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Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

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121–130 of 252 posts

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Why? I get the warm-and-fuzzy angle of "instilling civic responsibility", but you're effectively instilling that at gunpoint: the government forces you to do this, else you go to prison. Is that really such an enlightened thing to do? It takes away two years of your life, po…

> the government forces you to do this, else you go to prison You'll never guess what happens if you choose not to pay taxes.

[dead]

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And to agree with others on this thread, the folks who push for war should 100% be required to participate in them and lead from the front I agree but I don't think it goes far enough. Leading from the front of the best equipped military in the world doesn't balance your incentives against the misery you are inflicting on the innocent denizens of the poor country you're pointlessly destroying. There's also the econ…

Agree. I believe during WW2 the government put rules in place to prevent companies from making too much profit from the war. From what I recall in history class taxes were raised significantly as well. War is a mighty economic engine, this cannot be denied. But if we take an entire country to war, then it stands to reason that the entire country should benefit from the spoils (to the extent that there are any).

War is a mighty economic engine, this cannot be denied.

Isn't that the broken window fallacy writ large?

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#123

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

> Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Why? I get the warm-and-fuzzy angle of "instilling civic responsibility", but you're effectively instilling that at gunpoint: the government forces you to do this, else you go to prison. Is that really such an enlightened thing to do? It takes away two years of your life, po…

you're effectively instilling that at gunpoint: the government forces you to do this

I'm so sick of libertarian tropes. Starting every argument with oerwrought emotionalism has made me increasingly indifferent to your 'plight' over the years, because it's just victimization politics. Perhaps if we rebalanced public/private obligations overall tax burdens owuld be lower and society would be more pleasant to live in.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#124
post #9

> This Big Tech Firm Wants To Reinstate the Draft I still cannot help but look at Palantir as a company that just sends $ to the "oligarchs". I still wonder what real value Palantir provides the US Gov. After reading the article, are they looking for cheap tech labor. Is that because no one in tech wants to join the military due to pay ?

> I still wonder what real value Palantir provides the US Gov.

Their "product" has always been some hacky database joins behind a web app with a dark mode interface that makes the baby brains at DOD feel like they're in a 90s hacker movie

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#125

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

One of the many issues with this supposedly being for everyone is that rich folks like Donald Trump's dad will get a doctor to get them out of it. Rules for thee and not for me is basically their motto.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#126

To those HNers working at Palantir - and there's bound to be a few - what's your deal? You do realize what sort of company you work for, right? Is it cognitive dissonance or are you really a paranoid right winger that's fully on board with Palantir's efforts to enable authoritarian governments akin to 1984's Big Brother? I'm curious. Please feel free to explain how you go to work every day and do what you do. Fair wa…

They are fascists that like money

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#127
post #53

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

I dont know if its worth 2 years of our lives. 2 years! A lot can be achieved in just two years

Imagine how the recipients of the work done by those spending just two years of their life doing civic projects would feel.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#128

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

> These days, what are American soldiers dying for? A society with great health care? Fantastic education? Wealth and social stability?

Yes, except it's not their own one.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#129
post #14

Big tech supercorp wants war efforts to increase

the absurdity to even entertain this dorks musings.

imagine if tim cook or satya came out and talked about how there needs to be a draft. people would say lol shut up nerd and move on.

some dorkus who heads a company that's just providing over reaching surveillance data to governments so they can do dumb data analytics should have no say in these affairs, and we should promptly discard what they have to say. peter thiel is a sociopath, karp is a dork, these people just want to be known as "the guy with the ideas" and they've crossed deep into the "what are you even saying right now" territory.

tbh we should jettison them into the sun they're kind of a scourge on civilization and clearly lake any real stakes that keep them grounded in the world.

Re: Palantir Wants to Reinstate the Draft

#130

Other countries have compulsory military service, for example Finland. Generally speaking I am a fan of the idea that everyone should be required to do some kind of community service for 2 years once they turn 18. Military service would just be one option, could be other kinds of civic engagement. This can really help people feel connected to their society and understand that there is something to show up for. BUT -…

Utterly precise.

I absolutely love the idea of me or my children going through a challenging few years as a tool of our society, whether that be military training or something else.

...with the enormous caveat that our society must be cohesive, which it is no longer (culturally, politically - you name it).

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