#american politcs

[loverofpaperwork]

F.A. Hayek Road to Serfdom

A sometimes quoted gospel of the conserative base in America is F. A. Hayek's work Road to Surfdom, usually quoted alongside other problematic works like the Black Book of Communism or Thomas payne's numerous works calling for separation from England. Problematic in the sense of being a highly persuasive text rather than academic. I would point out that Hayek disagrees with many aspects of American politics, especially the parties.

Hayek was born in Austria in 1899 and graduated from the college of Vienna after the First World War. He would later go to London for education in economics. I only point this out that he experienced England at the height of its colonial power, and Europe during a time of great political turmoil. His theories are likewise shaped and molded by the great maddening of the world. Communism itself would become popular in much of the world during this time and perhaps he saw it as a threatening force to the liberties of many of his countrymen.

His work is not a refutation of any government system, but a critique of government power. He believes that any rights enshrined to the people will naturally be surrender to the government in the course of business. That governments inherently require a subjugation of the rights of individuals in order to function.

So my issue with his theory is that he cannot model the behavior of thousands of different groups. His assumptions are invalid because people do not have inherent rights other to think for themselves and to die. All other privileges are social constructs, which is why countries have to keep spelling them out. What he calls the road to serfdom is *check notes* paying taxes? owning property? being able to use a bank? employees washing their hands after using the bathroom?

Hayek's extreme libertarian views undermine the value his work has. Economics theories are both mathematical formulas that explains markets, and legislative suggestions to politicians. I find it wise to ignore the proscription side of economics and focus more on how the math works, its assumptions are more important than its conclusions.

Every person performs complex economic value statements every day with how they spend their time and their money. A wise rule of thumb is that people do not act in their own best interest. Another rule is that when left alone, people tend to maximize happiness in the short term. Applying these two assumptions to government, then we can understand that long term projects must needs be influenced by the countries government. A group of individuals will not build hospitals, roads. factories, etc. if they can get something more useful now. This is one of the many reasons billionaires suck ass. They only act for their own best interest in the short term, like buy twitter, launch cars into space for no reason, build a metaverse that doesn't work, scam bitcoin, scam people looking to lose weight. The list goes on. But the actual important stuff is being done by the government.

What hayek calls the road to surfdom is just how human nature works. It isn't a bad thing. When I read it I thought it was going to be some sort of Ayn Aand kind of thing, and yep, it is basically academic Atlas Shrugged. it doesn't know what it wants to say, and it meanders all over the place. The funny thing is that Hayek had literal servants in London, and wrote a book about the road to servitude. I don't think he asked them about why they serve. Its capitalism at its finest being exercised in a class system. People serve because they want to survive, not because they surrendered rights to the government. Maybe that is what it looks like when examining multiple generations of people, but individuals when put to the sword often choose to live. Serfs existed in Europe and England as landless tenants living off the welfare of the lord, welfare being taxed most of their property every year. As landless individuals they had very little rights, but they weren't slaves. The lord controlled marriages, and often had exclusive rights to claim their children as servants/concubines.

So what did each individual surrender to the government on their own road to surfdom. According to Hayek, specific rights, but in reality, they choose to live instead of being slaughtered, or starved. They had a choice between life and death. This is what Hayek ignores in his book. He uses such a whitewashed version of what serfdom is and British history that the books message is lost. But to be fair it was inpolitic to talk about these kind of things in 1940's Europe, what with what was going on.

#hayek #american politcs #serfs

[cuckerfailson]

Ok everyones seen this already but I had to figure out who drew the actual nfts and

Fucking behold they actually credit the guy on the website which led me to go to his website and

over $1000 image of angry video game nerd coming out of the tv like the girl from the ring

#politics #american politcs

[uncanny-tranny]

I think there is a difference between "I'm not supporting this incremental change/policy because it will not work/it is not something which will be sustainable even at a small scale," and "I'm not supporting this incremental change/policy because it is not doing absolutely everything I want it to do"

I see this with my fellow USAmericans a lot where there will be a new bill, for instance, that only makes small (but positive!) changes, but because it is an incremental change and not a magical bill that will undo 200+ years of the United States Being Like That, they won't support it. I absolutely sympathize with the frustration that comes from politics, especially because it is slow, tireless, and often thankless, but I really can't emphasize that if you throw in the towel at every opportunity, you can make way for worse outcomes. You don't need to stop at incremental changes, but you also do not want to see the alternatives if you care about your fellow people.

