The communist promise is "work hard today, and one day we'll all be living in paradise where everyone can be living well". In turn that means, though, that if everyone but me is working hard, we'll all be living comfortably, so I don't really have to pull that hard, do I? And if it fails, we're all to blame. In other words, when that fails, "the system" is to blame because, well, what can a single person do?
The capitalist promise is "work hard today and one day YOU will be living in paradise where YOU can be living like a king". It's much more personal. The weight of that is squarely on you, if you fail, you're to blame, the system works because, look, there are people who got rich and live like a king. You failed.
That's why one lie works while the other one was far easier to see through.
Actually, yes, there is. Building a dam to prevent a flood would benefit everyone, but it would also first of all require everyone to pitch in to build it, because nobody could build it alone, and nobody would because his personal loss with every flood is smaller than the cost for building and maintaining the dam.
You might have heard about a concept called "taxes". In general, that's the idea behind them.
If your company does not aid you with an official reward system, create your own within the limits of your ability.
I was working in risk management and security assessment a while ago. Basically our job was to find security problems and decide whether we can carry the risk if we find one or whether a service has to go. As you can imagine, that does give you a bit of a wiggle room concerning the severeness of a problem. And we soon made it a public secret that reporting a problem you find in your own system yourself gives you usually a way lower assessment than one that was found by someone else, and if we find out you tried to cover it up, we would make CERTAIN to find a reason that your service has to be shot down NOW.
People were VERY cooperative, to say the least.
Of course that doesn't mean we could let serious security risks simply ride, and neither had we services shut for trivial bullshit (though, as you can imagine, when someone tried to keep stuff hidden from us it was something that was a "shut down NOW" reason anyway, like, e.g., storing credit card numbers in plain text in an unencrypted database that is publicly accessible, just to fabricate a completely impossible example...). But it did serve to give people a good incentive to work with us instead of trying to keep stuff hidden from us.
The US may even gain a few low-pay, low-education jobs, but that isn't going to solve much. The problem will be that consumer electronics and appliances become more expensive. That in turn will eliminate about as many low-education jobs in distribution and sales of goods as it created in production, because sales will plummet.
In the end, the net result is that jobs will stay about the same, stuff gets more expensive.
There's a river running through the town I live in. For centuries, the river banks have been devoid of settlements. Why? Because the river has that nasty tendency to rise past its bed every now and then. Doesn't happen often, only every, say, 30 years or so. The periods are apparently long enough, though, that people don't remember it. And hence people did build houses right inside that flooding zone. Some older people have been warning them, telling them that it's not a good idea and that they're going to regret it. They have been rebuffed, damn luddites, we have the technology to tame the river, no problem there, put it in a fast moving bed and let the flood go downstream.
Guess what: They did the same upstream.
Now, last year it was 30ish years since the last flood and now a few people have a new swimming pool in their basement. And instead of now going "Fuck, we should've known better" the same people that ridiculed those that told them that this is going to happen are now lamenting that nobody could foresee that and how they now want to get disaster aid.
And I have a hunch that exactly the same is going to happen when disaster strikes those that now ignore any warnings, build at the beach front and then suddenly stand in 20 feet of water. Then suddenly they'll lament and complain how nobody could have foreseen that and then those that told them for ages are suddenly expected to aid them.
And it will be my pleasure to just shoot to kill when they try to climb my hill to get out of the water.
The main problem will be power. Fossil fuel is one of the biggest problems when four out of five people vanish. The main reason we need fewer people today to produce goods than we did 200 years ago is simply that we replaced work force with fuel. A single farmer can feed thousands, but only because his machinery is maintained and fueled.
Are there too many people on the planet? Yes. And I don't even want to doubt the number of 85%. The problem is that you cannot pick and choose who gets to live and who gets to die, because people don't simply and willingly step into the termination booth. And killing off the wrong people is quite likely when 4 out of 5 get to die.
So true. This planet's going to be doing fine, a few species might not make it, but then again, I'm not so sure that certain critters going extinct is such a bad thing. That homo sapiens for example sure is a cancer to the world, and throughout its existence there have been ice caps. One can only hope that their demise also means his.
Yes, but you MIGHT be able to understand how frustrating it can be when you get hit by the BSOD-hammer, reinstall your OS only to have it "updated" again with no chance to avoid the "update".
You know, this starts to remind me of an old GDR joke. You have to know that toilet paper was in short supply back then and politicians promised anything and everything but never once mentioned toilet paper with but a word.
