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Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

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Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#71

Post by Retric »

GMoromisato wrote: post #66
gacgacgac wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll argue -- socialist is not the same as communist. Norway is not a communist country (despite arguably being a socialist one).

I agree. Moreover, socialism and capitalism are not antithetical--they are orthogonal. Norway and the US have socialism (e.g., Social Security) and capitalism (e.g., people invest their capital to fund industry). Socialism without capitalism is communism--the state owns everything. Capitalism without socialism is anarchy: if you don't socialize a legal system, law enforcement, and national defense, then you don't hav…

East India company and its armies are something of a counter argument to your second point.

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#72

Post by gacgacgac »

GMoromisato wrote: post #66
gacgacgac wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll argue -- socialist is not the same as communist. Norway is not a communist country (despite arguably being a socialist one).

I agree. Moreover, socialism and capitalism are not antithetical--they are orthogonal. Norway and the US have socialism (e.g., Social Security) and capitalism (e.g., people invest their capital to fund industry). Socialism without capitalism is communism--the state owns everything. Capitalism without socialism is anarchy: if you don't socialize a legal system, law enforcement, and national defense, then you don't hav…

Anarchism exists within socialism too-- the anti Francoist anarchists in Spain who were crushed by Soviets for doing the wrong kind of socialism, for example. Kropotkin's approach and anarcho syndacalism is anti-statist, and also anti-capitalist.

Anarchism is a complex area that can be capitalist, socialist, individualist, collectivist, primitivist, techno..logist? Basically, like communism, anarchism doesn't have just one flavor.

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#73

Post by pepa65 »

gacgacgac wrote: post #63
GMoromisato wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My rubric is irrelevant--I promised I wouldn't try to argue against whatever countries got named. I'm just curious what people consider a successful communist country.

I think you can look at different lenses of success. Vietnam successfully defeated a much, much more powerful imperial force. They have fewer freedoms, and are still recovering from the generational damage dealt to them, and they are hardly without plenty of valid criticisms. But they've had successes. China is a major global power. I think you'd have to accept that China is successful , even if that success doesn't…

Currently, what are the countries that are most primarily focused on the welfare of their people? Those I would consider good countries.

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#74

Post by gacgacgac »

GMoromisato wrote: post #67
gacgacgac wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you can look at different lenses of success. Vietnam successfully defeated a much, much more powerful imperial force. They have fewer freedoms, and are still recovering from the generational damage dealt to them, and they are hardly without plenty of valid criticisms. But they've had successes. China is a major global power. I think you'd have to accept that China is successful , even if that success doesn't…

I think it's useful to distinguish between political system and economic system. The traditional communist system was to have both a one-party state and state ownership of the means of production. Vietnam and China still have one-party states but have transitioned to market economies. The fact that there are Chinese billionaires implies that they are no longer communist. Cuba is still a traditional communist country-…

I think it's plausible China and US invert in that calculus over the next 30 years. The median US person (anecdotally) feels to me like they are getting worse and worse stakes. $45k a year is not a lot these days. Chinese are investing heavily in infrastructure in a way that's appearing to build a healthy amount of economic potential. Whereas the US is... struggling. Global happiness index scores for China and Vietnam have risen dramatically, while the US is sliding down.

But I could be wrong. Maybe there will be a reversion.

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#75

Post by gacgacgac »

Retric wrote: post #70
GMoromisato wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to disagree with the idea of the state redistributing wealth via taxes/benefits or even nationalized resources (e.g., mineral rights or FCC spectrum). Both have been features of US capitalism almost since the founding. But if you're saying the US is a successful communist country... well, I promised I wouldn't argue.

> I promise I wouldn’t argue Fair, to be clear I wouldn’t actually call the US a communist country either. I would say it’s more communist than modern day China, granted that’s a low bar. What’s IMO worth considering is just how much more communist it is today than in 1776. 22 million Americans work directly for the government (fed, state, local, post office etc), that rises significantly when you include research gr…

Communism is not "when the government does stuff", and "the more the government does, the more communist it is".