#politics #us politcs #this isn't specific to the US but i've just sene it a LOT with my Fellow American™ #and I don't want to insert myself into international politics in the sense of being an authority #i'm not even saying that *i* like this even #i myself find that i have very complex feelings about this topic and it's hard to parse through them sometimes #so i get that it's frustrating and upsetting at times. i am Not saying it's easy or fun

[asingularcoffeebean]

not to get political or anything but if you can vote this year vote for this woman. she actually knows what shes doing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson

#politics #2024 elections #marianne williamson #please vote #vote democrat #lgbtq #gun control #climate change #healthcare #mental health #president #election 2024 #american #usa #us politcs

[theworldssmallestgiant]

Yanks keep complaining about how we need to reach young men and prevent them from being exposed to nazi ideology online. We need to stop the shapiros and the tates from spreading their retarded messages if cruelty and hate. This is why liberals will lose.

You're treating young men like they're morons who can't make their own decisions. Answer me this, how many times would I have to tell you the sky is green before you believed me? Never, right, even when you were a teen? Why? Because you can see for yourself that it isn't.

When we apply this logic to nazi media the same thing happens. Their patriarchal, right wing, trad wife bullshit is DEMONSTRABLY a lie, backed up by nothing but grift. White, yank teens see this and KNOW it's a lie.

They're not fooled. They choose to be nazi cunt nags and no amount of understanding or communication is going to change that. They CHOOSE to be nazis every day. They're not lead a stray.

Either you're saying that white, yank men are actually the STUPIDEST people to have EVER existed. Dumb enough to fall for Ben fucking shapiro. Or you have to admit that they're basically sub human scum.

#america moment #gop house #america #republicans #tradwoman #gop #democrats #traditional gender roles #american #politcs #andrew tate #ben shapiro

[stevesbestgirl]

Lol at my coworkers asking what I'm doing for the Fourth of July

Nothing bc the USA can suck a big fat one

I'm gonna get my nose pierced and smoke a bunch of weed all weekend as an act of rebellion

#andie rambles #politcal crap #american bs

[ehj3]

NO VACANCY

“Dragons of the prime, / That tare each other in their slime” —Alfred Tennyson This is an overview of the world of USA socio-economic politics. It’s an overt statement of the way things are. Such statements, the actual display of a “no” sign, are never this overt out there, our socio-economic-political leaders string us along as it’s to their advantage for the rest of us to be optimistic, but in…

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#american dream #art world #big business #blogging #capitalism #cartoons #eminence grise #entrepreneurs #mountebanks #politcs #proletariat #USA

[therileyandkimmyshow]

Escape with The Riley and Kimmy Show

#podcast #video #talk #positive #nostalgia #politics #politcal #election #voting #american politics #gop #republican #democrat #Youtube

[thealiveshadow]

The Twitter people are saying Joe Biden is worse than Reagan, we’re really in the trenches now.

#joe biden #twitter #ronald reagan #politcs #us politics #american politics #social media #israel #isreal #democrats #republicans

[picturejasper20]

Wow... people having to identify themselves to a government because of they are part of a group that is seen as ¨other¨ or because they want to learn about a certain topic...where i have seen this before...

I don't know... maybe what it is considered one of the biggest red flags in steps of dehumanization of groups, mainly minorities?

Btw, this is what the people behind KOSA are trying to impose in all the United States of America.

[Image ID: News politcs article about USA politics that says ¨Kansas governor passes law requiring ID to view acts of 'homosexuality' online, vetoes anti-LGBTQ+ bill¨ /.End ID]

Link to the article: https://www.advocate.com/politics/kansas-veto-age-verification-gender-affirming-care-abortion

Edit: Since this gained more notes, for those who don't know KOSA is, it is a USA bill that was reintroduced on May 2023 (last year). It is called ¨Kids Online Safety Act¨ (KOSA for short). It has been introduced and reintroduced for a while now since 2022. It is meant with the intention to ¨protect kids¨ by restricting their use of internet by pushing age restrictions and people having to present their ID to use internet or access certain websites, quite similar to the Kansas state bill that got passed. Many groups and people have criticized this bill for the potential censorship it can come with it and do more harm to the kids than help them. Possible censorship that has been suggested this bill can bring is LGBT+ content, politics and news, mental health search, political and social opinions in general (adults included). What is more, it has been put into question the possible invasion of privacy for both minors and adults by having to share an identification to use certain websites. That people could get censored or doxxed by doing this.

As for the bill itself, there was a hearing earlier today in the Senate. ( April 17th-Wednesday). It could take a while before it gets voted and has to pass different stages. Then it would take months (18 months) to be implemented if it gets passed.

