Mikie

It’d be fine if it wasn’t coming from a Trump apologist and Ayn Rand cultist. That just makes it hilarious.

I see Chomsky as saying the following, based on several interviews I've seen over the years: There are two factions of the business party. That's unde...

So Bernie announced he's not running, and will be supporting Joe. That means an end of an important period. Bernie will never be president (not that t...

People run for office, but without any party label. I know at the start of the US, there was a lot of debate about the usefulness of parties, whether ...

Yes, it's a one-party system: the business party. A real two-party system is kind of the wrong question, in my view. Ideally there would be either no ...

I wish all the "government is the problem" folks could just come out and say what they really feel: they're anti-democracy. "Demos" is a collective, t...

:rofl: Thanks for the jokes, I needed that laugh.

The arguments for taxation, in the US anyway, go back to the founding of the country. The articles of confederation were a disaster largely because th...

Yes— to say nothing of tax protesting and tax resistance. Each have a long history, as you know— I know some people who have done it for very valid re...

:up: A point that’s almost always glossed over when discussing wage jobs. “You’re free to go elsewhere, you consented to it.” Way too cavalier, and ig...

(Chomsky) :chin:

One can search the entire website for “statist” and find something else out — Namely that the term is often used to describe me by none other than the...

To get back to the OP (apologies for contributing to its derailment): of course communism is possible. That a community can control production, and pr...

No, you’re confused. I’m the one voluntarily paying for these programs so that other people who can’t work can get something to eat. You’d deny them t...

In any case, anyone paying taxes does so voluntarily. Anyone working for a wage — likewise, voluntary. Never mind the nuances. Those who truly don’t w...

So you WOULD deny them the means. Got it. Apparently paying taxes is worse than poor children and the disabled starving. Cool. Your sick worldview nev...

:lol: Yes, I’m often in the habit of pulling babies away from their mothers. I wonder of the two of us, who is in favor of food assistance programs an...

Yeah, so I guess babies, the disabled, children, the elderly, etc., better get off their asses.

Oh no, WITH permission. It’s totally voluntary. Just like working for a corporation. For those who don’t want to obey laws they don’t like— such as pa...

The employee is forced to work, or else he doesn’t eat. Guess one is voluntary and the other isn’t though. Keep shilling for corporate America buddy. ...

So if a child of 10 wants to work, it ceases to be child labor. If a person voluntarily becomes a slave (as has happened throughout history), it’s no ...

So slavery and child labor is fine, as long as it’s done voluntarily. Got it.

Laughable, isn’t it? This coming from the same guy in favor of child labor. “What about the kid who wants to work?” Apparently it’s not just consentin...

So it has nothing to do with principle. But we knew that already. Which is why your claim against slavery is absurd as well. What of the people who wa...

Any one watch “Extrapolations” on AppleTV? It took me three times to finish the first episode. Tons of good actors, and it’s about climate change — bu...

Which happens to an extreme degree in corporate America, the “private sector.” Oddly, we never hear you railing against that. It always works out some...

So you’re just reiterating that you’re against states and laws. Brilliant. :ok:

Someone who refuses to obey speed limits gets thrown in prison too. So I guess the state has a literal gun to my head there as well. In which case, al...

No they don’t. Stop with the theatrics just to serve your confused libertarianism. (But nice to see you’ve moved on from “literal gun to your head” to...

Perhaps the dream is to go back to the articles of confederation. That worked out wonderfully. Before getting too worked up, just remember that this e...

:blush: :up: Indeed. But that’s not a gun killing you — it’s freedom.

Those whining about taxes never whine about corporate exploitation. Why? It’s all justified by the pathetic “working for a company is voluntary.” Well...

So thinking taxes are taken at “literal gun point” is calling a spade, eh? :up:

@"Christoffer" …. Case in point.

Yeah, like I said, individualism is a pretty stupid religious belief even without it being used as a veil for plutocrats. Mostly just a cover for extr...

Individualism is perhaps the biggest myth and scam of modern times. Philosophically dubious at best, ignores one of human beings’ most basic traits (s...

Yes, of course. There is no pure, official statement of communism — so it’s hard to talk about. But if we take worker control of the workplace, the me...

Yet so many still defend capitalism. Responsible for more deaths and brutality than imaginable.

Great questions so far guys. Just FYI, I will be doing almost no editing beyond maybe correcting some typos or some grammar. If there comes a time whe...

I carve it up a little differently and, admittedly, idiosyncratically. I take philosophy to mean a kind of thinking, defined by its questions. Religio...

:up:

Both very popular guys. Peterson in my view is a complete charlatan, yet he’s often cited and borderline worshipped by his followers. I see some paral...

I have no reason to, because no one can tell me what he’s working on. But yeah, maybe it’s interesting. Maybe Peterson is interesting too — lots of pe...

I’ve heard him giving debates and interviews and lectures. Haven’t read his books, but yes — ignorant of his substance that his followers insist is th...

None by Zizek; I’ve scanned some of Petersons in Target.

He’s written books. I’ve yet to hear one of his followers explain what the substance is. Jordan Paterson has written lots of books too, incidentally. ...

I have yet to hear one interesting thing this man has said or done, what work he’s done on anything, and why anyone should care about his thoughts on ...

Woa. I missed this one. Nice quote.

Thanks for those. :up: True, definition and meaning aren't necessarily the same thing. But this started with: I never said anything about definition o...

There's bound to be some influence. But how that translates to the text and its question is what I'm interested in. So far no one has presented anythi...