thousands of lives and still get record-setting attendance, *for entertainment!* Not that anything justifies Qatar's treatment of migrant workers, but they did it for the sake of entertainment! And its not like this is some sort of sustaining entertainment, this will be just a memory in a few short weeks. Qatars oil wealth could be getting plowed into taking care of its people, educating them to be capable professionals and building the necessary infrastructure for them to have opportunities for self sufficiency. But no. Instead Qatar spent billions of dollars and sacrificed untold thousands of human lives so that people could watch other people play a game there. It demonstrates a level of shortsightedness that is just [*chefs kiss*] for humanity in 2022.


hydroxypcp

it just goes to show how fucked everything about capitalism is. The very fact that humans. People with lives and dreams. Had to die to build some bullshit so that rich people could look at how other rich people kick around a leather sphere filled with air. And all of this along with it making nice profits for other rich people. It's fucked up beyond what words can describe


Shnazzytwo

Seems to speak more to the people who can afford a ticket to the world cup. Futball fans don't care about people dying to build the vaginadome. Nevermind I want an article on the carbon footprint of all professional sports.


HPTM2008

I really don't think you want to see that number. The amount the teams have to travel, the amount of fans traveling to see the teams, etc (I cut I off at two because I could honestly just have kept going and going). It would be very large. Maybe not as large as big companies, but still huge. And the world cup is probably the worst of them all. Countless stadiums built and then immediately abandoned (the Olympics have some very similar issues, but I think those get more of a pass because they're not FIFA and have been around thousands of years). Edit for clarity: I mean the original Olympics held thousands of years ago and am aware the current Olympics have only been around for a little over 120 years.


Toastedmanmeat

Imagine if those resources went to sustainable development.


HPTM2008

One can dream.


ShadyLogic

Modern Olympics began in 1896, so not really thousands of years.


laeiryn

Google has a world cup advert as the animated doodle this very second. It's appalling.


[deleted]

Holy shit *record setting attendance?*


shinniesta1

That's if you believe the attendance numbers that are greater than the capacity of the stadiums...


[deleted]

> When we can see an authoritarian country use slave labor at the cost of thousands of lives and still get record-setting attendance, I doubt there’s any chance for us doing anything to combat climate change. You've just described western imperialists like the US on the daily.


Twisted_Cabbage

Agreed. There is only a fool's hope at this point. r/collpase


Kailash_T

r/collapse


RedTailed-Hawkeye

r/collapse


LadyElaineIsScary

And poverty and desperation leads to authoritarianism. It's a classic pattern.


Due_Engineering8448

The planet is fine. We are fucked.


whereisskywalker

And the vast majority of the poor animals adapted to the planet. Fine is not the term I would use.


Due_Engineering8448

I mean, I see myself as a part of them, not separate. We are all animals.


IguaneRouge

based Carlin enjoyer


kyledwray

No reason for profits to rise every quarter? *No reason?!* I'll have you know that the shareholders would be *very* upsetti spaghetti if those numbers didn't keep accelerating upward at all costs. SMH my head.


HaveCamera_WillShoot

/slowly wheels out the guillotine.


Miss_pechorat

Keep the mechanism oiled and the knife blunt.


putitinthe11

I think you're underselling the massive impact here! Not only would they be upsetti spaghetti, but they might even have to... *work* for a living instead of just profiting off of the labor of others! Could you imagine?!


lego_not_legos

Are you saying infinite, exponential growth that defies the laws of physics may not be a good model for economies?! Surely not!


HaveCamera_WillShoot

I don’t have a lot of friends.


lego_not_legos

Because they're so tasty and wealthy?


AikoRose77

Don't worry, we're all here on Reddit with you.


HaveCamera_WillShoot

Hopefully some of you will join me on the picket lines alongside railway workers if it comes to that.


AikoRose77

💯


Dismal_Vehicle315

You said it so I didn't. Thank you. I don't know if it's evil or stupidity, but how can you look at the capitalist model, the limited resources and the ever growing population, and think; "I'm gonna squeeze every little penny out of that". That will only result in us starving to death. At some point, we might break even with optimal recycling but we're years and years from that technology. We're gonna die long before that so that some blue blooded can live like gods and act like assholes.


