Skip Navigation

User banner

TheDemonBuer

@ TheDemonBuer @lemmy.world

Posts
2
Comments
1189
Joined
3 yr. ago

  • The Only Solution Capitalism Has Is to Sell Us More Useless Junk

    Jump

  • Capitalism has no more solutions because it is only concerned with one thing: maximum profits for owners and investors. The capitalist theorists swear up and down that exclusively focusing on profit maximization will inevitably lead to better lives for everyone, albeit indirectly or incidentally, but that is clearly not true. Maybe it was true enough at various points in the past, but it is absolutely not true anymore. Under capitalism today, the exclusive focus on profit maximization is REDUCING access to a better life for many people, not increasing it.

  • Democrats at Munich security summit to urge Europe to stand up to Trump

    Jump

  • Everyone in here saying, "why don't you stand up to him, Dems?"

    Guys, the Democrats don't do that. I don't think they even know how to do that. The whole concept is so alien to them you might as well be asking them to surf the rings of Saturn. No, no, the Democrats don't stand up to rich and powerful people, they gargle their balls. They can get those things so deep in their donor holes that they can tickle the scrot with their uvulas.

    If you're looking for the Dems to stand up to Trump, you're barking up the wrong tree, friends.

  • If you ditched your car, could you afford to leave the suburbs for a great urban neighborhood?

    Jump

  • More dense urban areas certainly should be more affordable than suburban or rural areas, but they're often not. Or at least not as much as they could be.

    One reason is I think many suburban and rural areas are being subsidized by urban areas, by using urban tax revenue to pay for suburban infrastructure.

    But I think the biggest reason is that urban areas are often in much higher demand, because that's where most of the jobs and housing are located, but the supply of housing is simply insufficient to meet the demand, thus driving up housing prices. And other prices, too. There's a supply demand imbalance for a lot of things in many higher density urban areas. And part of that is by design. The "suppliers" of homes, that is landlords, don't want to oversupply the market with housing, relative to demand, because that will push down rents, and they want rents to be as high as possible, because rents are their source of revenue.

    Until urban areas find ways to significantly increase the supply of housing relative to the demand, housing prices in those urban areas will remain higher than they could, or should be. Non-car transportation infrastructure also needs to be significantly improved in many urban areas, but that takes money. Money that many urban residents either don't want to pay, or can't pay because so much of their income is going to housing, and other costs of living. Edit: Plus, these infrastructure projects are often poorly managed by politicians, causing cost over runs and long delays.

    Finally, there's a social/cultural element to this that almost no one talks about because it's seen as problematic or taboo. People don't necessarily want to be surrounded on all sides by people they don't consider to be a part of their cultural or ethnic group. I'm sorry, I know, reading that makes a lot of people's butt holes clinch, but it's true. I think people would be much more willing to live in more densely populated urban areas if the people in these areas were more like them (culturally, ethnically). You can choose not to believe that because it makes you uncomfortable, but, uncomfortable though it may be, I think it is nonetheless true.

    Edit: I want to add that I think there is also a class element to this, in addition to the cultural/ethnic element. Many people move out to the suburbs because they don't want to be around people they see as being of a "lower class" than them. Edit, again: also, where there are higher rates of poverty in urban areas, there are often higher crime rates. Many urban areas are often very unequal, with wealthier areas that are better maintained with better schools, very near much poorer areas that are more poorly maintained with worse schools.

    Final edit: so, for better urban areas we need: to stop using urban tax revenue to subsidize suburban infrastructure. We need to significantly increase the supply of housing relative to demand, even perhaps oversupplying housing to drive housing costs down as much as possible. We need better non-car infrastructure and better leadership to better manage the building and maintenance of that infrastructure. We need to reduce poverty and inequality in urban areas as much as possible. If we do those things across all urban areas, I think the ethnic and cultural issues will work themselves out.

  • 🐧

    Jump

  • Why would you want a majority of people using the same distribution?

    I don't, necessarily. I just think it's the only way we will ever see widespread adoption of Linux on desktops. But, maybe I'm wrong. Honestly, I hope I am. I hope through changes in the culture and more education, people will make the switch. But, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't skeptical.

  • 🐧

    Jump

  • they will complain that MSO, Photoshop, Premiere doesn't work

    That's true. They will. But maybe if enough users switch to SteamOS, Adobe, and other software developers might port their software to it. That's really the only hope for widespread Linux desktop adoption.

    Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe more people will be willing to endure a learning curve for the freedom and openness of Linux, but I think that path to widespread Linux adoption would take a long time, if it happens at all.

  • 🐧

    Jump

  • Yeah, one more with the name recognition, like you mentioned. People don't know what Silverblue is, they don't know what an immutable distribution is, and, frankly, I don't think they're interested in learning. But they know Steam. Sad, perhaps, but true.

  • 🐧

    Jump

  • there are already a lot of immutable Linux distros

    Exactly. There are a lot, and that's confusing for most people. The fact that people have so many choices makes them less likely to switch. Most people want ease, simplicity and convenience.

  • 🐧

    Jump

  • Until there is one, single distribution that the vast majority of people can install on their existing hardware, that just works, easily and conveniently, Linux will remain a relatively niche desktop OS. I think when Valve finally releases the desktop version is SteamOS, that might do the trick.

  • 🐧

    Jump

  • Linux will really take off when Valve finally releases the desktop version of SteamOS.

