Historically speaking decisions about who can and can not vote are pretty fraught and so on. Listening to the podcast about the French revolution and the revolutionaries mull that over for a long while, and those decisions resulted in some whipsaw choices that did not bode well for much of the country.
> Listening to the podcast about the French revolution and the revolutionaries mull that over for a long while ...
It's really hilarious that the French revolution is so often used as an example: it basically coincides with France losing its status as the world's 1st superpower (rankings are imperfect but it's often estimated that when Napoleon, not long after the french revolution, got its arse handed to him by the brits, France lost its number one spot). Where's France now? The mighty superpower that was "number one" when it had kings? There's not much of its superpower left (it still has got the nuclear weapon and luxury brands/products like L'Oreal / LVMH / Champagne but that's about it [1]).
[1] the delicious irony in having a socialist country surviving thanks to exporting luxury items and thanks to rich tourists visiting the country's old castles (!) is not lost on me
I would trade my US "superpower" (aka committing war crimes across the globe) status for free healthcare in the blink of an eye. I currently pay >$1,500 a month for "health insurance", some superpower!
Exporting luxury goods is fine for socialists. They are clear about who's in the in-group and who isn't, the out-group must fend for themselves. Socialism isn't against private property, it's about production means and tending towards managing wealth for common good. Your car is your car though, consumption is still individual.
Historically speaking decisions about who can and can not vote are pretty fraught and so on. Listening to the podcast about the French revolution and the revolutionaries mull that over for a long while, and those decisions resulted in some whipsaw choices that did not bode well for much of the country.
> Listening to the podcast about the French revolution and the revolutionaries mull that over for a long while ...
It's really hilarious that the French revolution is so often used as an example: it basically coincides with France losing its status as the world's 1st superpower (rankings are imperfect but it's often estimated that when Napoleon, not long after the french revolution, got its arse handed to him by the brits, France lost its number one spot). Where's France now? The mighty superpower that was "number one" when it had kings? There's not much of its superpower left (it still has got the nuclear weapon and luxury brands/products like L'Oreal / LVMH / Champagne but that's about it [1]).
[1] the delicious irony in having a socialist country surviving thanks to exporting luxury items and thanks to rich tourists visiting the country's old castles (!) is not lost on me
I would trade my US "superpower" (aka committing war crimes across the globe) status for free healthcare in the blink of an eye. I currently pay >$1,500 a month for "health insurance", some superpower!
Exporting luxury goods is fine for socialists. They are clear about who's in the in-group and who isn't, the out-group must fend for themselves. Socialism isn't against private property, it's about production means and tending towards managing wealth for common good. Your car is your car though, consumption is still individual.
Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49084031 (362 comments)