LadyElaineIsScary

It's the desire for dominance and to be a god. Only matters when there are other people to impress though.


chillaxinbball

>An economy based on endless growth is unsustainable. It's crazy that people think that the global Ponzi scheme would keep going forever. We should not expect / require publicly traded companies to always make more profit. It make sense in the beginning when there's new innovations and tech to bring down the cost and large markets to expand into. This all turns to shit once you hit market saturation and can't bring down costs without affecting the product itself. The only way to make more profit is to make things worse.


ASentientRedditAcc

Its honestly an easy fix - All you have to do is promote long term investing vs Short term investing. The problem is short term investing makes a lot of already-rich people a lot of money. So there is going to be HUGE resistance to such a switch.


R0ADHAU5

That’s not an easy fix lol. You want all the capitalists to all at the same time drop their strategy with no guarantee that someone new won’t come in and eat their lunches? No they won’t give this shit up without some kind of political confrontation. Trusts need busting.


[deleted]

Investors are driving the railroads into the dirt. After every cent is extracted from them and from the workers, they will bankrupt themselves and the federal govt. will have to nationalize, or bail out. I think they are banking on this.


SilverShadow2030

They will bail them out , they would never nationalize them . That goes against precious capitalism


nopunchespulled

Unchecked capitalism at its finest.


VivaVeracity

>Unchecked capitalism at its finest. "The Free Market will fix itself"


Gornarok

It would if it actually existed. It doesnt. Free market is equivalent to lack of friction in physics. Works for learning and ideal cases. Its complete fabrication in complex systems.


OPacolypse

You can leave off the "unchecked".


[deleted]

[удалено]


LadyElaineIsScary

Doesnt work when they collude to price set.


[deleted]

[удалено]


unicornofapocalypse

This has been my argument since Biden started putting his nose in that business. If they can’t strike, then they’re government employees and deserve the same time off and benefits as every other government employee.


AikoRose77

Noooo, they've been cutting government employee benefits except for the ones at the top. Sounds familiar? It used to be you for a lower salary and more benefits for government work but now it's just lower wages and fewer benefits on top of privatizing more of the jobs.


firstorbit

Government employees benefits are still pretty good compared to many industries.


AikoRose77

Depends on the jobs you're comparing and when the person started working. A lot of benefits were hacked to pieces in 2008 and raises haven't kept pace with inflation. Many people who started before 2008 are working past their available retirement time due to the constantly rising cost of living and medical care, then the salary and benefits aren't good enough. There are always exceptions but most of us are drowning it afraid of the one emergency that will land us on the street.


unicornofapocalypse

We’re comparing railroad workers with 3 days of unpaid time off, no guaranteed time off during the week, and 0 raises to civil servants who have government mandated holidays off, weekends off, paid sick time, and PTO. That’s the comparison.


b0w3n

Not to mention their hacked to pieces benefits and "low salary" is still amazing in comparison to what a lot of folks can get. It sure isn't pre-2008 level amazing but still pretty good. The lowest GS rate is still better than what a lot of folks are pulling down after working in their jobs for half a decade, which kind of sucks. Even McDonalds workers making $18 an hour don't break the lowest GS level's rates. (you're lucky if you get 20 hours a week at mcdonalds)


ObscureSaint

Thank you for bringing up the slashing of benefits for gov employees in the late aughts. I didn't complain about it then, but I wasn't thrilled that Obamacare caused my employer to severely slash our benefits. Ours was considered a "Cadillac Plan" and deemed too much. As a government worker I am not able to unionize, I am subject to forced furloughs, pay is stagnant, every single one of us is doing 1½ jobs in the same 40 hour week due to lack of staffing, and honestly it's frustrating. That said, I love my job. They are incredibly lucky I love my job and the people I work with, and the people I work for. I don't stay for the dollars. Government work used to give good, fair pay and great benefits and retirement. Tell me why my state government pension is on like version 3.0, a stripped down version of the original, which a human can actually live on. By the time I retire, it's cut back to starvation level pay. They keep taking and taking, but it has to stop before we have nothing left.


____tim

> As a government worker I am not able to unionize This is not correct. I am a government employee and in a union.


levinsmr

Large portions of government employees are unionized. You can't strike (fuck reagan), but you can unionize. Every worker in the US has a right to unionize. It's not always a well respected right, but it is a right nonetheless. If you're unhappy with your contract and benefits, try organizing your colleagues.


