23rd December 2023, 10:53 AM
(This post was last modified: 23rd December 2023, 12:01 PM by Sacred Jellybean.)
I'm not well-versed in the history of communism, so it could be that there are other confounding factors that caused such mass murders and torture. Perhaps this is simply a talking point that capitalists trot out to justify why alternatives are not only a failure, but a death sentence. Still, a society that demands the occupations of its citizens is violating their individual rights and liberty. Perhaps if automation takes enough hold to make the human race a much more comfortable place to live, it will lift the burden of populations to have to toil away to put bread on the table and roofs over their heads.
Unfortunately, if history is any indicator, more efficient technologies will simply fill the time it saves to demand more production. What's the cause of this? Is it oppressive executives, demanding to wring just that much more blood from stone? Or is it that people inherently WANT something to occupy their time and feel productive? Sitting around, laying by the pool all day, with a perfect life, sounds boring. I'm a creative person, so I could probably dedicate extra time to something artistic. But that isn't so for everyone. What will it take for a person to feel constructive? It seems to me that it's necessary for a fulfilling life.
Human flourishing is more important than choice. In fact, studies demonstrate that people who have more choice end up more dissatisfied with the outcome. If I drank soda, I'd be okay with just having Coke and Sprite and not Pepsi and Dr. Pepper and Mr. Pibb and Sierra Mist and... you get the idea. (Coke is best though, so as my first proclamation as dictator-for-life, we'll keep that).
Free markets and competition are best, but capitalism needs strong regulations, and the government has an obligation to give basic necessities for its citizens. It's the ethical and necessary thing to do. Not every trade-off is an equivalent two choices.
Unfortunately, if history is any indicator, more efficient technologies will simply fill the time it saves to demand more production. What's the cause of this? Is it oppressive executives, demanding to wring just that much more blood from stone? Or is it that people inherently WANT something to occupy their time and feel productive? Sitting around, laying by the pool all day, with a perfect life, sounds boring. I'm a creative person, so I could probably dedicate extra time to something artistic. But that isn't so for everyone. What will it take for a person to feel constructive? It seems to me that it's necessary for a fulfilling life.
Quote:And, supermarkets in Scandinavia for example are dramatically smaller than those in the US. They have less access to the insane variety of products than we do. Because they spend so much on health care and other social services, they have less spending money than Americans. Do they get benefits we don't in terms of health care and such, yes, but it's not like the US doesn't have advantages over Scandinavia, it does. It just depends on what subject you are focusing on.
Human flourishing is more important than choice. In fact, studies demonstrate that people who have more choice end up more dissatisfied with the outcome. If I drank soda, I'd be okay with just having Coke and Sprite and not Pepsi and Dr. Pepper and Mr. Pibb and Sierra Mist and... you get the idea. (Coke is best though, so as my first proclamation as dictator-for-life, we'll keep that).
Free markets and competition are best, but capitalism needs strong regulations, and the government has an obligation to give basic necessities for its citizens. It's the ethical and necessary thing to do. Not every trade-off is an equivalent two choices.