That's how the bottom of the housing market works. Reform it? No. Do away with it altogether. — Bitter Crank
They would? News to me.
Any social contract is a tradeoff of benefits and sacrificed self-interests. — Bitter Crank
That's what I meant earlier, that marxists reject the world we presently inhabit. They're basically looking for a revolution. — frank
What are the differences between Marxism and Communism? — Outlander
Do they believe people are born equal and free? — frank
How do marxists imagine laws are justified? — frank
Build a society that works, and then we can discuss the facts on the ground. Until then, the discussion can only be about ideas, right? — frank
The idea that technically everyone is equal and free to pursue whatever dreams they wish to pursue runs into the implacable brick wall of reality. A few people might get over the brick wall, but most (the vast majority) do not. — Bitter Crank
It is a bitter realization to come to understand that our system operates pretty much for the benefit of the rich, and the poor are free and equal insofar as they obey. — Bitter Crank
One of the reasons why the average American worker (blue collar, white collar, high school drop out or Phd) hasn't made more progress towards their own liberation is that they have persisted in thinking we are all free and equal, and that the only reason the poor stay poor is that they are too god damned lazy to make it, and the reason people got ahead was because they were smart and very hard working, and they did it all by themselves. — Bitter Crank
We need to identify and understand the facts on the ground right now -- the ones that we keep tripping over. We won't get anywhere without doing that. It's dirty work, dealing with the brute facts of bourgeois ways and means, but somebody has to do it. — Bitter Crank
One of the reasons why the average American worker (blue collar, white collar, high school drop out or Phd) hasn't made more progress towards their own liberation is that they have persisted in thinking we are all free and equal, and that the only reason the poor stay poor is that they are too god damned lazy to make it, and the reason people got ahead was because they were smart and very hard working, and they did it all by themselves. — Bitter Crank
Like @fdrake I'm probably some sort of shoddy Marxist. Societies are always trying to shape ""human nature", and to some extent they are successful, for better and for worse, of which there are many examples.
I've found that a reasonably tolerant, reasonably stable, reasonably affluent society produces reasonably good results, for me, at least. An intolerant, unstable, and poor society is likely to produce more of the same. Virtuous cycles and vicious cycles beget more virtuous and vicious cycles.
Marxists will also quarrel with the notion that there is such a thing as "human nature". Clearly, and irrefutably, we are a species which manifests various characteristics -- just like Canadian geese, grey wolves, and porpoises do. In that way there is certainly "human nature". We use very complex language, for instance, and we use it a lot. We have a central nervous system with certain characteristics -- emotional, cognitive, and sensory capabilities. More "human nature".
People have better experiences, behave better, behave more peacefully, in a society which meets basic human requirements and affords available rich cultural experiences (like food, clothing, shelter, care, and the opportunity and means for self expression).
Showing me that the Milwaukee housing market is designed to exploit people who have no other choice than to live in a pile of Wisconsin snow doesn't explain much about the ideals of liberalism. It just indicates that people are fat bastards. — frank
selfishness — BitconnectCarlos
I would have thought selfishness was the defining neo-liberal notion. Not that selfishness was not present in classical liberalism, but that in neo-liberalism it is elevated to the core virtue.
we plan on taking it — Bitter Crank
and since I don't drive — Bitter Crank
We might need to define our terms here — BitconnectCarlos
And will you live as an ordinary citizen with others who you do not know and know nothing about you — Outlander
A potential fallacy I see from your last two posts is equating a high school dropout and their potential careers and resulting salaries with that of a PhD's. — Outlander
Note that capitalism involves a free market with multiple equal players. That is not what we have in many cases in our glorious new global economy. Neoliberalism developed as liberals become the apologists for oligarchy.
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