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[–] 76 points 15 hours ago (17 children)

Gadsen flag has me suspicious. Usually those folks turn around and say "and that's why we should privatize literally everything"

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  • [–] 61 points 13 hours ago (3 children)
  • [–] 29 points 10 hours ago (1 child)
  • [–] 4 points 3 hours ago

    I remember my brief indoctrination. I had a foolhardy belief we all agreed that taxation is theft and we would pay for private roads, then i thought for 2 seconds and realized id rather buy an xbox than a road, even if i use the road every day. I was also 11.

    I now realize those with hundreds of millions should be taxed into having dozens of millions maximum and billionaires shouldnt exist. Also maybe capitalism as a whole was a failed experiment that should end now

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  • [–] 6 points 13 hours ago (11 children)

    Its at least the humorous variant rather than the original.

    The opinion is also technically correct as 'the government' is a non-sapient entity that has no will of its own.

    Thats why we should do our best to elect people who care about us to run it.

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  • [–] 13 points 13 hours ago (10 children)

    I'm an anarchist. We should do our best to rid ourselves of government and self-manage.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 hours ago (7 children)

    You know how businesses are a collection of people?
    And a single person is employed by a business, and has a boss with a boss whith a boss andnao on.
    And a consumer is a single person?

    Those single people trying to "self manage" will always elect to fuck over the people below them.
    They just will. Because if they look after the people below them, if they stick up to those that "fuck over the people below": they wont get a raise. "You increased budget for the same level of output, thats a failure".

    So the manager that manages to fuck over the people below them will minimise budget increases while maximising productivity: by fucking over the little guy.

    "I just got a budget raise. Instead of hiring enough people, or paying them more to account for their increased skills... i could do just barely enough to meet quota (by fucking over the people below me) and get rewarded with a bonus. i could make everyone work harder, hire 1 person, and say "its just until they settle in to the company".". So that "self managed" person is hiding/masking their bullshit enough to say "i saved you 200k, give me a 20k bonus".

    "Self manage" doesnt work unless there are actual rules/laws/regulations that require "groups of people" unable to exploit the individual.
    The government.
    Making union-busting illegal (allowing a group of people "self managing" to counter anither group of "self managing") is good government.
    Protecting a consumer (who is "self managing") from exploitation/abuse by a company (a group of "self managing" people) is good government.
    Preventing people from handing out bottles of water to people standing in line to vote is bad government.
    Blocking laws that requires access to water, toilets, lunch breaks, safe working conditions is bad government.
    Allowing an employer to pay employees less than a local average required amount to cover rent/utilities/food/transport is criminal. Less than "raise a family" is just throwing the country under a bus.

    I would prefer a big government thats immune (highly resilient, and very transparent at least) to bribery, that actually makes and enforces laws that help people who "self manage".
    Someone on minimum wage cant fight a billionaire.
    Someone with 10 million (probably even 100 million) cant fight a billionaire.

    But anarchy is cool, better than right wing bullshit.
    Id prefer the "everyone for themselves" over the "everyone in the 'in group' against everyone in the 'out group'"

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  • [–] 4 points 9 hours ago (6 children)

    That's a lot of words to say "I think anarchy is a lack of government without abolishing capitalism or other hierarchies"

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  • [–] 2 points 9 hours ago (5 children)

    Ha. Probably.
    Does anarchy also want to get rid of capitalism? And other hierarchies?

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  • [–] 1 point 3 hours ago

    just adding to rockSlayer's excellent points, very roughly the word anarchy means without leaders (not necessarily without rules or organisation), just like monarchy roughly means "a single ruler" (mon/mono + archy).

    The common understanding of anarchy was largely ruined by propaganda and it's often conflated with concepts belonging to conservative and far right ideologies like anarcho-capitalism or conservative/free market libertarianism.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 hours ago* (3 children)

    Yes. There are various types of anarchy as well, that describe forms of organization though. For example, I'm specifically an anarcho-syndicalist. This means that I believe that the economy should be managed by unions that negotiate tentative agreements between each other for the union members to vote on. There's a lot more to say about how it's structured to prevent hierarchy, but that's the basic idea

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  • [–] 3 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

    Lots of hypotheticals, lots of questions.
    If you have some recommended reading, i am interested.
    These are more "i dont get it" questions. You dont have to convince me or anything.
    Im a bit drunk, and disappointed in a lot what the world is today. But anarchy sounds interesting

    So, who enforces the unions agreements?
    Medical union demands more steel halfway though the year and witholds medical services until its agreed?
    The steel union goes to a different medical union? Thats 500 miles away instead of 50? Maybe that medical union already have a steel supplier, so now the steel union is getting "pennies on the dollar".
    Medicine and medical services are required. Steel could be iron (basic tools), could be obsidian (cutting tools).... even basic care, recognising illnesses, severity of injuries etc doesnt require steel.

    And maybe the medical union doesnt want raw steel. They want medical tools.
    So the steel union treaties with the medical tools union who treaties with the medical union.... how are the steel unions need of medical services met?

    How long do these deals/treaties take?
    The steel union is working on a new tentative agreement, they have to hire more workers to produce the results, the agreement relies on more workers being hired before the other union agrees and ratifies the deal.
    So the steel union wants to increase the medical union treaty to account for the 200 new workers (why do the new workers not get medical coverage? Why would i work somewhere that doesnt have a locked-in contract to supply, nor has a medical contract to cover my health needs). Lots of chicken/egg or horse/cart scenarios.

    And what happens if a steel worker loses a leg. Medical union treats them under the contract... but that person is now physically unable to work at the steel foundry. What happens to them?

    And then what happens when an outside force attacks to loot and plunder these people that dont have any defensive forces?

    How do i go and watch a band perform? Or view some art?
    Is the road union responsible for roads on the entire continent? What about a bridge/tunnel to another continent? How does a driver pay for the roads?

    What kind of union would Einstein join?

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  • [–] 2 points 8 hours ago (1 child)

    I like how curious you are about this! I will admit that the kind of anarcho-syndicalism I advocate for is more of an amalgamation of ecoanarchism and unionism, rather than a formalized philosophy from someone else. A couple good starting points are "Anarchy" by Errico Malatesta and "Class Struggle Unionism" by Joe Burns. Throw in "Labor's Untold Story" by Richard Boyer and Herbert Morais for good background.

    The most important thing to understand about what I imagine, is that the economy is a unique modern idea known as a Library Economy; basically, we expand the idea of libraries into an entire economic system for all durable goods. This also has the benefit of eliminating the need for money. All of the members of the community contribute to producing the materials and finished products necessary for the community. The librarian(s) are elected by the community to manage the library.

    The community naturally does not have the means to produce everything, so the community elects a bargaining committee to negotiate with other communities around them for the materials and products they need but can't produce, and what they can provide in return to the other communities. The community then votes to ratify the bargaining agreement. This contract isn't like a typical union contract today, it outlines what the community is able to produce in excess while maintaining ~16hr work weeks and what the communities will work to accomplish together as a collective. Healthcare and housing are examples of working together to benefit everyone within all communities.

    The library manages the production and distribution of goods within and between communities. And because finished products belong to the entire community, there comes a point where some goods no longer need to be produced for the benefit of the community.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 hours ago

    What a great explanation! I hadn't heard it called a library economy before, but it's a perfect word for it. I joined an anarchist federation in my community and we were able to share things like food/meals, clothing, mental health support, even housing (kinda) all for free whenever someone needs it. Thinking of the whole as a library is incredibly fitting, especially because we had supplies outside on an old bookshelf at one point.

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