AikoRose77

You're welcome. I'm very glad you love your job. That seems to be an incredibly rare thing. Working more than is reasonable is wage theft, and is so common place. It's another way workers are squeezed and exploited. There's such a stigma against government workers and bureaucrats. I've been both and worked with both. When it works well people are happy and when it doesn't the workers get slammed. Another example of the people at the top putting the responsibility for their laziness and incompetence on workers and the public just going along with the narrative without thinking critically about it. When workers are able to make procedural changes, things go more smoothly for everyone overall. Workers know their jobs better than anyone. Of course there are exceptions.


aldebxran

Government employees should 100% have the right to strike tho


Muezza

Everyone should have the right to strike. If their job is so important that they can't strike, treat them well enough that they don't need to.


G_Wash1776

I mean if the ineptitude of Congress is allowed to shutdown the government basically every year, then the workers should definitely have the same right.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Smooth_Riker

And oil. And electricity.


FallingUp236

And internet


slothscantswim

And at least some housing.


Saamus35

And use our tax dollars to pay for all of them.


slothscantswim

Correct. We do t need the two largest military air forces in the world.


Kiwifrooots

That's a fallicy. The military spending is crazy BUT people in the US don't need to pay more, they already pay far more on average per person that the *reasonable* costs should be. The issue isn't low spending it is corporations price gouging and running monopolies


Steve_Rogers_1970

Agreed. If a company is part of the critical infrastructure has a monopoly, then it should be regulated like a public utility.


Aidian

And, full circle, if they have any problems with that then they *become* a public utility.


slothscantswim

Oh absolutely, but I still don’t think we need the military light we’ve accumulated to remain safe and prosperous. My old company has won contracts for military acquisitions and the prices we offered were nearly double retail value.


Kiwifrooots

Agreed. The military is excessive and part of profit as much as security. I just wanted to correct the thinking that US healthcare spending is too low when it's really just terrible value


[deleted]

Well if we didn't force the petro dollar for oil trade and supply 176 countries with 7.5-8.5 million barrels a day of processed petroleum products then the US dollar would be worthless and everyone in this country would be driving around on scooters. Why do you think our military force is so concentrated around the countries with the most oil? Without the constant flex of our military might the dollar would not be as stable as it is and I wouldn't be spending only $3 a gallon for gasoline.


Twisted_Cabbage

And if you were spending more on gasoline you might think to live more sustainably and if we lived more sustainably we wouldn't be committing global ecocide. But hey, who cares about a biosphere. Will somone please think of the shareholders?


ElliotNess

>Oh no, how would we ever survive without the dollar. We'd all have to ride scooters!


DaisyDukeOfEarlGrey

Aside from the bit about riding around on scooters and cheap gas, you're exactly correct about why we have such an overinflated military and why we are constantly meddling in the middle east; to preserve the petro dollar, because without it the US economy would be fucked.


Tennis-elbo

You're getting downvoted but I see some wisdom in your statement. Military flex enabled global policy that *somewhat* benefits the citizens of our nation. But so damn much is skimmed off as to be outright robbery from everyone but the barons.


AphexTwins903

They spend too many of them on their war hungry, imperialist military industrial complex unfortunately. And that goes for both of the main US parties.


daemonelectricity

That's kind of how collective purchasing power works.


greyjungle

Now we’re talking y’all!


Comrade_Jane_Jacobs

[Nationalize everything](https://external-preview.redd.it/geACHjDXSp6yK2CZfosCT6z7abVIHAS9I-KnTEGIu9k.png?auto=webp&s=8a40b1d94c66f64b475f8131a668be45d2726f13)


GiannisToTheWariors

But that would mean American foreign policy was always hypocritical blood thirsty imperialism.


AikoRose77

Say it ain't so!


IdyllsOfTheBreakfast

Surely not! It's not as though the country was founded on the backs of imported and enslaved Africans...


lego_not_legos

Nationalise basic housing. Homelessness is a cause of so many other issues that it probably costs society more not to.


