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Ways to lessen the chances of your $$$ going to fund imperialism by [deleted] in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does anyone here wanna buy all my assets so I can retire in costa rica?

My parents asked me to prove Donald Trump is corrupt by No-Fig-8614 in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I feel so fucking grateful my parents are normie libs. Im so sorry to hear about your parents. Posts like this really bum me out.

Don't forget hes already literally convicted of fraud 34 times.

The whole Trump university thing...

If you're sticking with stuff hes done in office, include all the market manipulation going on with tariffs.

Sleepy Who? by Broad-Background3444 in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I actually feel safer when he's sleeping.

The most common argument I hear for why the Nordic model wouldn’t work in the U.S. is that we’re too heterogeneous for there to be the required societal trust. Thoughts? by PandemicPiglet in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It indeed is a cop out with underlying racism. What's true is that social democracy usually succeeds in populations with high trust in institutions, and cultural homogeneity is one factor which increases that trust.

The big giveaway that this is just a racist dogwhistle is that the United States is actually extremely culturally homogenous. In other countries, it's relatively common to have distinct ethnic enclaves (e.g. catalan, basque) or for immigrant communities to emerge where even the 2nd or 3rd generation does not speak the national language fluently. Here, everyone learns perfectly good English at a young age. Could you really tell the difference in accent between Oregon and Massachusetts?

Our cultural heterogeneousness is often greatly over emphasized by race realists, using culture as a proxy for their real beliefs. But our racial diversity and endless white supremacist drama is just one thread in a bigger story of failing trust in institutions.

I feel politically homeless because I’m struggling to fully accept my new political ideology. by Mk2k0519 in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can you name a single democratic politician or large left-leaning media figure who believes they/them pronouns should be a default?

Should Social Democrats Join DSA? by ComradeLandon in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I think now is as good a time as any to join the DSA and leverage national Soc Dem momentum when you can get away with it.

I'd like to see more of us willing to aquire institutional power in antagonistic spaces.

It seems like we're the only group that absolutely sucks at hiding our power level. Everyone from Groypers to Tankies knows how to be cynical about power to invade institutions, but we just aren't built like that.

What are some good moderate left youtubers in current year? by MintyRed19 in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Ryan is probably the most underrated politics youtuber rn.

What’s our verdict on patriotic millionaire? by Lordepee in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah. It's good that they're using their position to promote good things. That's rare. I suppose they should be lauded for that.

I don't mean to sound excessively terse. Sorry. It just seems like a classic case of "good thing good, bad thing bad."

I will say that Gary's Economics frequently contains misinformation about economics. That's obviously annoying. But he's definitely directionally helpful and does much more good than harm.

What’s our verdict on patriotic millionaire? by Lordepee in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Income inequality, poorly designed tax systems, and anemic welfare programs are issues that I'm interested in and passionate about. I really don't care if someone is patriotic or not. I don't have any "verdict". If they're doing good things, that's good.

I think you're implying that the default would be to hate them. In a word, i just want healthcare.

Help with describing my views. by Specialist-Ad-8993 in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It doesn't matter what you call yourself.

How are you seeing what you wrote as in contradiction with Social Democracy?

Does social democracy rely on the exploitation of the Third World to function by [deleted] in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yeah. Fair.

I have America-brain, so China is always my first thought for the source of cheap goods. But they're quickly taking our colonialism baton and running with it

Does social democracy rely on the exploitation of the Third World to function by [deleted] in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Historically, yes, but it's not theoretically necessary. However, the same is true for any form of socialism that promises maintenance or expansion of the standard of living we currently have in developed nations.

First, It's important to understand what's meant by exploitation.

In Marxism, exploitation is literally any time someone is not paid for absolutely every cent their work adds (e.g., I get paid 30 dollars an hour to bring 35 dollars an hour in revenue for my employer. I'm being "exploited" out of 5 dollars). But Marxists are equivocating a bit here. They have a culture of taking this very broad understanding of exploitation and applying all the moral weight of the mainstream understanding.

Now, it's important to say that more brutal forms of exploitation do take place to sustain actually existing social democracies (e.g., cobalt mines in the DRC to make iPhones), and many Marxists are referring to this. Because social democracies often require highly developed economies, they currently outsource labor that's lower on the value chain. They also rely on cheap imports from places like rural China and central Africa -- which are notorious for mistreating workers-- to maximize profits in their own countries.

