Meh, humans are pretty much the same no matter where they’re physically located. Some are decent enough — a small percentage are even quite good — but the large majority are varying degrees of shitty, with a small number (e.g. the “one percenters”) being irredeemably so.
Easy to put words in my mouth, huh? Shitty is shitty, regardless of who or where. Point out where I’ve EVER treated one side differently from the other in that regard.
Otherwise, maybe stop being shitty yourself with all the projectionist bullshit. You’re being no better than you claim I am.
The privilege you(we) experience in the west is a direct result of exploitation of the global south. While you sit there allowed to have free will, post shit in your home with electricity, your government is not only forcing other countries not to export their own goods for the benefit of the people in the country (Cuba, etc) but also make it ILLEGAL for any other country to sell them crucial commodities or buy anything from them. So it’s not about individual experience and more about the entire geopolitical history of the exploitation domestically (slave trade) and abroad and YOU personally benefit from it. All of our lives could be so much better if we operated more like China, Cuba, Vietnam or the USSR, economically, legally, etc.
You are treating one side differently from the rest because one side is in a dramatically different situation to the other side and you are acting as if they are the same. Slaves and masters, oppressed and oppressor, treated with the “same” moral and ethical rigour despite one side actively trying to exploit the other.
If you think that China or Russia have ever done anything near the scale of the British Empire you are delusional. They operated the East India company for 300 fucking years. They literally starved over a hundred million people by their policies and 10 million at one time. Just between 1880 and 1920 the Raj claimed more lives than all the famines in the Soviet Union, PRC and North Korea combined. They operated the slave trade. They created zionism. They forced opiates into the Chinese then bombed them into submission when they tried to resist. They had a part in the full scale extermination of indigenous North Americans. They overthrew the democracy Iran for oil profits. They built global capitalism.
To say all things are equally bad ignores the part where one of these things is not like the others - The British are by far the most brutal and evil people to ever exist by a wide margin. The USAmericans are just the latest phase in the 500 years of anglo global domination and exploitation.
Those who can harm others to get ahead, and have that opportunity, do.
This isn’t true on an individual level, and individuals make decisions for countries. Why would it be true on a state level?
Not taking advantage of others (either other individuals or other states) isn’t even some idealistic pursuit, either. There are costs and risks to doing so, and there are benefits (e.g., peace and cooperation) to dealing with others honestly.
Nobody is talking about bootlicking. Power is not a supernatural corruptive force. Administration does not turn people evil. What’s important is class analysis, as people do act in their class interests generally.
Yeah that’s why train drivers derail on purpose all the time, the raw power they hold over peoples lives just corrodes their immortal soul. They’re just like cops when you think about it.
Class isn’t supernatural, correct. It’s a material relation. Capitalists are interested as a class in retaining private ownership, workers are materially interested in collectivizing production. This isn’t a corruptive force, but pure class interest. As for power supernaturally corrupting, no, it is not well-studied by psychology.
Exactly. Idealists know, that when they engage with material evidence that doesn’t fit their narrative, their worldview will get weakened in their own brain. So they have to terminate their thoughts.
And the more material evidence is on an instance, the more thought-termination per idealist there will be. An approximate formula would be:
amount of thought termination on a particular instance = amount of facts on that instance that idealists disagree with * amount of idealists (including federated ones browsing on all-sort)
Meh, humans are pretty much the same no matter where they’re physically located. Some are decent enough — a small percentage are even quite good — but the large majority are varying degrees of shitty, with a small number (e.g. the “one percenters”) being irredeemably so.
China and Russia does something evil:
West does the same or worse:
Could you people be any more hypocrite?
Easy to put words in my mouth, huh? Shitty is shitty, regardless of who or where. Point out where I’ve EVER treated one side differently from the other in that regard.
Otherwise, maybe stop being shitty yourself with all the projectionist bullshit. You’re being no better than you claim I am.
The privilege you(we) experience in the west is a direct result of exploitation of the global south. While you sit there allowed to have free will, post shit in your home with electricity, your government is not only forcing other countries not to export their own goods for the benefit of the people in the country (Cuba, etc) but also make it ILLEGAL for any other country to sell them crucial commodities or buy anything from them. So it’s not about individual experience and more about the entire geopolitical history of the exploitation domestically (slave trade) and abroad and YOU personally benefit from it. All of our lives could be so much better if we operated more like China, Cuba, Vietnam or the USSR, economically, legally, etc.