  • The GOP’s “show us your papers” bill Is the latest effort to help Trump take over elections

    Jump

  • The national guard is a reservist group for the Federal military. There's way too much Federal involvement. No, new, independent state militias would need to be formed.

  • House GOP passes sweeping anti-voting bill that could disenfranchise millions, sends measure to Senate

    Jump

  • The colonial empires of Europe didn't just convert to democratic nations, they were destroyed, through revolutions and wars, including two devastating world wars. And from the rubble of the old European empires, nations were formed, many of which are democracies, though of varying quality. The US is a legacy of those European colonial empires. So, for the US to follow the same path, the US empire must be destroyed (although hopefully in a more peaceful, less harmful manner), so that new democratic nations can be formed in its place.

  • House GOP passes sweeping anti-voting bill that could disenfranchise millions, sends measure to Senate

    Jump

  • The US was always doomed to fail. You can't make a nation out of an empire. You can't build a democracy on top of slavery, colonialism and genocide.

    I think there are some well meaning people trying very hard to make it work, and god bless them, but they're certain to fail.

    The only thing to do now is try and find a viable exit strategy. The US Federal government will soon be completely and permanently taken over by the terrorist organization that is the Republican party. It's time for states to start forming their own, independent militias while the 2nd amendment at least still exists. We can hope that peaceful secession will be possible, but we certainly cannot plan on it.

  • The GOP’s “show us your papers” bill Is the latest effort to help Trump take over elections

    Jump

  • The Republican party is a terrorist organization. They have to be stopped. We have to wrestle power away from them by any means necessary. If we do not succeed, if the Republicans are able to seize total, permanent control of the Federal government, secession will be our only other option.

    Edit: it may be necessary for states to establish their own militaries, completely separate from the Federal government. It might be time for the 2nd amendment's true purpose to be realized.

  • Super Bowl Fallout: ICE Says Attacks on Agents Have Jumped More Than 1,300% Nationwide

    Jump

  • We can get those numbers up.

  • Deleted

    Permanently Deleted

    Jump

  • The thing is, most people don't form identity around shared class interests. That's what the Marxists realized in the 20th century when the international, proletarian revolution never fully materialized. Most people from identity around shared culture, shared language, shared traditions, beliefs, history, etc. It's not that class antagonism doesn't exist or doesn't matter - it does - but it matters within a cultural/national context, and it's only within that cultural/national context that class conflicts can be resolved.

    Edit: I want to clarify what I mean when I say that "most people don't form identity around shared class interests." I mean class interests in the Marxian sense, ie, ownership of the means of production. In Marxian theory, a person is a member of the capitalist class if they own the means of production, and they are working class if they do not own the means of production. Most people do not form a class identity around ownership or non-ownership of the means of production, but that doesn't mean that people don't form a class identity. They do. But, that identity is formed around cultural markers that define their class, within their broader, national/ethnic culture. For instance, an ethnically White person in the US might identify as working or upper class based on their job, the neighborhood they live in, the car they drive, the clothes they wear, the schools they attended, etc. So, nations/ethnicities are defined by shared culture, language, history, beliefs, etc, but within that that there are also class distinctions, but they are also cultural.

    It is here that people in the upper classes can use this to their advantage, by trying to stoke conflict between nations/ethnic groups, in an effort to deflect away from class conflicts. That is true, but that doesn't mean that different nations of people aren't actually distinct from one another, in the ways that I've already outlined (culture, language, traditions, etc).

    This reality is especially confusing in the US, because the US is an empire masquerading as a nation. But empires are not nations. The US had been able to maintain the appearance of a nation for sometime through establishment of a violent, White hegemony. The national identity of the US was maintained through violent repression of all non-White ethnic groups. That White hegemony has been getting consistently weaker, however, since about the mid part of the 20th century, and with it the idea of a single, US national identity. And that is where we are today.

  • Deleted

    Permanently Deleted

    Jump

  • This US is just a bunch of different ethnic groups competing for ownership and control of the country's cultural and political assets.

  • The Big Money In Today's Economy Is Going To Capital Not Labour

    Jump

  • You know things are changing when the Wall Street Journal starts sounding Marxist.

  • BASED?

    Jump

  • I'm sure it's true for some women. But I wouldn't be surprised if most working women were either married or in a committed relationship. Plus, a lot of households have two incomes out of necessity. Both partners need to work full time just to make ends meet.

  • Political division in the US surged from 2008 onwards

    Jump

  • Historic economic crises tend to do that.

    Neoliberalism collapsed with the financial crisis. It was fully exposed as a failed ideology. But, nearly two decades later, there still isn't a consensus on what should replace it. There are plenty of ideas, but no consensus. The division will continue until a consensus emerges.

  • Democrat wins election "comfortably" in big Donald Trump district

    Jump

  • Martinez campaigned on a platform focused on affordable insurance, stronger local infrastructure, and expanded access to health care, including mental health and substance-abuse services. She also focused on government transparency, support for public education, and advocacy for working families.

    It's almost like if you focus on the stuff that's most important to the vast majority of voters, you'll get more votes. Hmm...

  • Videos @lemmy.world
    TheDemonBuer @lemmy.world

    Canada PM's Speech at the WEF

  • News @lemmy.world
    TheDemonBuer @lemmy.world

    Analysis: The fertility crisis is here and it will permanently alter the economy | CNN Business

    www.cnn.com /2024/06/25/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html