• 11 Posts
  • 106 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
cake
Cake day: June 14th, 2023

help-circle
rss

  • Space and time are not the same thing, they are facets of spacetime. We are only able to traverse space because we can properly perceive it, we do not have the ability to traverse time. I obviously understand the movie is fiction, it’s still a decent attempt at showing what it might be like to be able to truly perceive and traverse time. Our way to understand it (as depicted in Arrival) is the ability to actually see and experience the past and the future. You and I and no being we know about has the ability to see anything except the present.

    As an example, the screen you are reading this on presents a 2d image. It does not have the ability to produce a 3d image (though we can make illusions that seem like it sometimes). That screen is constantly moving through 3d space (on spaceship Earth), but you still wouldn’t say that it’s presenting a 3d image because it doesn’t have the ability to directly interact with that space. Just like how we are moving through time but don’t have the ability to directly interact with that spacetime.









  • Cowbee is mostly correct so I’m not going to address everything but there are 2 pieces I want to respond to.

    Greed is rewarded in every economy.

    That doesn’t seem to be true. Like an economy that doesn’t funnel money into individuals. Or even moneyless economies like Library or Gift. (Though moneyless economies imply we’re achieving actual communism, going beyond socialism)

    No, socialist systems like free housing, healthcare, education can exist alongside capitalism. Worker owned systems like cooperatives still operate in a market.

    Are you talking about free housing (etc) programs being managed as a cooperative, alongside a commodities market of cooperatives? If yes, that’s not capitalism, that’s socialism. If no, then you must be talking about a welfare state like what’s in Scandinavia, which isn’t socialist.

    Kind of relevant to both points, there are a few different schools of socialism so you could see if any make more sense to you.


  • First, don’t point your finger at capitalism as the problem.

    You already lost me

    Second, acknowledge & understand greed and how it is inherent in all human nature.

    I would rather acknowledge and encourage humans inherent nature to cooperate and grow together.

    Third, build systems that minimize the damage done by individual or corporate greed.

    Like building an economy that doesn’t inherently reward greed? I wonder what that would look like.

    Check against consolidation, monopolization, and short term Wall St like thinking of endless growth.

    These things exist because of capitalism

    Four, make sure socialist programs exist to support everyone

    That’s social welfare. Being socialist means the workers own the means of production

    capitalism is not the only way to live, it’s optional

    It’s so easy to live in the USA and just not do capitalism /s

    the European nations seem to be doing things quite alright

    Do you understand that their wealth was pillaged from the global south?

    Can you give me a description of what makes socialism bad solely based on how it works (not referencing any country who may have attempted it)?


  • I can’t look at NK because the world capitalist economy isolated them, so I’m not going to argue about their material conditions. I don’t think anyone is immune to greed, but I think having a system that rewards greed is going to turn it from an aberration to an epidemic.

    To your first point, let’s pretend you’re right and look at it in the abstract. What is to be done? Do you want to kill greed? How would you do that?




  • Yeah, I’m not sure there is an ethical tourism. Being a tourist means being an outside viewer of another culture. Even without the financial and environmental costs, it’s still treating these people and places like zoo attractions. Of course I don’t think it’s unethical to travel and experience a culture different than your own, I don’t even think I’m against the idea of vacation. I just think that you have to be willing to be immersed in where you’re visiting. Not keeping it at arms length and behind a lens, but where it has the ability to change you and teach you something real.


  • I think it’s important to note that this will kill a great many small businesses.

    Larger companies have a larger supply in giant warehouses. Small businesses order smaller quantities more often. They get fucked sooner with the costs going up. If a customer wants to support that small business they sometimes would have to pay twice what they could get it for from a larger company. This is a deep consolidation of wealth.