• GraniteM@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    Suppose that, at a given moment, a certain number of people are engaged in the manufacture of pins. They make as many pins as the world needs, working (say) eight hours a day. Someone makes an invention by which the same number of men can make twice as many pins as before. But the world does not need twice as many pins: pins are already so cheap that hardly any more will be bought at a lower price. In a sensible world, everybody concerned in the manufacture of pins would take to working four hours instead of eight, and everything else would go on as before. But in the actual world this would be thought demoralizing. The men still work eight hours, there are too many pins, some employers go bankrupt, and half the men previously concerned in making pins are thrown out of work. There is, in the end, just as much leisure as on the other plan, but half the men are totally idle while half are still overworked. In this way, it is insured that the unavoidable leisure shall cause misery all round instead of being a universal source of happiness. Can anything more insane be imagined?

    –Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness

  • ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world
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    13 hours ago

    IMHO: UBI would force companies to pay employees properly. Because the employees would not be forced to agree to shit conditions and scams.

  • 18107@aussie.zone
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    1 day ago

    UBI would be nice. Imagine working at a job you like because you like it, not because you need it to survive.

    • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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      17 hours ago

      First, I’d like to preface by stating that I am a firm proponent of UBI, but i am under no illusion that life under UBI would be utopic, or even not miserable. The most likely scenario would be as life under “basic” on Earth was described in The Expanse book series. Necessary, but no picnic.

            • Grail@multiverse.soulism.net
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              13 hours ago

              Reality is a social construct defined by the dominant ethnic group in society, and manipulated by the Epstein class to control our minds.

              If you look at successful communist cultures, like in Australia, the nature of the world isn’t considered quite as objective as it is in the cultural West.

              I propose that the belief in objectivity correlates with capitalism for a reason: It is easier to accept an imperfect world when we are taught to believe that it was created by immutable, objective truths. Once we accept that everything is subjective, we begin wanting to remake our culture in a more equitable way. Thus, communism.

              I also suspect that Russia and China failed to achieve communism, and instead created state capitalism, because the people didn’t question their capitalist worldviews. Cultural ways of knowing were seen as objective, which lead to stagnation.

              • Fizz@lemmy.nz
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                12 hours ago

                This is undiagnosed schizophrenia or you’re actually trolling. You are just telling yourself a story. Everything you said is completely wrong im stunlocked. You just made up things you think sound good.

                Reality is not a social construct defined by the Epstein class. Australia is not a successful communist culture. Communism is not more equitable. Russia and china’s entire ideological backbone is questioning capitalism.

  • DigDoug@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I was looking for a job and then I found a job

    And heaven knows I’m miserable now

  • Almacca@aussie.zone
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    1 day ago

    Unemployed with money, however… I spent about 5 years ‘unemployed’ and living on income protection insurance, which gave me about AUD7000/month. It was great!

  • MrOtingocni@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Man, I feel this. Either face losing everything you own, starvation and homelessness or stuff your misery down deep and drag your sorry ass to yet another shift at the dream crushing factory.

  • tidderuuf@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Those luscious green hills over there? Oh that’s where the Epstein-class billionaires get to enjoy watching us fight each other over scraps they send down to us.

  • Ex Nummis@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Having just gotten an offer after 9 months of being jobless, I can relate to this. Although the 1k/month hike vs my previous job is a nice incentive.

  • baggachipz@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    I could probably retire (I’m old) if it weren’t for needing health care. It would be so nice to live in a proper country.