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Neoreactionaries

Started by Verbal Mike, November 24, 2013, 08:58:47 PM

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Cain

I think that illustrates one of those few, very large, differences between the UK and America.  Over here, there was a subsidy for solar panels, and it supplements your power supply for free once installed.  UK people instead complain that our energy companies keep rising prices above the rate of inflation (which is bad, but nowhere near as bad as actually taxing people for using alternate sources).

Though you do have a LOT more sunshine than us.

LMNO

Oddly enough, some states in the US have subsidies for solar and other "green" technologies used commercially, too.  The whole idea of "you're doing it yourself, so pay the corporation for the privilege" just seems fucked.

Telarus

Ha, right? This seems related to the whole "Water rights" snafu in western states, at least in the abstract of "fuck you for collecting your own resources".
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Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on December 06, 2013, 01:23:32 PM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on December 06, 2013, 12:58:47 AM
Hell, here in Arizona, they bill you a fee - forwarded to the utility companies, for each solar panel...so the utility companies don't lose money.

I first heard that a couple of days ago.  It's incredibly hard to wrap my mind around it.  When you generate excess energy, you can dump it back into the grid... and you have to pay for them to receive free energy?

Well you know, by not using their services you're basically stealing from them. Why do you hate capitalism?
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on December 07, 2013, 05:32:20 PM
Oddly enough, some states in the US have subsidies for solar and other "green" technologies used commercially, too.  The whole idea of "you're doing it yourself, so pay the corporation for the privilege" just seems fucked.

*ahem*

Big thieves hang little thieves.
The people who make the decisions pay no penalty for being wrong.
Kill one man, go to prison.  Kill a thousand men, ride to the opera in a limosine.

That is all.  You may now return to The Land of the Free™.
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"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Verbal Mike

Sorry to disappear like that, I got busy and then I went and forgot there are Internets outside Facebook all over again. :oops:

Quote from: :regret: on December 06, 2013, 12:22:17 PM
Quote from: Verbal Mike on December 05, 2013, 07:57:45 PM
I think you misunderstand me.
Money as we know it, as a system, is violent.
This is because money is set up as a system of survival vouchers, meaning that whenever money is in play, people with less access to money are forced, literally forced at the threat of violence, to succumb to the whims of those with more access to money. In other words, when you use survival vouchers to manage an economy, you are setting up a system of class domination. And when those with more access exercise the choice of how to dispense the money they have, they are exercising dominance over others. No matter how generous they think they are being.
Well said, that.
There are three ways i see to improve this.
1. Use city planning and cultural changes to make survival independent or less dependent of money. I'm not saying everyone should become a farmer on top of their normal workload but i am sure several things can be done to improve the current situation. Small scale vertical farming in cities comes to mind. (ZOMG SOCIAL ENGINEERING! HITLER DID THAT!)
2. Political changes that give the poor sufficient protection. (ZOMG SOCIALISM! STALIN DID THAT!)
3. Invent a new way for people to take care of themselves without using money. (ZOMG SCIFI! STAR TREK DID THAT!)

As you can see, neither is really acceptable to the dominant predator on this planet1.


1Corporations, who did you think i was talking about?
This is the general direction, for currently living generations, I guess. Money could easily be de-coupled from basic survival, by means of communities or states providing bare necessities (food, water, shelter, basic clothing) for free, one way or another. Y'all in the US of A are, of course, totally fucked because this kind of socialism (which for once this actually is) won't fly there. The rest of humanity has a chance.

Ultimately, in the long run, it's important to just keep in mind that money and commerce are not facts of nature, they are human technologies and structures, have only been around for a few thousand years tops, and might at some point cease to exist. A world without money is possible, it would "merely" require radical reorganization of most currently existing social structures. A first step will certainly be decoupling money and survival. Then we can gradually socialize more and more commodities and free them from the zero-sum game of commerce. I could fantasize some details but that would just be mental wankery so, you know, whatevs. The general direction is what counts, when we're this far away.
Unless stated otherwise, feel free to copy or reproduce any text I post anywhere and any way you like. I will never throw a hissy-fit over it, promise.

inode_buddha

I ran across the following tidbit on slashdot a while back, saved a copy because it makes me giggle....

If I weren't sooo lazy, I'd work a bit harder and BOOM! I'd be RICH! Why, if I weren't so lazy, I could get another job on top of my other two, and work some more! After all, I'm only working 80 hours a week and who needs sleep and recreation!

And we all know that the billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Buffet and all them got where they are by working hard and being honest and forthright people! Anyone can do it!

We all know that all it takes here in the states is to work hard and wealth is guaranteed! Well, if it weren't for the government regulations.

I had a chemical disposal business and the fucking EEE, PEEE, AYE stopped me from disposing in the local trout stream! How the hell is one going to make a living with these communist basterds?! And this bullshit nonsense about children getting cancer and whatnot - why there's St. Judes to help them! Business and profits first and health and well being is just a socialist value! Anyway, cancer was created by socialists to punish the hard working creators and rewards the takers!

And this bullshit of "you didn't build that!" why, the private sector could do just fine building roads and highways and edukating us!

If you're poor, it's all because of your character! Yes sir! If you worked hard have decent values, you wouldn't be poor!

Poor people have poor character and they are stupid! It's all their fault! If they would just pull themselves up by their bootstraps like I did, all would be well!

I tell you, the values in this society have deteriorated. Way back when, those people would be left to starve - as they should - and it allowed for us makers to achieve and better society.

C|N>K