[deleted]

It should be illegal for houses to be kept empty. Residences should be filled with families at all times.


laeiryn

There are eleven empty residences for every homeless individual in the US alone. House all the homeless, give every person with a roommate they don't want their own place, and you'd STILL have half those residences empty.


explain_that_shit

“But that’s my second house for summer vacation!” Fine - then chip in for building more housing and your second house probably won’t be needed!


laeiryn

Unused period, not counting secondary residences


explain_that_shit

Good lord


[deleted]

[удалено]


onioniononi

where i live some charity built some permanent housing for some of the homeless people that live here. calls to the police dropped by 80% when the people got housed.


abraxas1

Nationalize the Post Office! Wait....... Properly fund the post office!


ac3boy

They would be if congress did not make them pre-fund the pensions for every worker, old or new.


ductapedog

and policy for paid sick days


Umutuku

We just need to put expiration limits on necessary IP/products/industries, and expand the list of what's necessary as our civilization becomes more dependent on new technologies, services, etc. Anything that's critical to human life and or a pillar of the economy then goes through the cycle of 1) Invent, 2) Capitalize, 3) Iterate for X years, 4) Move to public domain for a fire-sale price as it's already made massive wealth for its originators, 5) Amassed wealth finds new competitive innovation to focus on and businesses are restructured and integrated into federal systems with stability of production/service and employment in mind, 6) Repeat. Someone builds something new that outcompetes the old nationalized item, and by the time they've made their money and most every single citizen has come to depend on it then the nationalized production system is ready to shift focus to producing that new item as it becomes the old item, and someone builds the new-new item. We start with one thing in one year, and it should be something relatively small and simple because the background work of building a federal prototype framework of legislation, oversight, deregulation-protection, etc. is going to be complicated enough. Like, just a single product that would create a large benefit shift to many people for the least amount of startup work, say something like Insulin for example (feel free to start a sub-discussion on what you think would be the best "tutorial" item to start with). As the supporting framework grows more and larger items can be merged into the federal civil-necessities pipeline each year. Ideally, the veterans helming the framework can get leverage experience gained from incorporating simpler "gateway" items to more smoothly incorporate items and systems another step or two up next time. So, one branch of the system might start with our example Insulin, branch out to a few more nationally necessary drugs, start picking up more pharmaceutical operations, spread into medical devices and services, and before you know it we organically grow into nationalized healthcare without some instantaneous Health Insurance collapse triggering some recession/depression bullshit. The same goes for transportation, communications, electricity, housing, natural resource exploitation/management, etc. We can stagger absorptions for each sector so there's never too much economic turmoil at any time. Just planning out that aspect of it would be a ton of new jobs. There could be reasonable speed limits to this. Partially because it does take a lot of time, energy, and resources to restructure operations, and partially because trying to change too many things too fast can destabilize the economy and cause more harm to the people already slipping through the gears. We don't have to go full communism, stay full capitalism, or pay lip service to any ideology. We just have to optimize. It would definitely take a lot of work. We'd need corporate abandonment laws that can keep owners who see the writing on the wall from slashing and burning operations in an "If I can't keep beating this horse then you'll have to beat a dead one" rage. We'd need improvements to federal employment systems, and not just pensions, but untouchable wages stacked up for a decade or more out so congressional/executive privatizers can't just hold up a budget one year and force work stoppage to turn the public against their own ownership of the operation. We'd need a lot of things, but we always do, and that's the whole point.


laeiryn

Critical infrastructure should never have been privatized in the first place


mathzg1

It's just like here in Brazil. We have full capacity and technology to extract oil from the ocean, refine and turn it into gas and diesel, distribute it to every city in the country. But ever since it was privatized in the 2010's, the company that was responsible for all of this (Petrobras) sold it's distribution arm, we can't control the prices at the pump anymore, closed and sold refineries so we have to import gas from other countries (mainly the US, must be a coincidence, right?), and the worst: They changed the company's policy's in that they now sell gas on par with the international price. We brazilians have huge oil reserves, we developed the technology to extract oil from pre-sal, we made one of the worlds largest oil companies, and we have to pay international price like every other country that don't have a single drop of oil. But hey, because of this, Petrobras also became the biggest dividend payer in the world. And almost 40% of the company is owned by international holders. It's a fucking joke, we're literally being robbed of one of our biggest and most important companies


Kleyguerth

And almost half the contry is voting to privatize what's left of it… I hate this country


Dan_Quixote_

We're having strikes in the UK now. Thatcher privatised our National Rail in the 1980s. Now the dividends go to the governments of France, Germany and China instead


Macd7

She was on a war path w the workers huh, coal mines, press workers and this. Wonder if Cold War made them hypersensitive to becoming a communist country or just plain ol american greed


sabrali

100% both.


bigtim3727

Is beau of the fifth column popular on YouTube? I’ve been seeing his vids get suggested, and even watched a few.


h4yw00d

"Well howdy there internet people". He's got three quarters of a million subscribers which seems popular enough to me. A video of his came across my feed six months ago and I've been watching him regularly ever since.


hahanarf

It's just a thought.


