I would, but any country on a planet where the major powers are capitalistic is also affected by capitalism.

Also capitalism has made travel unaffordable (in that after paying rent there are zero dollars left over for anything else).

Things seemed pretty good in the pre-agricultural age of hunting and gathering.

Of course they learned a lesson! Only about a million people died in the US and the rich got over $1 trillion richer, so this time they’ll let 10 million die so the rich can get $10 trillion richer!

Or at least I hope that’s one of the outcomes of this trial. 50 years ago I’d have said former Presidents should get almost the same respect as the current President but now, let’s just chuck them in a special retirement home and not let them have visitors.

Warning: capitalism.

as though God is a cruel, exploitive being who’s big on dog-eat-dog

The Christian god definitely is. I don’t know where Christians got the idea of a loving god but it wasn’t from their bible.

In regards to a solution, populations drop voluntarily when a certain standard of living is reached. I doubt the people expressing this would advocate taking care of the poor to speed up the process of natural population decline.

I think there are too many humans.

I advocate taking care of the poor, globally, to speed up the process of natural population decline.

I even have a (general) plan. Promote sexual education, make contraceptives free and easily available, eat the rich. The global side is harder; it’s not like dropping a bunch of condoms on India and China will do anything. But it all starts with education and the elimination of the owner class.

I would prefer much stronger gun control laws and I still agree with you. There are better fights to fight and more likely to win. This feels like empty posturing in an election year.

Like the “End Hedge fund ownership of residential properties” bill that is just a tax on hedge funds that own over 100 residences, a tax that they will happily pass on to their tenants (after adding another 25% on top to cover the emotional cost of being taxed by the evil government!).

Laws don’t have teeth in this country because they are always designed to only punish the poor.

Assuming I have to be a passive observer, the moment when humans learned to create fire.

Lab-grown meat that is both indistinguishable from animal-grown and is cheaper. Bonus points if they can make bacon have 100% of our daily vitamins and minerals.

It’s my niceish early spring/fall jacket. Unfortunately that season usually amounts to a grand total of four days per year; the rest is either too cold, too hot, or both.

But what other pants exist for everyday wear?

I ask, being about 60% serious. To me, nothing is as comfortable yet good in almost all situations as jeans. Anything more formal makes me feel afraid to get dirty, and I don’t wear sweatpants outside of the home. Ok, maybe I’m closer to 80% serious; but fortunately I also don’t care if I’m judged for wearing jeans with jeans. I have yet to also wear my denim shirt under my jean jacket with jeans, but that day will come (albeit with the intent of looking a little ridiculous).

It’s not a surprising issue; whenever we get a unifying leader, the FBI assassinates them.

The last paragraph is the most important, imo. When I last worked an office job, in the before (Covid) times, the rare occasions when I would work from home due to being sick were my least productive days from the company’s perspective. But they were essential for me to mentally recharge or recover from illness (in a civilized society of course we’d have free healthcare and unlimited zero-work sick days).

If I had a similar job with WFH days I would almost certainly be less productive than I would be if I was 100% in the office, but I’d also be less stressed, happier, and healthier. Less likely to need full sick days. Less likely to job hop after a year. Less likely to sneak alcohol in my coffee mug to deal with coworkers and clients. And the world would keep on spinning, no one would die, there would be no measurable impact on the world other than the stock price/CEOs bonus maybe being down a few cents.

I get that being more productive is how we can sell healthier work habits to the capitalists, but let’s not drink the koolade. There’s an immeasurable number of things more important in life than one’s productivity at work.

Overpopulation as a dogwhistle for racism is a conservative myth.

Overpopulation in a “I’d rather not turn Earth into Coruscant and so many of our climate and food/water issues would be easier to deal with if the global birth rate slowed voluntarily” is not.

Yeah but the future generation will be all conservatives, by your logic. So fuck it, I’ll be dead and happy!

I was pretty close to needing to, and may be again soon. Needing to shower is a big issue, as is needing a place to keep my dog when I’m at work. Fortunately I have a good network of friends that I’m pretty sure I’d have a couch to crash on for a month or so but it is a perpetual concern in the back of my mind.

That’s the thing about capitalism, it doesn’t have to be a conspiracy to be evil. Capitalism will optimize for the cheapest option to acquire the most profit, and generally the cheapest option is also the one that’s the worst for the workers/environment/consumers.

Sadly in my experience the boots theory is no longer accurate as the $50 pair of boots fall apart as quickly as the $10 pair, especially when talking about electronics. There may be longer lasting devices out there but the price is so beyond my price range that it may as well not exist.

Updated for 2024, the boots theory would read something more like a $50 pair of boots lasts for one year and is mostly comfortable to wear, the $10 pair lasts for one year but is uncomfortable to wear, and the $2000 pair of boots is comfortable and will last many years but anyone who buys them will toss them after one year anyway when “the fashion” changes.