People aren't fungible. You can't swap random person A with random person B, and likewise you can't make person A perform job B. There are only so many people in a population that actually have the abilities to work in STEM fields and create new technology. You have way more whose mental capacity is already at its peak if they manage to put the metal sheet the right way into the press.
And these people are unemployable in this model. You can't take them and put them into some research job.
We have something we call a "court". You can take people there who violate contracts. It's pretty neat, no need to do anything yourself, to repossess the car or install tracking devices, all you do is go there and sue.
Yeah, we kinda outsourced vigilante justice to something we call "government".
The problem is not that the trade is global, the problem is that it is lopsided. A produces X and B produces Y, because their relevant production means (education of workforce, availability of raw materials, climate situation, whatever) mean they can more easily produce X in A and Y in B, and them trading with each other so both A and B can have products X and Y, that's a good idea and that can actually work.
If A only produces and B is only supposed to consume while A buys nothing from B, this model goes down the drain. We have seen this during colonial times when we produced raw materials in the colonies, shipped it to the motherland where it was refined and sold back to the colonies for profit. This worked great for the colonial masters but siphoned the colonies dry because they were supposed to pay with ever increasing amounts of raw materials. Things are reversed now, where countries where workforce is cheap produce "our" consumer goods and we are supposed to buy them, without them buying anything of relevant economical value in return. This cannot work in the long run.
We don't need a revolution, we need domestic jobs. The system can work, but it requires money on the demand side. If you don't have workers that get paid, you don't have consumers that buy your stuff. It is actually that simple.
Over here in Europe, we pity the people in socialist countries for being deprived of information and forced to live in ignorance. But we mock you for having information available but instead choose to live in ignorance.
Not being able to learn is miserable. Not wanting to learn is despicable.
You know what made us "civilized"? What allowed us to become what we are today? Cooking. No, really. Cooking. When we learned to process food so we have to spend less energy on digesting because we "outsourced" this problem to food preparation. That allowed us to gain more nutrition from our food. Without, we'd do what our distant cousins do, spend most of our time finding food and eating it. Simply to stay alive.
This frees up a lot of time. Just ponder how much time you actually spend eating. Probably less than an hour per day.
The problem here is that we still want to eat more than that. And provided food, which is really not the problem in the modern world, we will stuff our face.
Now, I don't say we should eat only raw stuff. That's certainly not going to be too healthy either. But if we manage to stay away from overprocessed, overrefined food, it would be a good start.
This is basically the reason why we're currently in the recession we're in: We're producing without paying the people supposed to buy the stuff we produce. This is not going to work in the long run.
In the past, this was the reason our system worked. Companies paid their workers, who then in turn went and bought the products. That way the system worked. This changed radically when we started developing and producing abroad where we ship money away and get goods in return. It's a bit like back in the colonial days... only in reverse. This time, we're sending out our precious metals in return for trinkets and glass beads.
Of course such a system is not sustainable. At a certain point we are no longer able to spend. That point has actually been reached about a decade ago, now it's propped up with more and more debt. And this will continue until the country sending us the beads and trinkets has enough of a domestic market to sell to.
Then... well, why bother with the colony any more when there's nothing to be siphoned from it? Pay your debt and then we'll talk!
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People aren't fungible. You can't swap random person A with random person B, and likewise you can't make person A perform job B. There are only so many people in a population that actually have the abilities to work in STEM fields and create new technology. You have way more whose mental capacity is already at its peak if they manage to put the metal sheet the right way into the press.
And these people are unemployable in this model. You can't take them and put them into some research job.
We probably have fewer frivolous lawsuits over nothing and imaginary damages, but that doesn't mean we have fewer in general.
Then this person has bought the last item of value in his life.
Pfft. Not very courageous at all.
Apples still have USB ports?
And I think it will be the first time this isn't the worst atrocity to expect.
Oh, you're talking about the toilet paper our judges dubbed "the funny pages". Yeah, please bring this with you when you sue me.
So maybe pay someone to do it for you?
We have something we call a "court". You can take people there who violate contracts. It's pretty neat, no need to do anything yourself, to repossess the car or install tracking devices, all you do is go there and sue.
Yeah, we kinda outsourced vigilante justice to something we call "government".
No, your phone doesn't become mine, but (at least in my country) I can charge you for storing the phone until you come and pick it up at your expense.
Plus the consent of the owner.
Bomb away. Whoever loses, the rest of the world is a better place.
The problem is not that the trade is global, the problem is that it is lopsided. A produces X and B produces Y, because their relevant production means (education of workforce, availability of raw materials, climate situation, whatever) mean they can more easily produce X in A and Y in B, and them trading with each other so both A and B can have products X and Y, that's a good idea and that can actually work.
If A only produces and B is only supposed to consume while A buys nothing from B, this model goes down the drain. We have seen this during colonial times when we produced raw materials in the colonies, shipped it to the motherland where it was refined and sold back to the colonies for profit. This worked great for the colonial masters but siphoned the colonies dry because they were supposed to pay with ever increasing amounts of raw materials. Things are reversed now, where countries where workforce is cheap produce "our" consumer goods and we are supposed to buy them, without them buying anything of relevant economical value in return. This cannot work in the long run.
We don't need a revolution, we need domestic jobs. The system can work, but it requires money on the demand side. If you don't have workers that get paid, you don't have consumers that buy your stuff. It is actually that simple.
Over here in Europe, we pity the people in socialist countries for being deprived of information and forced to live in ignorance. But we mock you for having information available but instead choose to live in ignorance.
Not being able to learn is miserable. Not wanting to learn is despicable.
You know what made us "civilized"? What allowed us to become what we are today? Cooking. No, really. Cooking. When we learned to process food so we have to spend less energy on digesting because we "outsourced" this problem to food preparation. That allowed us to gain more nutrition from our food. Without, we'd do what our distant cousins do, spend most of our time finding food and eating it. Simply to stay alive.
This frees up a lot of time. Just ponder how much time you actually spend eating. Probably less than an hour per day.
The problem here is that we still want to eat more than that. And provided food, which is really not the problem in the modern world, we will stuff our face.
Now, I don't say we should eat only raw stuff. That's certainly not going to be too healthy either. But if we manage to stay away from overprocessed, overrefined food, it would be a good start.
A new business model: We'll remove that pesky fucker for only 100 bucks!
This is basically the reason why we're currently in the recession we're in: We're producing without paying the people supposed to buy the stuff we produce. This is not going to work in the long run.
In the past, this was the reason our system worked. Companies paid their workers, who then in turn went and bought the products. That way the system worked. This changed radically when we started developing and producing abroad where we ship money away and get goods in return. It's a bit like back in the colonial days... only in reverse. This time, we're sending out our precious metals in return for trinkets and glass beads.
Of course such a system is not sustainable. At a certain point we are no longer able to spend. That point has actually been reached about a decade ago, now it's propped up with more and more debt. And this will continue until the country sending us the beads and trinkets has enough of a domestic market to sell to.
Then... well, why bother with the colony any more when there's nothing to be siphoned from it? Pay your debt and then we'll talk!
In a democracy, your statement is actually quite circular.
You think they might lose their individual accent that we all come to like so much?
Yeah, those expensive international connections.
Strange. In such cases I usually ask for an A-Bomb. No delivery mechanism necessary, I'll explode it right here.
Have you been on vacation the past 20 or so years?
What's really fucked up about this is the way it's phrased, which essentially can be summed up with "it's up to the judge".
In other words, if the judge gets a boner, you're fucked.
Basic logic.
What government has more ways to screw with you?