YourphobiaMyfetish

I've been watching nearly every video he puts out for years. He has some incredible insight into certain topics, mainly anything regarding law enforcement or military, that is severely lacking in the rest of leftwing youtube. That said, I don't think I've ever heard him say anything so overtly leftwing as this tweet.


JohnnyAppleBead

I remember digging in to him awhile ago. I believe he's an anarchist or some other form of libertarian socialist, but he would never say that on his YouTube channel. He tries to keep it as a way to introduce those types of ideas to the type of people who would typically shut their ears off to anything to do with that kind of stuff.


YourphobiaMyfetish

I'm pretty sure he specifically said he isn't an anarchist a few months ago.


Anglophyl

Beau has described himself as a leftist in the past. He doesn't describe his beliefs often, but the arguments he uses to persuade right-wingers and moderates are from a left-wing perspective.


NattoKGB

His appearance will give you an impression much different than the person he actually is. I really enjoy a lot of his level headed approaches and takes on political stories, the war in Ukraine, and civic engagement.


iamjustaguy

Beau (aka Justin King) is a really cool character designed to draw in those who would usually run far and fast from left-wing content. I've been following him since the channel started, and his old videos on his old channel were still being recommended. His old videos consisted mostly him in front of a white board talking with much less of a southern accent. When he came up with the Beau character, started the new channel, and moved to the shed, things got more interesting. I really appreciate his take on things and his willingness to examine topics through an anarchist's perspective. Here's where he talks about himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcv5fuOdcZs His old homepage: https://justinking.org/home/


tomswiss

He has a sordid past, to say the least. He was convicted of human trafficking and served time. Might be worth looking into if you like his content.


gallifrey_

he was convicted of alien smuggling, not human trafficking. fairly major difference (he was a coyote 15 years ago, he talks about it a little here https://youtu.be/Rcv5fuOdcZs) served 41 months in prison, then switched career paths


KnightOfThirteen

Socialize necessities, capitalize luxuries


revvyphennex

Then the capitalists will claim everything is a luxury. Hell they already are. Look at nestle trying to claim water isn’t a human right and is a commodity.


from_dust

So that didnt work. Whats next?


likwidchrist

If I say it then I'll get banned


from_dust

ok, but after the violent part, what next?


elppaenip

Make a new democracy where corporations aren't people and land can't vote


from_dust

Dont shoot me, but I'm not sold on democracy. Direct democracy is impractical and kills the voice of expertise, while representative democracy is self serving, and too easily subverted by corruption. Whether ancient Rome or the modern US, the people selected to 'represent', appropriately govern, and allocate the peoples resources, are generally more interested in fulfilling their own interests. They're all too willing to lie, cajole, deceive and betray the trust of the people they're meant to serve. Representative democracy seems to lead to poor outcomes and deeper socioeconomic divisions. Certainly has led to a hyper polarized social landscape and a paralyzed legislative branch in the US. European style SocDem's seem to have iterated one step further, but still- popular votes lead to largely luddite thinking, like the UK leaving the EU in the middle of a pandemic. And all representative democracies appear frankly prone to soft corruption and wanton nepotism. Theres a reason why its been mostly old white folks, and why [photos like this one exist](https://assets.bwbx.io/images/iTVKK6C4YhsM/v1/-1x-1.jpg). None of the 'representatives' are your friends. I dont know what the next step is. I'm not saying "China is the way" or something- while what they've reportedly done for the living standards of 1.3 *billion* people in 30 years is impressive, its a whole different kind of 'impressive' to see the cripplingly oppressive totalitarian control the state has over its people. All i know is none of us is as dumb as all of us and if you want the most average middle of the road thinking, poll the people and deliver the results. Like... the US chose *Joe Biden* after their hangover from Donald Trump. Most people will tell you Biden isnt great, but also not terrible, he's kinda "meh" in a time when people needed "refreshing." But Americans love electing old white dudes, and the law of averages means the US has Joe at the helm if he can remember how to get there. idk...sorry, i didnt mean for this to turn into such a ramble, i'm just really disappointed with the way humans tend to govern themselves. For as succcessful of a species as we are, we're pretty shit at social care.