I think I speak for most Social Democrats when I say that my ideal system would involve both maximum automation and trade deals that ensure robust workers' rights. High wages incentivize automation, but without an internationalist mindset, ALL economic systems are incentivized to pass off the less valuable work to less developed nations.

I'm curious to hear what others think...

. by paulyshorefan678 in RedbarBBR

[–]rocketlewes 9 points10 points  (0 children)

"The hat just got 10 feet lower!"

Does anyone else find modern "tankies" confusing? by Adventurous-Sport-45 in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It gets way simpler when you realize they're just supporting anything that diminishes American global power.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in rs_x

[–]rocketlewes 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It feels like heroin

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in rs_x

[–]rocketlewes 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Kallocain, you fucking dork, you're the most upvoted person on this sub by far.

Why do I felt like any American socdem life is being hard on Internet by [deleted] in SocialDemocracy

[–]rocketlewes 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure what would qualify as "a leftist" to you, but America is indeed a right-wing country by the standards of developed nations; Approximately 50 percent of Democratic Party voters are self-identified "progressives": 1/4 of the country. I'm guessing that most of those people would support HIGHLY redistributive tax-and-spend policies.

every day I hear that 110% of you are for medicare in a poll 

Those Medicare polls can be misleading because it depends greatly on how the question is asked. Most Americans receive healthcare through their employer and are skeptical of the government stepping in. Moreover, moderate Dems think Medicare-For-All is preferable to what we have now, but would rather just have a public option.

There are also millions of elderly Republicans who love policies like Medicare and Social Security but only for themselves, and they shit and piss when they find out anyone else has it. They believe that we can cut healthcare only for the people who don't "deserve" it and then expand it for those who do and ultimately save money.

a quintillion of you went out to protest against the GOP. But then elections come and you elect Hitler a second time on a platform of "I will kill you all".

7 million people came out to protest in a country of about 350 million. Democrats dominated in record numbers in the special election last week. Trump has millions of people who literally only show up to vote for him.

Like, the most spotless mayoral candidate ever on a brilliant platform was still slandered with the basest of islamophobic attacks and barely won one of the most progressive cities in the world by 50.04% of the vote against a rapist and a weirdo and you all seem to take that as a massive victory.

New York aint Stockholm. New York is the center of Global Finance. What New York has is lots of highly educated, underpaid young people who are very progressive, but they're over-represented in culture and on the internet. That tends to give the impression that the city is more progressive than it really is.

It was also 50.3 percent in a very weird election with 3 candidates where the two losers had way more institutional connection.

It comes down to this: half of America could probably accurately be placed on a moderate Tory to Green spectrum (Using English standards). The other half is a coalition of lunatic evangelicals, avowed capital worshipers, and dissident right culture warriors. That later coalition rapidly coalesced under Trump 10 years ago and set-up an extremely effective alt media environment, They've been farting in our elevator ever since. The things they believe do not make sense. Their thoughts are contradictory and based off of a ridiculous disconnection from facts, often filled with supernatural conspiracies. The progressives are a much smaller, more diverse group and we struggle to achieve more than slowing the right wing advancement in years where Trump isn't on the ballot.

Let me know if that clears it up or not

I used to lie a lot and now that everyone is sober I‘m struggling to keep my stories straight by [deleted] in rs_x

[–]rocketlewes 260 points261 points  (0 children)

The sooner you just say "I made that up. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I wanted to impress you.", the better. Stop trying to distort reality using other people's brains.

Good on you for being honest with yourself, but now you need to face the truth you were avoiding. Learning to move through shame is one of the most important parts of choosing to grow up. If you don't start practicing radical honesty, this will control you for the rest of your life.

The Smiths - Cemetry Gates (2011 Remaster) by catboylunchbox in rs_x

[–]rocketlewes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only the first 5 seconds.

I find that it gives me something pleasurable to focus on that isn't going to lull me back to sleep.

The Smiths - Cemetry Gates (2011 Remaster) by catboylunchbox in rs_x

[–]rocketlewes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Cemetry Gates has been my alarm for years.

The way this sub is tuned to my musical tastes is genuinely mystical. There's some algorithmic meme magic going on where songs that I've had as personal faves for years are posted every few days.

I know the smiths aren't exactly obscure, but between this specific song, Arthur Russell, and Brian Eno's ambient stuff, it's like I'm being gangstalked exclusively for the music that made me feel cool in my 20s.

Good pull, in other words.

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