Hitch on the royal family.

[Youssuf Ramadan]

A lot of people think that any move away from today's rampant capitalism would immediately mean queuing 3 days for a cabbage, usually the same people who, in the next breath, moan like buggery because they've lost their job as the company has outsourced it to Eastern Europe to make bigger profits while paying a quarter of the wages and none of the benefits.   It's a spectrum.  We're leaning too far towards the business-is-everything model right now.  It is difficult to see how the trend will be reversed unless politicians and businesses start thinking in terms of people and planet rather than short term profit.  And now with 'multinationals', many companies have no allegiance to anyone other than their shareholders.  Plus.. the idea of a government servicing the needs of its people is pretty much the definition of 'communism' than the US has used since the middle of the last century.  Can't see things changing any time soon.

[Colanth]

then the government comes along to play referee to keep crookedness to a minimum and help those who fall between the cracks.

Actually governments, like individuals, that hang around too much money for too long get corrupted.  Now the government is there to play referee and make sure the crooks don't steal too much from each other, and that those who fall between the cracks stay there.

[hillbillyatheist]

That's why at least in theory we have a system where people can vote, out bad guys, and division of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches and a press who is supposed to act as a watchdog of democracy.

Of course when the press is more interested in talking about royal babies and Justin Bieber, and people are more interested in watching honey boo-boo, We're getting what we deserve. Or should I say idiots are and the rest of us are being drug along with them.

[SilentFutility]

well in my fantasy world people would work for the benifit of mankind, not their own gain. I make good music not for prestige and money but to add to culture. a doctor works to save lives, not to make money.

now I realize I'm dreaming and it ain't gonna happen. humans are basically selfish, which is why capitalism works better than communism. it works best because it makes everybody doing things for their own selfish gain benefit others anyway.


then the government comes along to play referee to keep crookedness to a minimum and help those who fall between the cracks.

its the best we can hope for. at least tax the rich enough to make sure poor people can get healthcare, food, shelter and that a good education is accessible to all.

a kind of mixing of socialism and capitalism.

In my opinion Germany does a good job of striking the balance at the moment.

You also do play music because you enjoy it though. Ultimately, a lot of jobs really aren't that fun, and there has to be something in it for the person doing it, even if you go back to before there was a centrally organised society and people were subsistence farmers, ploughing fields and tending crops all day with no equipment probably isn't that enjoyable but you had to do it to get food.

[hillbillyatheist]

I think eventually shitty jobs will get handed off to robots, freeing people to more fulfilling lives. at least I hope so.

[Shiranu]

I think eventually shitty jobs will get handed off to robots, freeing people to more fulfilling lives. at least I hope so.

The unemployment rate is going to be staggering when that happens.

[hillbillyatheist]

I think eventually shitty jobs will get handed off to robots, freeing people to more fulfilling lives. at least I hope so.

The unemployment rate is going to be staggering when that happens.

my hope is that at some point robots will make communism feasible.