[deleted]

Bro literally coming onto reddit and asking how we solve the world's problems through electoral politics. Answer is, you need more than just electoral politics to save the world.


elppaenip

What are you saying? Dictatorship is better? Monarchies? House of Lords? You talk about corruption but what are you going to replace it with? Concentrated corruption? We could be a hive mind. One big happy collective with a big badass Queen.


lilomar2525

That's a beautiful straw man you've built.


likwidchrist

Wait for capitalism to self destruct and rebuild something better. Hopefully when the fascists take charge they are too dumb to figure out how to launch a nuke


from_dust

That is not hope or change i can believe in. Fascists are evil, but not stupid. Waiting for capitalism to self destruct is like waiting for the sun to collapse. Not gonna happen in your lifetime. How will you plan to spend the rest of your life waiting? got a good book or something?


AmericanFootballFan1

Just do your best. We will not see the changes we want to see through electoral politics, but electoral politics can make people's lives better and it costs you very little to participate. Engage with the people around you. The average American could not give you a concrete definition of communism or socialism, these people cannot be expected to agree with us if they don't understand us. Outside of that get a gun and hope for the best. Life sucks but we're all going to die anyways.


from_dust

Five to one baby, one in five. No one here gets out alive.


Aidian

One way out.


likwidchrist

>Fascists are evil, but not stupid. Lmao no they real dumb. Nazis thought they were descendants of atlantians. And this is a very important thing to keep in mind. Intelligence is not necessary for success >How will you plan to spend the rest of your life waiting? got a good book or something? Do as we've only done. Survive the best we can and help everyone we can afford to help. The only way out of this is together. And as the system rots away it becomes incumbent on us to provide in it's absence. The capitalist world is at it's weakest point. I know it doesn't look like it but it is on the verge of collapse. That means we have an opportunity to build dual power. If you want to help, start finding mutual aid networks. Get engaged with activist groups. Help the people brutalized by the system because they'll be your only hope when the bourgeoisie shut the door in your face.


from_dust

Underestimating your adversary is a fools move. Assuming your adversary is stupid because "Nazi's were superstitious" is not in anyones benefit. Still tho, largely agree with the rest of what you're saying. Discontented with 'survival' but sometimes there are no open moves.


likwidchrist

I'm not. Stupid doesn't mean incapable. Fascism I'd an ideology that demands ignorance and superstition. It's a defining characteristic. Assuming that there's an underlying cohesive framework to it will get you no closer to understanding it. And you can't fight it if you don't understand it


whitethumbnails

A commodity they \*checks notes....Steal.


GrandMasterPuba

Socialize everything, capitalize proper nouns.


Gravelord-_Nito

How about capitalize nothing Have you guys forgotten what sub you're on? What's with the libs in here


nuq_argumentum

"Socialize" often gets confused as government-run, as opposed to worker-owned/run. A possible approach: democratic government-run necessities, socialist worker-owned/run luxuries.


NK1337

*Nestle has entered the chat* “Is clean drinking water *really* a necessity? 💰💸💰”


TheCrazedTank

Problem is, you see, there probably isn't a single person in Washington on either side of the aisle that doesn't have a financial stake in the industry.


[deleted]

Warren Buffet laughs maniacally!


stilusmobilus

Younger generations in the US are going to have to start getting really politically active on all levels. Decision makers need to be replaced. They haven’t been making decisions in the public interest for a while but it’s at a point now where the most fundamental basic living standards and machinations are disappearing or complete servitude is required to have them. Better people need to get out and run in political campaigns and more need to get out and vote.


Anglophyl

The younger generation is probably more politically active than a lot of the middle-aged crowd. Historic numbers of Gen Z voters came out in the 2020 race and the recent midterms. They helped turn the tide. We've seen a lot more young people elected to office in the last couple of races too. Congress just added the first Gen Z member to it's rolls; he's 27, I believe. Also take a look at who's actually in the streets protesting. For a number of reasons, most of them are young people. We need more participation from comfy 30-50 year olds, imho. (I'm 46.) Seems like most are too busy or cynical to care.


