We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
erikmcclure.com
We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
1–10 of 421 posts
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#2as this fantastic video about the popcorn button explains. Our economic race to the bottom has been sabotaging almost every aspect of engineering in our society. To save a few cents per microwave, the cheap microwaves don’t include a humidity sensor and then lie about having a popcorn button when it can’t actually work properly, which leads to everyone saying “don’t use the popcorn button” and now nobody uses the popcorn buttons even on microwaves that actually have a humidity sensor and a working popcorn button.
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#3I have a saying, “Capitalism is the means by which we screw each other over.” But it’s better than the alternative “Communism, the lack of means by which we screw each other over.”
I don’t think Socialism is the answer, which is simple Capitalism with bits of Communism sprinkled in to soothe over the more egregious failures (or to pretend to do, which is even worse).
We need something truly new.
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#4It's ironic for him to suggest government-run healthcare when it doesn't benefit from the #1 best coordinator of resources on the planet - price. He accidentally highlights the reason we have so many coordination failures - smart people with little wisdom think they can solve every problem, using other people's money, with no consequences for their failure.
Not everyone should get free college, and not every house should have fiber optic cable. We have the opportunity to fix all easily fixable issues if we let go of our ego, and admit how our conceited actions have caused the coordination failures we see today. We absolutely will not achieve a better future by continuing the exact same self-aggrandizing approach to problem solving that brought us here, where we think every problem is simple, that our morality is above reproach, and that by the stroke of a pen we can alleviate any ill.
“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design." - Hayek
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#5It's ironic for him to suggest government-run healthcare when it doesn't benefit from the #1 best coordinator of resources on the planet - price. He accidentally highlights the reason we have so many coordination failures - smart people with little wisdom think they can solve every problem, using other people's money, with no consequences for their failure. Not everyone should get free college, and not every house sh…
Price absolutely still exists in government run health care… do you have any idea how it actually works in developed countries?
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#6I have a saying, “Capitalism is the means by which we screw each other over.” But it’s better than the alternative “Communism, the lack of means by which we screw each other over.” I don’t think Socialism is the answer, which is simple Capitalism with bits of Communism sprinkled in to soothe over the more egregious failures (or to pretend to do, which is even worse). We need something truly new.
I assume what you really mean by socialism is "democratic socialism" or "market socialism", because they kind of fit your description, but not other "socialism"s like anarcho-syndicalism.
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#7[flagged]
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#8I have a saying, “Capitalism is the means by which we screw each other over.” But it’s better than the alternative “Communism, the lack of means by which we screw each other over.” I don’t think Socialism is the answer, which is simple Capitalism with bits of Communism sprinkled in to soothe over the more egregious failures (or to pretend to do, which is even worse). We need something truly new.
I’m fond of the idea that capitalism is like fire. You can use it as a tool and for cooking and warmth, but it must be regulated lest it get out of control and consume everything it touches.
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#9I have a saying, “Capitalism is the means by which we screw each other over.” But it’s better than the alternative “Communism, the lack of means by which we screw each other over.” I don’t think Socialism is the answer, which is simple Capitalism with bits of Communism sprinkled in to soothe over the more egregious failures (or to pretend to do, which is even worse). We need something truly new.
Hopefully it's not "The Great Reset" which uses a derivation of an even older form of governance...Neo-Feudalism...along with "Public-Private Partnerships"...aka Fascism.
A culture of bottom up independent & responsible creators would be a freedom-oriented alternative. Perhaps things are not fixed because the majority of the population is nudged & habituated to give up their responsibility to governments, corporations, & "experts". This includes the responsibility to hear all information in a pure uncensored & unnarrated form...And the responsibility to make decisions based on all available information. Also, the responsibility to take action based on the information & decisions. Convenience & irresponsibility comes with a great price.
If you let let them take your responsibility away from you, they will have sole determination of your conditions...Feudalism & Fascism has historically not ended well for the subjects, including the subjects that profit from these governance models.
Re: We Could Fix Everything, We Just Don't
#10[flagged]
Not sure I like jokes like this, because they imply suggested ideas are bad, because suggested target is bad.