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#76

Post by Retric »

gacgacgac wrote: post #75
Retric wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I promise I wouldn’t argue Fair, to be clear I wouldn’t actually call the US a communist country either. I would say it’s more communist than modern day China, granted that’s a low bar. What’s IMO worth considering is just how much more communist it is today than in 1776. 22 million Americans work directly for the government (fed, state, local, post office etc), that rises significantly when you include research gr…

Communism is not "when the government does stuff", and "the more the government does, the more communist it is".

Basic government functions like the military aren’t communist.

Communism however is when the government does everything. Thus there’s a threshold where more government control is more Communist.

40% of US corn is turned into ethanol not because the free market thinks it’s a good idea but because the government does. That’s Communism in action inside the US, it’s inefficient central planning that fits right into the kind of stupid economic decisions you’d see in the USSR. https://afdc.energy.gov/data/widgets/10339

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#77

Post by smugglerFlynn »

Stevvo wrote: post #54
GMoromisato wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would love to hear an example of a successful communist state. You can even restrict it to a limited period in time (USSR 1959-1968 or something). I promise that I will not try to discredit your answer. I'm just curious what people think. But if you come back with "the communism I have in mind hasn't been tried yet" then I will definitely make fun of your answer.

China claims to be building a successful communist state. The argument goes that you need to have wealth first before you can redistribute it, and China is currently in the wealth-building phase of achieving communism.

If only things in life worked as well as things on paper

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#78

Post by smugglerFlynn »

jdlshore wrote: post #65
crazygringo wrote: post #27

Do NOT do this with your manager. The key part of this article is: > When you have something you want to do and that you feel is in scope for your position, but you want a bit of reassurance or to let the boss know what you are up to, it’s common to reach out and ask them for permission. Don’t. Don’t ask for a yes. Instead, offer a chance to say no, but with a deadline. If something is not in scope for your responsib…

This is a very strident response, presented with a lot of confidence, and I think that confidence is unwarranted. I haven’t read the article, so maybe it’s been covered, but here’s a simple way I usually “ask for no.” I send a message on Slack: “Hey (name), I’m planning to (do a thing) on Wednesday. Let me know if you have concerns.” It doesn’t come across as usurping authority, or sneaky, or any of the other very it…

The culture you are creating is actually the opposite: no ownership, and no autonomy

You are delegating decisions that are in your responsibility to another person (=no ownership), and you are not able to progress unless someone else [even if silently] green lights your approach (=no autonomy).

Another similar management anti-pattern is “please copy me on all your communications” [for a chance to override your decisions]. This one feels more obviously off for many people, but works exactly the same way.

This is a valid team collaboration approach, but a major smell if people run their decision making like this with higher-ups. People often mix up these two.

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#79

Post by i_am_a_peasant »

gacgacgac wrote: post #63
GMoromisato wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My rubric is irrelevant--I promised I wouldn't try to argue against whatever countries got named. I'm just curious what people consider a successful communist country.

I think you can look at different lenses of success. Vietnam successfully defeated a much, much more powerful imperial force. They have fewer freedoms, and are still recovering from the generational damage dealt to them, and they are hardly without plenty of valid criticisms. But they've had successes. China is a major global power. I think you'd have to accept that China is successful , even if that success doesn't…

Vietnam is legit a good place to live tbh. My wife is Vietnamese and we visit at least twice a year.

Without making any value judgment on the government itself. I think it’s healthy for the planet to have people grow up in as many kinds of environments as possible. You know, as long as it’s not a full on totalitarian regime like North Korea or a place where women are treated like objects like anywhere ran under sharia law.

Re: Ask for no, don't ask for yes (2022)

#80

Post by tonyedgecombe »

caminante wrote: post #55
waisbrot wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An easy example: you need 5 minutes of planned downtime (which is entirely within SLAs) to execute a major upgrade, but the system is also used by Sales for demos to major new clients. "We're going to take 5 minutes of downtime on Wednesday evening for an upgrade. Contact me ASAP if this is a problem for you." If you don't hear from the team, then it's OK to go.

You know the "no response" happens all the time. OK. I'm your pointy haired boss Thursday morning. > Hey, @waisbrot. You didn't mention anything in your note whether you got a response from the Sales team. I got a call from the VP Sales. He's pissed. You know they're at [big sales conference] and busy. The system outage impacted two Top 10 customer account demos. Why didn't you call me if you thought it was important…

Poor management will find a stick to beat you with whatever you do.
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