I'm not American myself, so i'm not sure how much i can do about this. What i do recommend is making calls to senators and people involved in pushing this bill to make clear your disapproval of it. Try sign petitions or just telling others about it.

Some sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_Online_Safety_Act https://www.stopkosa.com/ https://www.badinternetbills.com/ https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/dont-fall-latest-changes-dangerous-kids-online-safety-act

Website to keep track of the KOSA bill movements and cosponsors of the bill:

#kosa bill #stop kosa #kosa #lgbt #internet #USA #tumblr

[quotesfrommyreading]

Each year, some fifty thousand adolescents in the U.S. are sent to a constellation of residential centers—wilderness programs, boot camps, behavior-modification facilities, and religious treatment courses—that promise to combat a broad array of unwanted behaviors. There are no federal laws or agencies regulating these centers. In 2007, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that, in the previous seventeen years, there had been thousands of allegations of abuse in the troubled-teen industry, and warned that it could not find “a single Web site, federal agency, or other entity that collects comprehensive nationwide data.” The next year, George Miller, a member of Congress from California, championed the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act, which tried to create national safety standards and a system for investigating reports of abuse and neglect at the schools. But the law never passed the Senate. “Some schools are fraudulent in the kind of data they present to state agencies that theoretically have control over them,” Miller told me, “and they are fraudulent to parents about the level of punishment they impose.” There is a dearth of long-term mental-health-care facilities for youth, and, he said, the industry “off-loads a problem that the public system can’t manage.”

Versions of Miller’s bill have been introduced in Congress eight more times, but the legislation has never passed, and the basic problems with the industry remain largely unchanged. Malcolm Harsch, an attorney who is coördinating an American Bar Association committee devoted to reforming the industry, told me, “When programs get shut down because of allegations of abuse, they tend to disappear and then pop up again with new names, as if they were new facilities.”

—   The Shadow Penal System for Struggling Kids

#rachel aviv #the shadow penal system for struggling kids #religion #christianity #children #teenagers #child abuse #troubled teen industry #behaviour modification #politcs #american politics #sociology #education #law #usa #global teen challenge #u.s. government accountability office #george miller #malcolm harsch #stop child abuse in residential programs for teens

[spidergwen-real-notclickbait]

just submitted my dissertation proposal!!! I decided to do it on bobby kennedy but i was speaking to my tutor today and we’re still able to change our minds coz our supervisors won't be officially located until september but i think im gonna stick w this topic tbh

#we just had to submit it now to give the course leader an idea of how many students each supervisor will have coz they all specialise in #different topics #but there's like three lecturers at my uni that can supervise Cold War/ American politcs topics #I just wanted to go w the one I want bc he does specifically mid 20th century American politics

[uncanny-tranny]

Fellow US americans: you're right that american exceptionalism was propaganda warfare aimed at specifically inspiring people to support whatever was in need of more civilian support. You're right that US history (especially in school) never taught you accurate history. You're right that you weren't told the full story about the bloody history of america.

But be careful where those criticisms inspire you to go. When you are fresh in learning that you've never known the full truth, you are in a vulnerable place for radicalization - and many (especially hate groups) know this. So many stories I've seen of people deradicalizing from hate movements specifically started out with, "I learned just how wrong american exceptionalism was" or something to the effect of realizing just how built-in lies are the american dream(tm).

#politics #us politcs #specifying us american because: 1.) that's what i am 2.) i've seen this play out SO MANY TIMES AND IT'S GETTING NOT FUNNY ANYMORE

[qqueenofhades]

Ok wait what why is the FBI investigating the orange????

Well, you see, the thing is that Donald Trump has done literally so many crimes that when the news first broke, everyone was like "but in relation to which crime though?" It now has been confirmed that the raid was about the 15 boxes of top-secret documents that Trump stole from the White House and took to Mar-a-Lago with him. The salient points to appreciate are therefore these:

Federal law does not fuck around with the penalties for mishandling classified information and/or presidential records (all of which are required to be preserved and turned over to the National Archives, even if they aren't literal top-secret classified intelligence). If Trump is convicted of this, one of the penalties includes... being barred from holding federal office ever again. If it turns out that he was selling secrets to foreign actors, such as, say, Russia or Saudi Arabia, both of which the Trump crime family has close ties with, the penalty is LIFE IMPRISONMENT OR DEATH. As I said. Does not fuck around. Either way, Trumpie got (let us fucking hope) a lot of pain coming.