You are treating one side differently from the rest because one side is in a dramatically different situation to the other side and you are acting as if they are the same. Slaves and masters, oppressed and oppressor, treated with the “same” moral and ethical rigour despite one side actively trying to exploit the other.
If you don’t think the same is happening on your preferred side (or any side, really), then you have blinders on. Human nature is universal.
I still don’t see any actual evidence of my supposed unequal treatment.
If you think that China or Russia have ever done anything near the scale of the British Empire you are delusional. They operated the East India company for 300 fucking years. They literally starved over a hundred million people by their policies and 10 million at one time. Just between 1880 and 1920 the Raj claimed more lives than all the famines in the Soviet Union, PRC and North Korea combined. They operated the slave trade. They created zionism. They forced opiates into the Chinese then bombed them into submission when they tried to resist. They had a part in the full scale extermination of indigenous North Americans. They overthrew the democracy Iran for oil profits. They built global capitalism.
To say all things are equally bad ignores the part where one of these things is not like the others - The British are by far the most brutal and evil people to ever exist by a wide margin. The USAmericans are just the latest phase in the 500 years of anglo global domination and exploitation.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/12/2/how-british-colonial-policy-killed-100-million-indians
Honestly I think the biggest predictor of a country doing harm is just the amount of geopolitical power they wield.
Those who can harm others to get ahead, and have that opportunity, do. The British did. And they sure as fuck did an incredible amount of harm
For a hot minute the US has been in a position to do a great deal of harm, and thats exactly what we’ve done :(
This isn’t true on an individual level, and individuals make decisions for countries. Why would it be true on a state level?
Not taking advantage of others (either other individuals or other states) isn’t even some idealistic pursuit, either. There are costs and risks to doing so, and there are benefits (e.g., peace and cooperation) to dealing with others honestly.
Projection
Curious what you think the biggest predictor would be, then?
The mode of production and distribution.
“Hot minute,” my ass. We’ve done some good, but a fuck-ton more evil - albeit a lot of it in more subtle ways than of late.
Power corrupts. It’s true for individuals and for organizations and states.
Power is not a supernatural corruptive force, this narrative is spread to prevent people from organizing.
Or we could try to organize while taking this fact into account. Bootlicking is not necessary to organization.
Haha, I remember being 15 and just throwing Matrix Thoughts around with no structure to cohere them
And you still do that, apparently.
Nobody is talking about bootlicking. Power is not a supernatural corruptive force. Administration does not turn people evil. What’s important is class analysis, as people do act in their class interests generally.
Class is not supernatural either. But as i said in another message, the corrupting effect of power is well-studied by psychology.
Yeah that’s why train drivers derail on purpose all the time, the raw power they hold over peoples lives just corrodes their immortal soul. They’re just like cops when you think about it.
I still wait for one of you to answer to the message were I post actual scientific papers. It would be more constructive than designing strawmen.
Class isn’t supernatural, correct. It’s a material relation. Capitalists are interested as a class in retaining private ownership, workers are materially interested in collectivizing production. This isn’t a corruptive force, but pure class interest. As for power supernaturally corrupting, no, it is not well-studied by psychology.
It is studied and no, it’s not supernatural.
Power is not the one ring, it’s not magical.
It’s true. But my sentence was true too.
No it isn’t, for either. Unexamined thought terminating cliches are worthless.
It’s not an unexamined thought. It’s a scientifically analyzed phenomenon.
Living up to both the name AND the instance’s rep - a twofer! I’m impressed.
Go back to reddit you insufferable dork
Thoughts: terminated
Yeah, seems to be an extremely common occurrence here.
Exactly. Idealists know, that when they engage with material evidence that doesn’t fit their narrative, their worldview will get weakened in their own brain. So they have to terminate their thoughts.
And the more material evidence is on an instance, the more thought-termination per idealist there will be. An approximate formula would be:
amount of thought termination on a particular instance = amount of facts on that instance that idealists disagree with * amount of idealists (including federated ones browsing on all-sort)
which I’d assume makes lemmy the number one.
Shut up nerd, you all sound the same
Well, that’s a well-reasoned and unassailable rebuttal if I’ve ever read one.
🙄