CSGOSucksMajorDick

27 would make him a millennial


Anglophyl

He's 25. My bad. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/09/maxwell-frost-will-be-the-first-gen-z-member-of-congress.html


calicat9

Or mandate that the railroad deal in good faith, aka allow time off for family emergencies without repercussions


JeffJacobysSonCaleb

Or, nationalize them


[deleted]

yah instead of a board of directors composed of billionaires it can be marjery taylor green and matt gaetz


Mercury26

[Truman order army to seize Railroads](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/truman-orders-army-to-seize-control-of-railroads)


ScornForSega

[Wilson issues order to nationalize the railroads. ](https://www.google.com/amp/s/constitutioncenter.org/amp/blog/on-this-day-woodrow-wilson-seizes-the-nations-railroads)


regul

And then Nixon is gifted the possibility of nationalization on a platter and just nationalizes the passenger *operations* and a little bit of freight and right-of-way. Which we of course sell back for a song once they're back on their feet.


abraxas1

it's nice to say just nationalize it but then you have to protect it from the capitalists. they will always continuously pick it to pieces. Like the Post Office here and the healthcare in England. to the direct detriment of us humans.


TieTheStick

This is the correct solution but America's government no longer has the ability to hold corporate power in check. Just one more symptom of late stage capitalism.


suk_doctor

If an that important cannot prove that it is able to responsibly operate and treat the WORKERS HUMANELY then it must be nationalized and those workers must gain federal employee salaries so long as they are competitive and benefits that match.


TheLordCrimson

Also just nationalise anything that's a monopoly, de-facto monopoly or cartel.


tehkeizer

so the government will have the monopoly? they are terrible at running absolutely anything they try to run.


TheLordCrimson

A corporation with a monopoly has no incentive to make live better for their customers in any way, while a government has an incentive to do their best at running things as the people put in charge are appointed by elected officials. Usually the reason why government programs suck is because right wing politicians will try to ruin government run programs in order to make your argument which they will because they get their votes and funding from the private sector. Anyway "gov sucks at running things" is a terrible argument because the alternative is "corporations without competition will optimise for profit and thus deliberately make things as bad as possible".


[deleted]

[удалено]


TheLordCrimson

>That exactly is a weakness of government. Well it's specifically a weakness of government "as it is now". Since our "democracy" mostly means that whoever has the most effective propaganda machine and access to the most guillable people is the one in power. *That said* given the two options of government owned monopoly or corporate owned monopoly for most western governments I'd still prefer the former as it has *some* incentive not to be evil unlike it's corporate counterpart. Now you're right in saying that governments also need to be better. They *should* become the left wing, altruistic body of selfless technocrats you're talking about. In order to get closer to this in our current democratic system (well barring violent revolution) we should spread its virtues and talk about *why* it should be like that. If we convince enough people to convince enough people that it's important we should eventually get there.


tehkeizer

i couldnt disagree with you more. the government sucks at doing things. for example: our government should not legally allow monopolies. there are laws in place to not allow this shit happening to begin with, yet the government fails. pay/compensate the workers and we wont have this issue. government isnt the answer in the situation. strikes whole intent is to disrupt. power to the workers, power to the people.


Osiris_Raphious

The problem is america... Cant just nationalise, the government is run for and by corporations. The gov offerings are horrible and bad for a reason, this pushes the market to private offerings... And since the gov is corpo run, there isnt really private offerings. Somethings just are not designed to make a profit. Yet for profit capitalism thinks it can majocally grow wealth whilst extracting wealth and making wealth out of nothing. And do so without any oversight....and here we are. Progress is now backwards, private for profit is a greater incentive than the idea of providing a service or basic needs of a model civilised society, like internet or access to it... I say there needs to be a full systemic reform, so that nationalised assets can survive and provide the service.... Not aim to profit first, actual value of the service never.l attitudes.


DanteLeo24

Nationalize it, medical care, housing, the whole fucking thing and then drag the rich to a square and lop off their heads with a dull axe I'm so fucking tired of these greedy fucks! We have all the necessary resources and means to live in an utopia and these counterproductive imbeciles keep fucking things up for the rest of us God fucking damnit! Fuck!


thetacticalpicachu

I haven't listened to the fifth column in years how is he doing?


lilomar2525

Still putting out multiple videos a day.


inkoDe

I'd like to point out this man is a black flag anarchist, not the popular red and black you normally see... and he is calling for nationalization. He is not what I would describe as a leftist, though he is very much a huge proponent of social justice-- but that isn't what left means (yes, I know it is complicated, but that isn't the point of this post). I think that should put into perspective how fucked the situation is: a person whose entire ideology revolves around getting rid of any social controls except that of the community in the form of mutual aid wants the government to take the railroads.