The amount of evidence that it takes for a federal judge to sign off on a warrant for a no-knock raid is... a lot. The same but for a FORMER PRESIDENT? Yeah. It's a lot.

This also required the personal approval of both AG Merrick Garland and FBI director Christopher Wray. Wray is a lifelong Republican appointed by... you guessed it, Trump, after he fired James Comey in an attempt to obstruct the Russia investigation.

Pause for sad trombone noise.

Also, this proves that Garland is in fact willing to authorize operations that target Trump directly, which means that, hopefully, he isn't afraid to charge Trump in connection with January 6.

The amount of right wing whining and crying about the pOlitciZeD jUsTICe dEpARtMenT!!!!1 is, predictably but depressingly, absolutely insane. Once again, consequences are something that are only supposed to happen to somebody else. Even if the guy in question literally tried to use the Justice Department to launch a coup to illegally stay in power and destroy American democracy. FAKE NEWS!!!

Objectively, "they even broke into my safe!" is absolutely fucking hilarious. As was the Anonymous Source (let's be real, probably Donnie Jr.) who complained that the FBI guys just grabbed boxes and documents without "going through them properly." WHAT DO YOU ORANGE FUCKFACE TWATWAFFLES THINK A RAID BY THE FBI ACTUALLY IS??? THAT THEY JUST STAND THERE AND ASK NICELY TO ONLY LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE WILLING TO SHOW THEM???

In conclusion, the "Lock Up Hillary Clinton For Mishandling Her Private Emails!!!" crowd suddenly isn't super fond of an ex-federal official getting locked up for mishandling top-secret documents.

Weird.

#anonymous #ask #politics for ts

[ftafp]

Look, I know I'm going to piss people off by saying this, but it needs to be said, bolded, underlined, AND CAPITALIZED because people's lives are at stake.

To say I'm unhappy with Biden's handling of the palestinian genocide is like saying the marianas trench is a little humid this time of year. People are dying because of his actions, and I hope he burns there.

BUT

2024 is 9 days away, and right now, Donald "Grab her by the pussy" Trump is looking like a frontrunner, and if you think Biden has been bad for this country, I need you to remember just how bad life was under him

Make no mistake, Trump is no ally to palestine

Nor to american jews who he accuses of destroying america

He's already stated his plan to lock up politcal opponents and quoted ADOLPH FUCKING HITLER in response to immigrants, and promised to cut federal funding for any school or program that promotes "gender ideology or any inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto our children"

I understand why so many liberals are turning on Biden. I understand why I'm turning on Biden. But 2024 9 days away. The election is coming. YOU DO NOT HAVE AN EXCUSE TO SIT THIS ONE OUT!

America's system is beyond fucked, but saying "the lesser of two evils is still evil" overlooks the fact that the greater of two evils will result in your own persecution and possible death.

LETTING AMERICANS DIE FOR YOUR PRINICIPLES IS NOT THE MORAL FUCKING HIGH GROUND!

VOTE!

Not for a third party who has no chance of winning and will only serve to split the party handing Trump the victory. For Biden. It may suck. You may hate it. Too bad life doesn't offer any better options.

I have loved ones–family memebers who supported me growing up even when my own father wouldn't–who will die under Trump's policies. If you don't fight in this election, and he loses, they will have died because of the choice you made thinking it was the moral one!

VOTE!

#us politics #politics #joe biden #biden administration #donald trump #2024 #2024 elections #palestine #free palestine #gaza #immigration #transrightarehumanrights #israel

[louissatturi]

The thing i hate about the fact of putting politics on the qsmp is that is IMPOSSIBLE to discuss it without the dicussion being dismissed for being just "minecraft roleplay" or people acting like its actual real life politics

And it sucks ASS because EVERYBODY on the fandom/on the qsmp is getting INTENSE culture shook because of how shit work in the other peoples country (4halo fight is literally the best exemple) and then when people try to explain (mostly non americans because americans think we SHOULD already know their politics) using real life politcs because WE CANT SCAPE

Like unfortunaly putting references of political stuff on the ficcional seting is gonna get compared with the real life stuff

Its EXAUSTING!!!! Because nobody is understanding the key thing that politics are VERY diferent from country to country even if they have a similar history

Like brazil has MULTIPLE political partys and we vote using eletric urns while in the United states there is only two political partys and people vote on PAPER

Also it shows how some of yall dont know SHIT about politics of other countrys (with is OKAY i will not hate on you for that) and makes the discorse annoying

Anyways im basicly just vanting and tired

Sorry

#qsmp #qsmp discourse #qsmp venting