its a sign that we the people, are being severely exploited of our labor, and extractive institutions are sucking out everything out of our life.

next time when its uprising, there shall be no mercy whatsoever to the exploiter class

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mcmcmc 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Or is it a sign that life has an inherent cost that must be paid, and without the extractive institutions we’d spend our time scrabbling in the dirt attempting to grow our own food and sewing clothes together with dried grass and hides

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arbitrary_name 6 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

there is a level of extractiveness that optimizes for overall wealth and prosperity.

and overly extractive systems are unstable over the long term.

are you confident that the current level of extraction is optimal, or sustainable?

if a large part of society decides that it's not optimal or sustainable, where would you stand? prevent change? or seek equitable and stable redistribution?

there are so many examples of the inherent unwillingness for the beneficiaries of extractive systems to resist change: see the laws imposed against serfs following the black death, or the shooting and violent suppression of striking union workers.

that cycle is beginning again: MAGA, widespread rioting in France, Italy and other places.

There is economic and political injustice. Systemic extraction is passing a stable equilibrium.

relax the grip on power and resources, or spend the blood and treasure it will cost to maintain it.

but don't bullshit anyone with this 'life has an inherent cost': that's trivially obvious to everyone.

we are well past the point of collectively paying that cost. it's just not fairly or reasonably distributed.

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bijowo1676 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

paid to whom? we can always kill our way out of unjust institutions, like it always happened in the past

	▲	mcmcmc 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Literally your body, it needs calories to burn. TINSTAFL
	▲	lurk2 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> we can always kill our way out of unjust institutions lol lmao

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whynotminot 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Every once in a while I feel this -- "yeah we're being exploited!"

And then I remember that basic living has always had a cost to be paid. I doubt the first hunter gatherers sat around wondering if they were fulfilled. They just had a more immediate sight-line from their labor to their actual living costs.

Most of us here work well-paid jobs that allow us to pay our requirements and still have disposable income to enjoy our lives. But work we must; homes aren't free and neither is food and much of the entertainment we enjoy.

I don't feel particularly exploited. I fear if you do whatever menacing thing you're insinuating you want to do to the "exploiter class" then my job will go away and much of my lifestyle with it. Not sure that's a good outcome for anyone, really.

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taurath 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Homes aren't free, but many people here have parents for which one of them worked a single job out of high school and were able to provide food and shelter, buy a home, take vacations, etc for an entire family and they weren't in the top 5% of income. They weren't expected to be always online and available out of work hours either.

A little bit of historical knowledge, a little bit of reading statistics of wealth inequality currently being about the same level as France before the French revolution. A little bit of looking around and doing the math for what a schoolteacher, or someone earning the median income has to do to survive right now, and maybe you can develop a bit of empathy.

We are at a historical apex of economic exploitation in the US, where we have a trillionaire preaching about the dangers of empathy while giving billions to politicians to ensure he is never taxed or his companies regulated. We are the sons and daughters with far less security, working harder for longer and for less than our parents. We have more gadgets but far less peace or leisure or time to take care of our neighbors.

	▲	whynotminot 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I think I have plenty of empathy. I just don't yearn for the guillotine for anyone, even our most wealthy, though I do support reforms to make them pay more, and allow the average working person to better afford life's necessities. My point was that this all feels a bit rich on a forum with mostly well todo software engineers. You are not an exploited victim if you are making a high income working a white collar job in a comfortable glass tower, and the worst thing that ever happens to you is the occasional off-hour page.

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soulofmischief 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Do you realize how much money some people are making out of this racket while spending billions to convince you that socialized healthcare is the devil's work?

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whynotminot 2 hours ago | parent [-]

You're right, my full-throated endorsement of the US healthcare system went too far.

Wait a second-- I didn't do that at all.

	▲	soulofmischief 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I didn't claim that you did, reread my comment.

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Vaushite 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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