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Mental gymnastics (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 years ago (1 children)

When means of production are owned publicly then they’re used to create things that are socially necessary and benefit most people.

That's the theory. The practice is that they're used poorly, and sometimes not at all. 3000 tons of left shoes. Phantom inventories floating around, trying to stave off purges.

At some point they tend to concentrate on "socially necessary" because there's so little spare capacity left that that no luxuries can even be contemplated. So you got that part right.

And by luxuries, we aren't talking $300 million yachts... we're talking oil paints. Then we get the "state-sanctioned art" stuff. "When oil paints are scarce, they can't be wasted on capitalist propaganda comrade!" and "There are secret fifth columnists who will use this Cerulean Blue and Mummy Brown to destroy our socialist utopia!".

Gotta love "public ownership". But when you believe in fairy tales, it's so often difficult to see reality.

However, the key point to acknowledge here is that capitalist states are inherently violent.

Humans are monkeys. Monkeys are violent. This happens regardless of political ideology or economic systems.

Socialism is inherently violent. There will always be people who do not wish to live in socialism. And if you let them defect, soon there won't be anyone participating. Thus, they cannot be allowed to defect. The only way to prohibit them from defecting is violence.

Meanwhile, in the United States, any of you are free to set up your own little commune, and do socialism for as long as you like. But it never works, only freeloaders show up. And then you blame capitalism for that.

Capitalism has its share of violence. But it tamps it down... there are easier and safer ways to get what you want than to bash someone over the head and take it.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 3 years ago

That’s the theory. The practice is that they’re used poorly, and sometimes not at all. 3000 tons of left shoes. Phantom inventories floating around, trying to stave off purges.

It's not just theory, it's a demonstrable fact. USSR lifted millions of people out of poverty and provided them with education, food, housing, and jobs. There are numerous studies showing that USSR managed to provide a much better standard of living than vast majority of capitalist nations, and it did this without exploitation or colonization inherent in capitalism.

These people experienced a far more luxurious life experience than the common Soviet citizen, in the same way Bezos experiences a far more luxurious life experience than myself.

That's absolute and utter nonsense. Nobody lived like Bezos in USSR, and in fact politicians weren't even the highest paid profession. Party members lived in apartments, and their lifestyle was incredibly modest compared to capitalist oligarchs. You're simply discrediting yourself by making such statements.

Gotta love “public ownership”. But when you believe in fairy tales, it’s so often difficult to see reality.

I actually grew up in USSR, but please tell me more what my life there was really like.

No, they didn’t. Ever heard of “coffin problems”? They were a sort of entrance exam that kept “certain people” out of the most prestigious universities while allowing others in without even bothering with the tests. Sort of like the literacy voting tests they had in the Jim Crow south. Impossible to pass if you were the wrong sort of human.

Yes they did, that's why all the leadership in USSR came from common people from all over the country. To be blunt, comparing problems in USSR to Jim Crow laws makes you an idiot.

Socialism is inherently violent. There will always be people who do not wish to live in socialism. And if you let them defect, soon there won’t be anyone participating. Thus, they cannot be allowed to defect. The only way to prohibit them from defecting is violence.

You can't make a system where everyone is happy, but you can make one that serves the needs of the majority. That's what socialism is. It's a more fair system than capitalism. The only reason you defend capitalism is because you're the one directly benefiting from the exploitation.

Meanwhile, in the United States, any of you are free to set up your own little commune, and do socialism for as long as you like. But it never works, only freeloaders show up. And then you blame capitalism for that.

You continue to flaunt your utter lack of intelligence here. How are you free to start a commune in US if you don't own any capital. In order to start a commune, you need to be able to buy land and then to be able to afford to build things on that land. Vast majority of Americans have nowhere near the capital needed to do that. If you're born poor in US, you have to work at least 40 hours a week just so you don't starve on the street. The fact that you don't understand this simple fact is truly amazing.

Capitalism has its share of violence. But it tamps it down… there are easier and safer ways to get what you want than to bash someone over the head and take it.

You're an utter ignoramus if you think that. Let's start with the fact that US holds 20% of world's prison population that's used as slave labor.