Speaker: Comrades! In only 5 years, everyone will have his own three-room flat! Man in the crowd: Yeah, but what about the toilet paper? Speaker: And comrades! In only 10 years, everyone will have his very own car! Man: Ok, but the toilet paper? Speaker (enraged): Kiss my ass (literally: Lick my ass!) Man: Typical, they have a solution for party members but what about us?
Then I guess the makers of the system should give us a good reason to switch to the newest one and now give us pretty much any good reason in the book not to.
Odd. I never met a single one in RL. On YouTube, yes, lots and lots. But as far as I can tell, all of them are on YouTube, what's out here in the real world is generally sane.
This. Security is about the only thing that is not only growing but also one of the few things companies don't want to outsource because... well, it's one thing if they steal the IP but another if they keep the door open so they can do it at will.
I am in IT security and we're hiring. Actually, rather, we would be hiring if we could find people. We're at the point where juniors get salaries comparable with seniors in other areas and trainees with little to no security experience get junior level salaries. We take no interns, we're hiring for permanent positions. I sure as fuck won't let anyone even think about leaving if I notice that he knows his shit.
And we're by far not the only ones. Companies have noticed that security is becoming an issue and that with more and more assholes trying to steal your data and governments starting to make execs responsible for it when they can't show that they tried their best to avoid it, there is no shortage whatsoever when it comes to work.
Slashdot Mirror
No, it actually is exactly that.
The communist promise is "work hard today, and one day we'll all be living in paradise where everyone can be living well". In turn that means, though, that if everyone but me is working hard, we'll all be living comfortably, so I don't really have to pull that hard, do I? And if it fails, we're all to blame. In other words, when that fails, "the system" is to blame because, well, what can a single person do?
The capitalist promise is "work hard today and one day YOU will be living in paradise where YOU can be living like a king". It's much more personal. The weight of that is squarely on you, if you fail, you're to blame, the system works because, look, there are people who got rich and live like a king. You failed.
That's why one lie works while the other one was far easier to see through.
Actually, yes, there is. Building a dam to prevent a flood would benefit everyone, but it would also first of all require everyone to pitch in to build it, because nobody could build it alone, and nobody would because his personal loss with every flood is smaller than the cost for building and maintaining the dam.
You might have heard about a concept called "taxes". In general, that's the idea behind them.
I would have started with "shoot to kill", but I want people to know why they're dying. There's a thing called courtesy, you know?
If your company does not aid you with an official reward system, create your own within the limits of your ability.
I was working in risk management and security assessment a while ago. Basically our job was to find security problems and decide whether we can carry the risk if we find one or whether a service has to go. As you can imagine, that does give you a bit of a wiggle room concerning the severeness of a problem. And we soon made it a public secret that reporting a problem you find in your own system yourself gives you usually a way lower assessment than one that was found by someone else, and if we find out you tried to cover it up, we would make CERTAIN to find a reason that your service has to be shot down NOW.
People were VERY cooperative, to say the least.
Of course that doesn't mean we could let serious security risks simply ride, and neither had we services shut for trivial bullshit (though, as you can imagine, when someone tried to keep stuff hidden from us it was something that was a "shut down NOW" reason anyway, like, e.g., storing credit card numbers in plain text in an unencrypted database that is publicly accessible, just to fabricate a completely impossible example...). But it did serve to give people a good incentive to work with us instead of trying to keep stuff hidden from us.
Why, sure, I have to know it works. Imagine handing out a gift card and then finding out that it's no good, that would be embarrassing!
The US may even gain a few low-pay, low-education jobs, but that isn't going to solve much. The problem will be that consumer electronics and appliances become more expensive. That in turn will eliminate about as many low-education jobs in distribution and sales of goods as it created in production, because sales will plummet.
In the end, the net result is that jobs will stay about the same, stuff gets more expensive.
Ok, now I feel even odder for suggesting something Firefox does...
Maybe the main reason is that the insanity didn't make it across the pond in full force yet. People here are quite bullshit resistant.
And I mean the whole climate debate.
There's a river running through the town I live in. For centuries, the river banks have been devoid of settlements. Why? Because the river has that nasty tendency to rise past its bed every now and then. Doesn't happen often, only every, say, 30 years or so. The periods are apparently long enough, though, that people don't remember it. And hence people did build houses right inside that flooding zone. Some older people have been warning them, telling them that it's not a good idea and that they're going to regret it. They have been rebuffed, damn luddites, we have the technology to tame the river, no problem there, put it in a fast moving bed and let the flood go downstream.
