The Internet (in its capacity as a surveillance wet dream come true) is replacing the safety nets. I venture to say we will not see many more revolutions (than we did in the past).
Nor, I suspect are we likely to see true democracy, (meaning the kind that can actually fix things) unless a great many things change. FTAs that limit the policy space for things of economic relevance, in the interest of certainty for MNCs, (with a sop thrown in to pay lip service to economic integration) are incompatible with democracy. Because people would vote to fix problems, and they would never vote to do things that maximized the income stream for investors, as policy is forced into now.
For democracy to work, people need to have a 'commons' where everything can be discussed - even policy not desired by the MNCs.
With the number of working people likely to decline greatly, society has to figure out what to do about the people who suddenly find themselves and the skills they worked for so long to gain, unable to earn income. In the environment we are entering carving anything in stone is a mistake, but that is exactly what is being done, in a panic reaction. very bad decisions are being made in a rush to
"future proof" the future.
Right now, most of us, are very lacking in understanding of the implications of, for example, machine learning. Why? Part of it is intentional, people who think the current state of everything will continue as it is are much easier to manipulate. Also, people who think a current state of employment is about to end have statistically been shown to be far more likely to commit frauds.
Although some want to give up on educating people (whats the point, they say, "if few will be good enough to ever get jobs", why give people unrealistic expectations") thats very stupid because what is likely to happen when people are freed of work is ironically, an explosion of hugely creative activities that ironically are likely to create lots of new wealth.
But only if people have health, and a good quality of life and friends to share it with, what you were saying, tooki.
What a shame that they have made expanding safety nets a "taking" that must be compensated to corporations, isnt it? The kinds of "public good" that we all can see would be a plus in communities, is forbidden because its encouraged by a government entity, who are supposed to never hurt businesses investments.
So no more non-market anything, unless it already existed 20 years ago and isnt changed. It can only be privatized, never re-nationalized, thats the ideology. A one way ratchet exists. (Shhh!)
This is what I mean about people being ignorant.
People also really need to understand computer science better, thats for sure.
And its implications for 'civil society' in all sorts of ways. Especially employment.
LMAO no. The US is not special in this.
Asian, Russian, and Arab investment is a huge problem in any halfway desirable real estate market in any halfway stable country anywhere in the world. It’s why New York and London are getting so insanely expensive (London has neighborhoods that are now 75%+ uninhabited foreign investment properties, with buyers willing to pay anything, but not living there, thus causing local business to collapse).
This is why there is pressure all around- for example, the EU, UK, US all are dumping their social safety nets. Otherwise they would have to raise taxes and then the investments would stop pouring in.
Riiight.
The UK is dumping its social safety nets because the tories are just as heartless, deluded, and evil as the GOP.
Good social safety nets have a net positive effect on economies (it stabilizes), so it’s ideologically driven, lot logically.
Tooki: "Good social safety nets have a net positive effect on economies (it stabilizes), so it’s ideologically driven, lot logically."
Tooki, I agree with you - totally, but you have to understand, we're heading into uncharted territory now economically because of something important.
Exponential growth in knowledge and for that reason, uncertainty. Its a very good thing in almost all ways, or should be. But it would need democracy to be navigated successfully.
The democracy we can't be allowed to have, now, as some see it. Precisely because we need it so badly.
Imagine you are on top of the world now.
To
you, every change is a threat, because you're on top NOW.
By on top I don't mean any specific country, I mean the people who are on top in all countries, and nobody else.
As far as the rest of us, everywhere, we're representative of the so called "mob's" thinking (yes, some people actually do use that term)
So, divide and conquer.
Therefore the stuff we're getting from the media is lacking any coverage at all on most of the most important issues and dominated by issues that are designed to divide and conquer us when in fact we would all agree on the important stuff we're not told about.
We're being manipulated VERY skillfully to create a 'record' for the future of fake consent to things we've never (and will never be) told about.
Look up 'shock therapy' in the context of what we've done to other countries. (Most Americans don't know anything about this.) But now they are getting ready to do the same things to us. Thats why there is all the commotion.
Both 'parties' in the US are playing a 'good cop bad cop' routine.
And the political candidates in many cases limit themselves to these wedge issues.
To cover up never getting anything fixed for as long as possible why they try to nail future policy down via backroom FTAs. (which do an end run around democracy)
The very few (you could count them on your fingers) candidates who discuss the real issues are either ostracized by all the rest, and everything they say is spun in a way as to shred any sense it makes, by the media, or fake and very skilled at deception, and likely plan to never win. By this the will of the people is frustrated.
This pattern is likely being replicated all around the world.
Here its easy to prove by how they structure it. But people are so heavily misled they wouldn't recognize it when they saw it. They often think the bits of real news are "fake news"!
I would be willing to bet the exact same thing is going on now in the UK. And MANY other countries.
Just wait and see, They are 20-30 years ahead of us on this. Thats why they are rich and we're not.
They see themselves as the true owners of everything. Its kind of like the enclosures of the past, what they are doing. Shifting the
beneficial ownership of the planet's resources
and policy totally to themselves.
I can't go any deeper into this because I'd get tossed off this blog. Do some research in the academic literature
on trade and you'll see the disconnect.
Some day this will all be uncovered and people are going to be disgusted by how sordid it is.
It will make all these other issues seem insignificant. They all really must be having a good laugh at all of our expense over drinks at the end of the day.
I could be wrong I suppose, and I am sure I am on some of the minor points Ive made. My mental model is just a hypothesis. But, the anomalies that I see are so damning that its 100% clear to me that the model most of us think is true, isn't.
If it was we would have fixed a lot of our problems long ago. We're very much victims of abuse who fail to realize how brutal it was until after its over because we've not ever had a state of non-abuse to compare it to.
Hint, things would work for people. Most people would have happy lives.
Diversity of opinions and backgrounds would be celebrated - not just tolerated, or even worse, attacked.