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The whole thing was a scam

garymarcus.substack.com

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Re: The whole thing was a scam

#301

Post by therobots927 »

addandsubtract wrote: post #94

This is only a surprise to HN, because all the other threads about the corrupt US regime have been flagged before. I guess now is a good time as any to start paying attention. Who would've thought that attention is all you need?

I think you’re making a major unspoken assumption which is that all of the downvotes / flags are from real users. HN has no form of identity verification and is functionally equivalent to 4chan. Theres no telling how many bot farms exist on here with the sole purpose of manipulating discourse to be favorable to the current US administration and also Israel.

Re: The whole thing was a scam

#302

Post by bostik »

ben_w wrote: post #260
saidnooneever wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

corruption follows :') ... corruption is already there. just the color of the banner is changing. dont be naive.

EU isn't perfect, even the best nations within it are not perfect (though still better than the US is or was), but only the worst two EU nations seem to be politically corrupt to the point of "danger" levels. There's plenty of room to fall if people are complacent. General corruption: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

As a person from a country constantly near the top of that list, I have been saying this for more than two decades: holding the #1 spot in CPI tells nothing how well things are going for a country; it merely highlights how bad things are even for the runner-up.

Re: The whole thing was a scam

#303

Post by latexr »

> In capitalism, the market decides.

No, capital (i.e. money) decides. It’s called capitalism not marketism. The difference is important because it means that if you’re already rich (or are perceived as such, and thus can get loans, extensions, and the like) you can continue to survive longer than the alternatives.

Re: The whole thing was a scam

#304

Post by 127 »

tgv wrote: post #245
127 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Free market capitalism and corporatocracy are two opposite things. (Free markets don't exist without strong institutions and regulation)

I don't know how you can say that. What does "free market capitalism" entail according to you? Wikipedia's definition is just a ruse to be able to claim that free market capitalism is sane, but you can't exclude a governing authority and monopolies at the same time, because the latter always arises. So, in reality, you have to choose, and if you choose absence of authority, corporatocracy is an automatic extension of…

Every unmaintained system degrades. That's next to a tautology. In my opinion, the base problem is modern technology itself that creates the capability for widespread wealth inequality and social fragmentation, without needing real labor or social bonds anymore.

Re: The whole thing was a scam

#305

Post by 127 »

heavyset_go wrote: post #185
127 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Free market capitalism and corporatocracy are two opposite things. (Free markets don't exist without strong institutions and regulation)

They're both capitalism

You are against private property rights? Because abolishing the right to owns things is the only way to prevent any form of capital accumulation.

Re: The whole thing was a scam

#306

Post by heavyset_go »

127 wrote: post #305
heavyset_go wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're both capitalism

You are against private property rights? Because abolishing the right to owns things is the only way to prevent any form of capital accumulation.

Of course not, workers' rights to own and democratically control capital is paramount.

Re: The whole thing was a scam

#308

Post by CamperBob2 »

jongjong wrote: post #161
fnimick wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm more upset about the large group of people in the startup industry, possibly even a majority, who would be totally happy about countries slipping into fascism if they made a little more money along the way. Who cares about ethics and morality? Those aren't profitable!

Yes, but it's not just personal moral failings, the system itself is corrupt. Rich people aren't supposed to be constantly living on the precipice and forced to double down on evil to keep their wealth. It shouldn't be all-or nothing. This is the result of our debt-based system. This is deeply abnormal. Rich people should be comfortable in every way and should have the surplus to take a moral stance without risking t…

Rich people aren't supposed to be constantly living on the precipice and forced to double down on evil to keep their wealth.

That does resonate to some extent, when I see people of actual merit (or at least, people who have done things with actual merit) like Jeff Bezos and Jensen Huang, lining up to suck meritless people like Trump off.

The problem is, once the rich people have secured their fortunes through self-abasement, they never seem to use those fortunes to redress the humiliation they've suffered. That makes your argument a hard sell. Would Bezos and Musk and Cook and Huang and Dell and Altman and Soon-Shiong and Zuckerberg and Mickey Mouse -- all the figures from the famous Ann Telnaes cartoon and more -- still be as supportive of Trump if they didn't have to be?

We have no evidence to the contrary.

Re: The whole thing was a scam

#310

Post by wolttam »

arttaboi wrote: post #203
juleiie wrote: post #75

In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. This HST quote seems severely outdated by now. They have already been caught, committed all the sins of stupidity and some more. All of it to the clapping mob of people who yearn for some kind of social revenge. And it’s happening everywhere these last years. Who could possibly know…

Modern spin: In a closed society where everybody is guilty, the only crime is not being in power.

the only crime is being poor.
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