Guess what: They did the same upstream.
Now, last year it was 30ish years since the last flood and now a few people have a new swimming pool in their basement. And instead of now going "Fuck, we should've known better" the same people that ridiculed those that told them that this is going to happen are now lamenting that nobody could foresee that and how they now want to get disaster aid.
And I have a hunch that exactly the same is going to happen when disaster strikes those that now ignore any warnings, build at the beach front and then suddenly stand in 20 feet of water. Then suddenly they'll lament and complain how nobody could have foreseen that and then those that told them for ages are suddenly expected to aid them.
And it will be my pleasure to just shoot to kill when they try to climb my hill to get out of the water.
The main problem will be power. Fossil fuel is one of the biggest problems when four out of five people vanish. The main reason we need fewer people today to produce goods than we did 200 years ago is simply that we replaced work force with fuel. A single farmer can feed thousands, but only because his machinery is maintained and fueled.
Are there too many people on the planet? Yes. And I don't even want to doubt the number of 85%. The problem is that you cannot pick and choose who gets to live and who gets to die, because people don't simply and willingly step into the termination booth. And killing off the wrong people is quite likely when 4 out of 5 get to die.
For the same reason capitalism works and communism fails: People are selfish bastards and don't give a shit about the "common good".
Seatbelts and insurance? Sure, they benefit ME!
Saving the planet? Nah. Can't someone else do that?
So true. This planet's going to be doing fine, a few species might not make it, but then again, I'm not so sure that certain critters going extinct is such a bad thing. That homo sapiens for example sure is a cancer to the world, and throughout its existence there have been ice caps. One can only hope that their demise also means his.
I don't know whether I should ridicule you for Mickeysoft or for who's.
Decisions, decisions...
Wait, your Windows asks you? Mine just shuts down on me and takes all my work with it to the depths of Hades. Unless of course I want it to.
That comic says it better than I ever could.
You've been watching the development for a while now, what makes you think they did?
A fool is the man who does the same thing and hopes for a different outcome. A fool, or a user of MS Windows.
Yes, but you MIGHT be able to understand how frustrating it can be when you get hit by the BSOD-hammer, reinstall your OS only to have it "updated" again with no chance to avoid the "update".
You know, this starts to remind me of an old GDR joke. You have to know that toilet paper was in short supply back then and politicians promised anything and everything but never once mentioned toilet paper with but a word.
Speaker: Comrades! In only 5 years, everyone will have his own three-room flat!
Man in the crowd: Yeah, but what about the toilet paper?
Speaker: And comrades! In only 10 years, everyone will have his very own car!
Man: Ok, but the toilet paper?
Speaker (enraged): Kiss my ass (literally: Lick my ass!)
Man: Typical, they have a solution for party members but what about us?
Awesome! Sell one to me!
What do you mean, you cannot?
Where have I heard the "soon we'll have..." bullshit before... right, in the speeches of politicians.
Sorry, but announce it when it's here. Until then, why the fuck are you waking me again with stuff that simply is not newsworthy?
was supposed to be "not give us"...
where's my coffee?
Then I guess the makers of the system should give us a good reason to switch to the newest one and now give us pretty much any good reason in the book not to.
Go back to doing tech support, there you can do less damage, at least I can avoid calling you!
--signed, MS Customer.
Odd. I never met a single one in RL. On YouTube, yes, lots and lots. But as far as I can tell, all of them are on YouTube, what's out here in the real world is generally sane.
Can't say that I mind that distribution.
This. Security is about the only thing that is not only growing but also one of the few things companies don't want to outsource because ... well, it's one thing if they steal the IP but another if they keep the door open so they can do it at will.
I am in IT security and we're hiring. Actually, rather, we would be hiring if we could find people. We're at the point where juniors get salaries comparable with seniors in other areas and trainees with little to no security experience get junior level salaries. We take no interns, we're hiring for permanent positions. I sure as fuck won't let anyone even think about leaving if I notice that he knows his shit.
And we're by far not the only ones. Companies have noticed that security is becoming an issue and that with more and more assholes trying to steal your data and governments starting to make execs responsible for it when they can't show that they tried their best to avoid it, there is no shortage whatsoever when it comes to work.
What is in short supply are IT security people.
But the parts that are seen worldwide and mocked are the problem.
I mean, be honest: Do you give a shit whether a million Chinese people have asthma? See? Why should they?