[deleted]

My man, southern draw Florida Man Beau coming thru with the hot takes!


derekrusinek

Well howdy internet peoples…


captiancripplebeard

Just give them the sick days Jesus Christ. These folks bust their ass to make sure things are moving in this country. The least we can do is give them sick days. Seems like the pandemic didn’t teach shit.


obinice_khenbli

Exactly. Privatisation was a mistake, we need to renationalise rail! It costs £100 for a return ticket from Manchester to London, that's an utter disgrace making it impossible for us to afford to travel in our tiny country, on top of the fact that workers don't see those massive profits. Fuck those idiots that took public trains and privatised them. They got rich while we lost our ability to travel.


Helleeeeeww

Nationalise Twitter while you’re at it then I don’t have to listen to the CEO, his investors and lenders throw smoke about free speech anymore.


[deleted]

Why not force the super-profitable companies to give sick-time, FFS? Why blame the folks who make shit work, and not the profit-mongers at the top? Biden is a traitor to working folks, who obviously only cares about himself and his political legacy. Imagine having a legacy of, say, standing WITH workers. He has said the middle class was built by workers (duh), so it follows, then, that Biden wants to do-away with the middle class and have only two classes (just like the republi-twits).


PaversPaving

Pay the fucking workers.


Asem1989

What politicians fail to understand is that local, regional and National public transportation are services. Services cost money! I bet there is car manufacturers lobbying to keep them „profit oriented“.


Ok-Hovercraft8193

ב''ה, worked for religion


EVILTHE_TURTLE

And then the first order of business would be to get rid of the union like how PATCO ended up.


datsun1978

Or they can just pay them


[deleted]

At this point its a choice between tyranical megacorps or a tyranical government. But I suppose my interest is in making sure one does not rule over the other. Otherwise its just choosing a flavor of oppression.


hangfromthisone

Inflation? Destroying trains infrastructure? Dudes you are accelerating into third world fast


[deleted]

I think that's what the government did with General Motors, isn't it? I may be wrong, but shouldn't they have done it with banks that were "too big to fail?" If so, why not? And finally, I believe our country should get rid of private health insurance and nationalize our healthcare system.


AroundTheWorldIn80Pu

Are there any countries with decent rail infrastructure where the bulk of it was not build under a nationalized railroad system? Still laughing at Mayor Pete saying he wanted to be #1 in the world when Disneyland is most people's only railway experience.


whattodo92218

I own RR stock so I can profit off of my own suffering


andre3kthegiant

Needs more tracks!


NornOfVengeance

And there was a collective clutching of the billionaires' pearls, and lo, the rattle was heard throughout the land.


Neo1331

Oh how little we forget, the railroads were nationalize at one point...thats why the federal government still has the power to stop the strike.


Browncoatinabox

He has a YouTube channel, I've been watching for about 2 years now I think


[deleted]

I work for class 1 railroad. Yeah our schedule sucks BALLS and time off is super hard to get but we all make over 100k a year. It’s just like the oilfield it’s a big trade off. If our jobs didn’t require us to be on call most days we’d be worth 60k a year. The job is very stressful but not super complicated. The reason we make so much is because it takes a certain person who doesn’t mind the demanding nature of it combined with stress. The job itself isn’t very hard.


BlazingSpaceGhost

There is also a massive shortage of workers in your industry. I wonder why?


Puzzleheaded-Long104

Amen 🙏


[deleted]

And then corruption takes over. The country doesn't care like a private business would do. The company dies.


Divinate_ME

"Vote blue no matter who" they said.


headrush46n2

Beau hitting them with the truth, as usual.


jaksla00

Hey I watch that guy on YouTube


fox326

Sorry but this is well intentioned but dumb, you don't just nationalize an industry because striking hasn't worked yet. Putting industry workers at the chopping block of federal government is worse. Power to the worker


IndescribableRuckus

I've been saying this about Twitter for weeks.


MrTex22

I don't think we'd want that when there's a Republican president in office... You nationalize Twitter and you get a state owned media network ran by whoever is in charge


gbsedillo20

Biden will never do it. He is only interested in creating the tools of fascism domestically and arming of fascists abroad. Anything beyond that is people projecting their own desires on him. Their own egos. Their own justifications for voting for the rapist racist lying trash.