Billions are suffering so a few could live in luxury and exploit the People

@greenteakitten said in #24:

At the end of the day, I have yet to see a single solution proposed to this that isn't hugely impractical/completely ignores the needs of the working class.

Ah, the TINA illusion. I mean if you described our political system to anyone living one thousands years ago they would also probably think that's highly impractical and completely unrealistic, and that it would never happen in the real world.

People get uncomfortable when this is said but...a lot of social justice movements are pretty impossible to support when you're dirt poor already. In fact, a lot of progress made in the name of alleviating exploitation of the working class only lines the pockets of the upper class writing the laws...so...

It's not that I get uncomfortable... It's that it's completely false. Writing the laws is not everything, in fact I'd argue it's the least important part of the political struggle. Laws establishing new rights are very seldom written out of pure benevolence, and most often they are the result of a long struggle.

Historically, EVERY social progress -- be it worker's right, women's right, civil rights, LGBT people's right -- were obtained by the people themselves who were concerned by it -- who in many cases were dirt poor as you say, and/ or victims of oppression that made it difficult to take any political action -- and yet they did FIGHT for it -- much more than by the alleged benevolence of the ruling upper class.

I bet everybody in this thread belongs to the TOP-20%, TOP-10% or ever TOP-5% richest people of the Earth.

So if you want to dispossess the rich, think twice.

#32

@Noflaps #30

i admit, i cited a bit lax.

i , in #16 & #23, went against your picture, in #3, that everything were fair and equal chances for whoever works hard [it's indeed what i read there, #3:]

What are "we" to do if we hope for great wealth? Work hard and do something really creative and useful that lawfully and properly helps many, many. many people. Admittedly, that's not at all easy to accomplish. Perhaps that's why many who DO accomplish that seem to start early.
But some do accomplish it! And I don't dislike them for it. They tend to pay more tax [...]

And some don't even have to launch rockets into space! Take any famous musician or athlete, for example, and check out how long and hard they practiced and worked on their talent, often when others were taking it easy, and often well before they had much assurance that they'd even succeed.
Sure, it can be fun to play sports or make music -- but to do it well, it's also typically a mind-boggling amount of work before success occurs

well, indeed, for every artist who becomes famous and wealthy, you have a hundred or thousand that worked just as hard, but only one can be at the top; and below the top1, wages tumble fast unto just about making a halfway decent at its best, but mostly simple living, way below what that hard work would deserve them if things were fair. beauty or skill just don't pay. people give their money for car, house, boat, stocks, hardware, software, investing in their company ... not for being offered to witness s.o. elses stellar achievements

@GutenMorgenWelt points in an excellent direction with his most recent post, above.

Far too many who feel themselves exploited and unfairly treated don't understand how relatively well-off they actually are.

It's a big world out there. And not everybody can sit at their own computer and play chess or comment part of the day.

Not being "wealthy" is not a sign of failure or hideous exploitation.

To the contrary, the average person in the West -- absent self-sabotage of various forms or a bout of bad luck -- has a pretty good chance to be reasonably content, if not overjoyed.

Many seem to liken themselves almost to starved peasants whipped and oppressed by some czar. But the Covid Crisis was not nearly as harrowing and hideous as, say, world war I or its aftermath. We've actually not been as harshly treated by fate as our ancestors. Not even close. At least not in the West or in some of the most advanced and stable non-western countries.

We needn't believe every politician who tells us that our lot is unfair, unfair and needs their help to rectify. Too many of those politicians are surprisingly well off. And too many of them don't seem to have achieved much outside politics. Or even inside politics.

But too many don't seem to notice. There's far too much well-managed internet fashion.

#34

oh, and i'd like to point everyone to the world's countries' corruption index, https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024,
soas to not be mislead by their own experience and viewpoint about well functioning laws, fairness, rules, justice, equal rights in life and job

as corruption is paired with injustice;
and where mafias rule, corruption is paired with violence

@GutenMorgenWelt said ^

I bet everybody in this thread belongs to the TOP-20%, TOP-10% or ever TOP-5% richest people of the Earth.

So if you want to dispossess the rich, think twice.

What? There's no way. I am for one. Probably many others...."evil regimes existed back then" it way by NO WAY so extreme. When was power concentration so extreme? The bilderberg group members run cca 99.999% or the Earth economy, school government water supply housing taxes industry. Capitalism allowed all this. It never existed before capitalism. About North Korea: have you been there or listened to the infos of your government known for ruining the world ever since it existed, the most militant nation, the USA which expoited all countries money, resources and they ruined their weather with the military technology and known for fanatic lying. The whole world would know this and when things change we will demand not justice but vengeance.

And they force fed capitalism and democracy to well working hierarchic systems. Japan too was force globalised after 2 nuclear bombs against civilians. Where is the justice?????They ruined their people natural resources and culture and dezinformed the masses. All nations except Korea pay taxes to the house of lords in the city of london.

The Rothschilds invented a weather dominator?

(Also, my government only started ruining the world in the mid 20th century, thank you very much!)

@Atnaay said ^

Because all nations except 1 are in unpayable dept to the Rotschilds.

Can it with the antisemitism and conspiracy kook stuff.

I personally don't think billionaires should exist and that the wealthy should be taxed more with loopholes closed so they can't worm their way around and not pay their fair share.

But I don't hold with racism or antisemitism. Buzz off.

"weather"

• Yes, it is a proven fact that our use of fossil fuels has caused climate change.