Sure they are. Politicians are some of the most ambitious people in the world - they’re just not working in our interests. The issue is that they only need to appear to do that just enough to get or maintain power.
“The man does not make the circumstances, it is the circumstances that make the man.” I wonder when we will take that seriously.
“That’s because bottled water often isn’t subject to the same rigorous quality and safety standards as tap water, and it can carry the risk of harmful chemicals leaching from the plastic bottles used for it, especially if it’s stored for a long time, and/or exposed to sunlight and high temperatures, they explain.”
Thank you. Wow. I was basing that on something I saw or thought I saw in Cosmos (the 1980s version with Carl Sagan). Perhaps I was stoned when watching it. There is little better than to watch one of the Cosmos series while stoned - or the autotuned versions by Melodysheep (on YouTube).
For anyone who wants a quicker read on the above: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_greenhouse_effect
I shall have to revise my world view now. 🤯🤯🤯 Wow. I feel optimistic.
Tardigrades - they will likely survive then. And cockroaches, and other life. So even if we all + most animals die out, we will be like the dinosaurs, and life may indeed bounce back.
I mean… A shadow has been lifted from my soul.
Goddamn. I know it seems like I am joking but I am not.
Good news.
Actually there is a serious risk that Earth turns into Venus. Perpetually self-reinforcing green house effect. All life on Earth, fried, for all eternity.
Edit: Well, until the sun blows.
From an evolutionary perspective, only the ones who survive matter.
So in that spirit, the only way to create a society resistant to power consolidations is one that actively recognizes, seeks out and annihilates said power consolidations.
As otherwise, they will annihilate everything opposing them – as history tells us.
There are gentler social traditions to distribute wealth and power so as to avoid consolidation. Probably the post-colonial world is beyond that point.
A scary prospect, to be sure, but in the grand scheme of things… “The secrets of evolution are time and death” as Carl Sagan said in Cosmos.
I go with Njalla for torrents until I hear anything weird about them
No, Njalla at njal.la offers port forwarding
Doesn’t seem like you read any of it, and it doesn’t seem like you are open to new ideas. So… In the status quo you remain then. Good luck!
This is a bit of an old reply, but I thought I’d post something I stumbled upon here as it’s a response to your fear of warlords: https://kolektiva.social/@HeavenlyPossum/111290743792188200
From the post (it’s quite extensive with plenty of references):
“Once people are free of state violence and hierarchy, how can they just stop some bad actor from taking over?”
The assumption is that people who are free from coercive hierarchies are powerless to act in their own self defense, alone or in cooperation with each other.
(The question is usually accompanied by some invocation of the dreaded “war lord” whom the questioner assumes will inevitably overrun a nonstate or non-hierarchical community.)
So, I thought I would take a crack at answering this as comprehensively as I can!>>
Also, the bell curve does not have a single bottom.
A bell curve counts the frequencies of a single parameter. A person, such as a teenager, does not fit on it.
Human organisation and leadership may be an inherent part of us. That is not government…
I find it funny the way people just accept that they are sheep and need someone to protect them from the big bad wolf. And, of course, enlist the big bad wolf to protect them.
I think you underestimate the impact of technological progress.
Back in the day, you needed an army who could betray you. Tomorrow, you can deploy a fleet of self-governing robots to kill thousands. Of course, only accessible to the rich.
For ordinary folk, the future is looking grim indeed.
Actually, citizens pay taxes to avoid going to jail or, in the olden days (perhaps soon to be reintroduced), to avoid being killed on the spot.
They vote because when you are locked in a room with no way out, you’ll push one of the buttons in front of you frantically - trying to figure out if, perhaps, they are pushed just like this, you’ll get out.
When you’re not paying taxes or voting, someone richer than Smaug from the Hobbit is cashing in on the rest of your life.
To call this a system that serves its citizens seems… I’m not sure what to call it. Naïve? Misguided? Uninformed?
Eh, we DIDN’T invent government. Government invented itself to control and exploit us. They do so to the degree of our tolerance levels and the level to which we are manipulated.
That’s not skill, it’s networks and resources you ALREADY HAVE.
Bears shit in the forest. This is not a ‘skill’. They shit in the forest because that’s where they happen to be.
It’s the same with billionaires, they were just born in that environment. You confuse bears shitting in the forest with a demonstration of skill.
If you place one out of context, it will shit on your carpet instead. Except then you will not consider it a ‘skill’ but something distasteful.
The non-voters had nothing to do with this. They literally did not participate.
Any real democracy would count the non-voters as part of the results. 20M not voting? OK then, any policies that affect everyone can no longer be enacted. No new laws. No new wars. Government can then maintain plumbing and provide public services, that’s it.
Why isn’t that the case? Why is it not a requirement for people to vote for government to have power?
Democracy…? Sure. Whatever hope you need to feel, friend, see you in the streets I hope.