Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

scottsantens.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 89 posts

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#51

Post by HDThoreaun »

ajross wrote: post #12
resters wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

indeed! HN has gone way to the authoritarian right. Not just socially but also a lot of HN readers favor economically authoritarian policies like tariffs!

My guess is the tariff thing is just a fad and no one actually wants a trade war. It's something Trump personally thinks is a good idea, and that sounds good in a stump speech. But all the folks advising him, including the ones from our own subculture (Musk, Ackman, Sacks) know better. I'm choosing this moment to try to be optimistic: if Trumps turns over the reins of government to a bunch of technocrats... it's not…

Pretty sure that if Trump learned anything from term one its that he shouldnt rely on technocrats and should try to install as many sycophants as possible.

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#52

Post by mmooss »

skhunted wrote: post #29
mmooss wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you say that? Without tariffs, the most efficient producer makes the good or service. With them, someone less efficient may make them. Efficiency includes, but isn't only, waste and pollution.

By waste I meant the consuming of goods and accompanying trash that comes with it.

How is that made better by tariffs? Do you mean the increased prices will reduce consumption, which will reduce the accompanying waste?

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#53

Post by skhunted »

honkycat wrote: post #48
skhunted wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But they have done that and so a government mandated solution is warranted.

Look into the Chinese identification systems associated with internet access to see where this leads. It isn't good.

We don’t have to do it the same way the Chinese do. We can implement it in a bad way or in a good way.

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#54

Post by skhunted »

JohnFen wrote: post #46
skhunted wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m very liberal and very much opposed to authoritarianism. I don’t see the problem with forcing online content to be different than offline content. You gotta show ID or otherwise prove age to buy alcohol and pornography offline. Why not for online as well?

Because when you show ID to buy age-restricted things in person, nobody is keeping a record of anything. A clerk looks at your ID and that's the end of it. Online is a completely different beast on that count.

I don’t think this is a compelling argument for keeping things as they currently stand.

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#55

Post by skhunted »

mmooss wrote: post #52
skhunted wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By waste I meant the consuming of goods and accompanying trash that comes with it.

How is that made better by tariffs? Do you mean the increased prices will reduce consumption, which will reduce the accompanying waste?

Yes.

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#56

Post by fallingsquirrel »

skhunted wrote: post #54
JohnFen wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because when you show ID to buy age-restricted things in person, nobody is keeping a record of anything. A clerk looks at your ID and that's the end of it. Online is a completely different beast on that count.

I don’t think this is a compelling argument for keeping things as they currently stand.

Governments have a terrible track record when it comes to privacy. Everything from the USPS selling your info when you move, to the 2 dozen texts I got yesterday because the government sells[1] your voting records on the cheap. Maybe you don't agree but surely you at least understand why people are widely worried about a future where the government decides to sell your adult website access records to make a few extra bucks.

[1]: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/voter-re...

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#57

Post by skhunted »

fallingsquirrel wrote: post #56
skhunted wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think this is a compelling argument for keeping things as they currently stand.

Governments have a terrible track record when it comes to privacy. Everything from the USPS selling your info when you move, to the 2 dozen texts I got yesterday because the government sells[1] your voting records on the cheap. Maybe you don't agree but surely you at least understand why people are widely worried about a future where the government decides to sell your adult website access records to make a few extra…

They should be worried. Bad governance is bad. But people do want something to be done about ease with which children can access pornography online. A solution will eventually be imposed if the industry doesn't clean things up.

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#58

Post by brg »

mmooss wrote: post #22
cassianoleal wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you call tariffs authoritarian? I would generally put them in the protectionist basket but I don't see how a country can be authoritarian towards another or either populations by simply imposing tariffs.

Tariffs are at least anti-libertarian.

Absolutely agree. The libertarian view of tariffs is that they limit free trade, and are often used for inefficiently for market manipulation than as a funding source.

One question this US election cycle has brought up is how to best fund a government. Every reasonable person understands that a government needs funding to operate. But every mechanism employed has trade offs. But I have not found enough information to develop an informed opinion on under what conditions a flat tariff on imports be better than a progressive income tax, a flat income tax be better than capital gains, etc. Tax policy is adhoc, driven by a multitude of factors. If you or anyone can provide an interesting survey on some principle approaches to tax policy I would be grateful.

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#59

Post by verdverm »

philosopher123 wrote: post #23
rokkamokka wrote: post #2

A good read. I was a bit saddened while reading the election thread earlier here on HN - there were more authoritarian voices here than I would've hoped.

Authoritarianism isn't when your opinions don't align with others. Authoritarianism is the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom. I think we are moving away from this kind of Authoritarianism, and embracing the freedom of diversified opinions.

Trump has said multiple times that certain media orgs should lose their broadcast license and specific people should be put in jail, because they said things he did not like. MAGA has also cancelled many of their own, or Republicans, for speaking out against Trump.

These sorts of things are where the authoritarian associations come from

Re: The Reasons Authoritarianism Is Growing – and How to Reverse It

#60

Post by Yizahi »

resters wrote: post #4
rokkamokka wrote: post #2

A good read. I was a bit saddened while reading the election thread earlier here on HN - there were more authoritarian voices here than I would've hoped.

indeed! HN has gone way to the authoritarian right. Not just socially but also a lot of HN readers favor economically authoritarian policies like tariffs!

Well off people are pulling ladder behind them, a tale as old as mass migration become possible.
Post reply on HN