I also believe that the human element might be a problem with communism. One of the ingenious things about capitalism is that it takes a terrible vice - greed - and yokes it for everyone’s benefit. I believe that our system is out of whack, though. The degree of inequality that we tolerate is outrageous - these days, the richest scoop up all the benefits and leave the workers only enough to survive (or less). The fact that 3 men control more wealth than the poorest 175,000,000 other Americans is offensive - especially when you consider that the poorest have no homes or food. It’s even worse when you look beyond American borders.

Thanks for the reply! The article you linked was very interesting. I am aware that western propaganda emphasizes the challenges and failures of communism while sweeping the manifold problems with capitalism under the rug, and it is nice to consider a different viewpoint. There is also an unfair tendency among western philosophers to link authoritarianism with communism when there is no philosophical connection. My personal belief is that authoritarianism was already pervasive in imperial Russia and China, and that better explains the brutality that has been unfairly associated with communism.

I would also like to say that capitalism is way less efficient than people are led to believe - take fast fashion, for example. Excess shoes and clothes are constantly being dumped on developing countries because the manufacturers failed to find a buyer at any price.

OP didn’t respond so I will take a shot. My understanding is that under communism, the economy has to be planned by the government. Under capitalism, the price of shoes (for example) is usually determined by the demand for shoes and the amount of shoes that can be manufactured. If demand falls, the price falls. If manufacturing capacity increases, the price falls more, etc. This mechanism has feedback loops that make it efficient. In theory, companies never make more shoes than they can sell, because if they do make too many, they can sell the excess by cutting prices. Under communism there is no free market, so the mechanics of supply and demand don’t work. Some communist bureaucrat conducts a study and estimates that the country will need 100k pairs of shoes next quarter. The government then makes those shoes in a state-owned factory. Suppose, though, that it turns out that the country needed more. With no free market, there is no competitor to step in and meet the demand for shoes - now you have a shortage. Similarly, you can have considerable waste if you grow too many apples or whatever. In true communism, there is no price to adjust - you either have an apple voucher or you don’t. Thus there is generally more problems meeting demand efficiently. This is, in fact, exactly what we saw under the Soviet Union - the stores were often stuffed with unwanted items while long lines developed for items that were in high demand. Without any consideration of authoritarianism etc., this is an often-cited reason for the failure of communism.

I am not a political theorist or an economist, so please correct me if I am wrong.

The headline should be amended to include the USA among the things Trump doesn’t care about.

Whew! The most pressing issue in the US is finally resolved. Now that the 1-2 trans girls who live in the entire state of Georgia can’t play badminton, the government can get to work on feeding, housing, educating, and providing healthcare to all Americans.

A lot of the bad stuff that happens on the internet is directly related to perceived anonymity. If you want to bully, harass, make bigoted statements, disseminate propaganda, or shill for a corporation, it’s better to be anonymous. If a country gives its citizens the right to free speech and reasonable protections for privacy, a non-anonymous internet is better. Besides, anonymity on the internet is an illusion for about 99% of internet users. All of the big social media companies know who you are - their whole business depends on the data they collect on you, and that data is worth much less if it can’t be associated with an individual. They also have heavy incentives to share that information with the government. Try making an ‘anonymous’ threat against your country’s leader and see if any law-enforcement types decide to visit you.

Insanely rich, Intellect, Invulnerable. You could totally change the world - you would be like Elon Musk with a brain. When the shitty oligarchs throw you out a window, you just bounce.

The racism was there before Trump. He just gave the klan permission to ditch the sheets

Because this is Trump’s America now :(

Sweet! Four more years of Trump presidency, and Elon Musk can just pay for it out of pocket.

I remember when Trump joked about running for president. He also joked about sexually assaulting women. Then he joked about supporting white supremacists, undermining democracy, etc. Every Trump joke is a probe to see if his supporters will back him.

I am a lifelong atheist. I attend a very progressive christian church where I am open about my lack of belief. They seem to accept me, including the minister. I don’t try to convert them and they don’t try to convert me. I started going because I was lonely and I wanted some opportunities to do good. Their whole theology is about helping people and trying to change the world for the better. The two major precepts are “God is love” and “Jesus has no hands but yours.” They don’t talk about sin or redemption. We have a huge rainbow sign that says “All are welcome,” and we actually mean it. The minister talks about Jesus as a teacher, not as a saviour. We raise money and food for the local food bank, and provide community outreach to people, many of whom have disabilities. We sing. We eat cookies and drink absurd amounts of coffee. I suddenly have so many sweet old lady friends, and even a handful of friends my own age.

The amazon reviewer is confusing chloroform (an inhalation anaesthetic that, in movies, is used to knock out people for kidnapping) and chlorophyll (a harmless substance used by plants for photosynthesis)

You may be faster at the till than I am. I admit I lack practice. You make a good point about waiting in line behind slow customers, though. One of the biggest advantages of the self checkout is the single queue. Having six lineups for six checkouts never made sense.

Self checkout is not automated, you fool. you are doing the work for the company. It is not a new technological solution. A human is still working the till.

When my wife was in university, she went on an exchange with a dozen other students to a Chinese university. The program assigned her group a pair of local guides.

The first night, the guides offered to take them out for snake. Everyone refused.

The second night, the guides repeatedly offered everyone snake, saying that there were plenty of local places to get snake. Everyone refused.

The third night, her group had a discussion. They didn’t want to offend their gracious hosts. Snake had to be a popular local delicacy, because the guides repeated their offer daily.

They decided to be adventurous. One of them spoke up: “yes, we would like to try snake…”

The guide said, “what kind of snake do you want? chips? hot dog?”

The team is all assembled - time to take on the elites!!!

I have never saved time at a self checkout unless I had 1 item. I am absolutely not interested in looking up the code for a poblano fucking pepper using their shitty menu.

Haha like the ONLY good thing about self checkout is the potential for stealing. As for the small talk thing: the most I’ve ever had to say to a cashier was “hello” and “thank you”. I can handle that.

I can’t even begin to understand the “you are being an asshole” argument. Am I an asshole because I protect jobs? Am I an asshole because I don’t want to pad the earnings of a multi-billion dollar corporation at the expense of workers? No, dude, I am 100% with you. I have abandoned my purchases as well, and I actively avoid stores that push self checkout.