Western Democracy is dying because of Western Capitalism.

Post #428,862 by mmoffitt 5/8/19 12:18:41 PM 5/8/19 12:18:41 PM Reply	Western Democracy is dying because of Western Capitalism. The fundamental source of trouble in the world is still religion, but another powerful source is the fact that Capitalism's requirement that GDP always increases has meant that technological innovation has made about forty per cent of the population redundant. Capitalism demands that the forty per cent becomes eighty in short order. Fairly soon (if we're not already there) we will have simultaneously achieved a population twice too large and a consumption rate of resources that will make the planet unlivable. It is insufficient to consume less. We must also create less. But that idea is blasphemous in Western Democracies and so they continue their death march. I can't really muster a tear for them. bcnu, Mikem It's mourning in America again.
Post #428,896 by Ashton 5/9/19 5:02:52 PM 5/9/19 5:02:52 PM Reply	So then.. you don't think that 500 more $3M+ Bugattis should be made? Of course you Do. As do I. But the venom has now become part of the 'Murican (and others') DNA. It tastes just 'like' honey. (Recall those er, Sirens ... purring into Odysseus' ear-pans?) ..we likely haven't enough trees left to make n-masts ..to which a %large of 333M could be tied. {{sigh}} moi tries to look on the Bwight-side: Capitalismo DIES OR All--not just homo-Sap--DIE. I believe that even our plurality of Innumerates Can.. eventually ... ... (there's the 'hope' part: In? TIME?) See the import of the imbalance of this equation (even if--for some--their very first 'Solution'. To any serious Problem evah.)
Post #428,903 by CRConrad 5/10/19 2:56:20 AM 5/10/19 2:56:20 AM Reply	A few thousands of those... ...and tens of thousands of three-quarter-million and hundreds of thousands of several-kilobuck ($/€/£, whatever) cars are insignificant. They're ridiculously extravagant, granted, but actually not all that big a deal: They're an actual product, with both practical and residual-monetary value, and the process of manufacturing them makes a living for qualified workers and engineers; it's not as if it were on the same level of conspicuous consumption as "sinking". (Sure, those workers and engineers could be "more gainfully" employed making VW Golfs and Skoda CitiGos -- but lots of their colleagues already are; there's no shortage of Golfs and CitiGos.) And in the final analysis, these cars are a minuscule part of the world economy. Yeah, yeah, a striking symbol of "all that is wrong with the economy today", sure; go on using it for all I care -- as long as you remember that as a symbol, it's more striking than actually fitting. -- Christian R. Conrad Same old username (as above), but now on iki.fi (Yeah, yeah, it redirects to the same old GMail... But just in case I ever want to change.)
Post #428,904 by Ashton 5/10/19 4:35:47 AM 5/10/19 4:35:47 AM Reply	It's ever hard/or impossible? to "make a change-in-Scale" ... happen. Agreed that %-wise the Veyrons are a pittance, but there are 10000x as many other Energy-wasting habits, each one of which shall always have its yes-Buts. Propaganda will be a necessity.. slogans work, be they ever so humble or nonsensical. Kids Can learn the difference between self-serving Sales ones and those recognizing just how many habits must be transformed, and with no time to screw up; adults ... already have the bad habits. How/if/when we learn to do this sea-change effectively? is obviously a major ingredient of ... well you know. Unprecedented IS--or ought to be--a scary word, considering the intransigent who Will-not lift a finger, 'even if it Kills them'. I no Master-solutions either: and we'll need millions of such. Carrion. We might become that; Will become that if homo-Sap behaves as usually he does. (Maybe that's candidate for the scariest part? of the ∱eare-mix.).
Post #428,906 by drook 5/10/19 7:01:10 AM 5/10/19 7:01:10 AM Reply	Hadn't heard of sinking It sounds slightly apocryphal, the kind of thing that may have actually happened precisely once and was turned into a "trend" by a reporter. But at the same time sounds just like coal rolling, which has happened to me. -- Drew
Post #428,931 by scoenye 5/10/19 6:23:50 PM 5/10/19 6:23:50 PM Reply	Is that the break-even price now? IIRC, VW drivers subsidized the Veyron to the tune of ~2.2M euro/each.
Post #428,953 by Ashton 5/11/19 6:28:54 PM 5/11/19 6:28:54 PM Reply	No research, hearsay that the fastest (~267? mph) Model is close-enough, there.

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