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weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
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3,515
Privatize it all. Government only creates waste, fraud and abuse. Take a look at the Boston Big Dig for example...
I genuinely would like to see how soon the novelty wears off having to pay a toll every time you step outside your front door as nowhere will be public land.
 
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Apple Fan 2008

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I genuinely would like to see how soon the novelty wears off having to pay a toll every time you step outside your front door as nowhere will be public land.
Would it really be any different than paying taxes except it's consensual? Not saying I would want no state or public property at all, but just saying.
 

Gudi

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Would it really be any different than paying taxes except it's consensual?
The taxes are limited and proportional to your income. Trespassing a private road can cost you a fortune or your life. Again, play BioShock for a glimpse of how a truly Libertarian society would look like.
 

Apple Fan 2008

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Oh no, that's cheating! Ayn Rand or death. 😤

Ok, I watched it. First of all Bioshock more of a depiction of Fordism (Brave New World) than anything else. It is perceived self freedom but is actually a dictatorship.

The host of the video also did not talk about the Non-agression principle (NAP) at all. The Non-agression principle states that you are allowed to do what you want as long as you do not violate the life, liberty, or property of others.

He also seemed to depict libertarians as being athiests, while many libertarians are athiests there are also libertarian Christians who believe that free will comes from God. You don't have to reject all forms of a higher power to be a libertarian.

He also was talking about how the free market doesn't solve systemic injustice. Systemic injustice is by definition caused by a system! Jim Crow laws in the US were created by the government.

I also want to make clear that I don't advocate for no state at all, I advocate for a state that protects the rights of its people.
 

weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
5,836
3,515
Would it really be any different than paying taxes except it's consensual? Not saying I would want no state or public property at all, but just saying.
Yes. It would literally be like playing Monopoly when you land on everyone else's squares. You'd bankrupt yourself just walking to the nearest store.
 

Gudi

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Yes. It would literally be like playing Monopoly when you land on everyone else's squares. You'd bankrupt yourself just walking to the nearest store.
And it's the company store, where you can only pay with the company's money. 💸


They ways in which America already tried to exploit its citizens is mind-boggling. They are literally brainwashed into believing slavery is good for them! 😵‍💫
 
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Gudi

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I wasn’t referring to getting paid in gift cards, I was referring to a store only accepting its own money from its consumers.
And even that reference failed, because the store will gladly accept payment is US-dollars. The gift card is just a trick to make you spend more, because you surely don't want to lose the money on that non-refundable gift card, do you?

😩 God, I still have €100 in stupid AppStore money, because my dad couldn't stop buying these stupid gift cards at a "discount".
 

Apple Fan 2008

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And even that reference failed, because the store will gladly accept payment is US-dollars. The gift card is just a trick to make you spend more, because you surely don't want to lose the money on that non-refundable gift card, do you?

😩 God, I still have €100 in stupid AppStore money, because my dad couldn't stop buying these stupid gift cards at a "discount".
The thing about capitalism is that you have choice. You can choose what store to buy from or what brand of clothing to get. Nobody is forcing you to have to buy one thing or another. Your dad chose to get gift cards because he felt they were worth it.
 

Gudi

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The thing about capitalism is that you have choice. You can choose what store to buy from or what brand of clothing to get. Nobody is forcing you to have to buy one thing or another. Your dad chose to get gift cards because he felt they were worth it.
No, because he is stupid. He grew up hungry post-war and developed an inner-fear of not getting enough, if he doesn't buy now. We've got 10 boxes of printing paper in the basement.


Capitalism creates an incentive to use all kinds of psychological tricks to make people buy things they don't really need. Gift cards fall into the same category as Apple's upgrade ladder and the new Space Black color being exclusive to higher-tier MBPs. It's all just trickery and not providing customers with real choices.
 

weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
5,836
3,515
The thing about capitalism is that you have choice. You can choose what store to buy from or what brand of clothing to get. Nobody is forcing you to have to buy one thing or another. Your dad chose to get gift cards because he felt they were worth it.
The problem with unfettered capitalism, which was what I originally replied to, is that it rapidly leads to monopolies and oligarchy, where your choice is effectively subordinated to those with more resources than you.

If you are paid in company tokens, your choice is immediately restricted and drastically so. Without the umbrella of interventionist government, you become bonded labour. If you have to pay road tolls just to move around where you live, then your room for manoeuvre is limited by those who will accept the tokens you have, otherwise welcome to incarceration. You just will not be able to afford to seek alternative employment and zero prospect of changing this ever.
 

Apple Fan 2008

macrumors 65816
May 17, 2021
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The problem with unfettered capitalism, which was what I originally replied to, is that it rapidly leads to monopolies and oligarchy, where your choice is effectively subordinated to those with more resources than you.

If you are paid in company tokens, your choice is immediately restricted and drastically so. Without the umbrella of interventionist government, you become bonded labour. If you have to pay road tolls just to move around where you live, then your room for manoeuvre is limited by those who will accept the tokens you have, otherwise welcome to incarceration. You just will not be able to afford to seek alternative employment and zero prospect of changing this ever.
You don't understand, I am not advocating for the abolition of the US dollar, nor am I arguing for absolutely no intervention ever, if anything violates the NAP, it should be dealt with. I'm just saying that there is a lot of over-regulation that should be dealt with as it is damaging progress.
 
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Apple Fan 2008

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There are many versions of libertarianism, not every libertarian is an anarcho-capitalist.

There's minarchy, classical liberalism, geolibertarianism, bleeding-heart libertarianism, green libertarianism, and much more.

Not all libertarians want the entire abolition of public property and the state.
 

Gudi

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I'm just saying that there is a lot of over-regulation that should be dealt with as it is damaging progress.
No, there isn’t. There’s under-regulation and there is the abuse and perversion of regulation by corporations to promote their own goals. Why do you think Google urged the EU Commission to force Apple to join RCS? Is it because they deep down care about consumers? No, they try to rig the game in their favor. Democracy needs strong, incorruptible institutions. America doesn’t have them (anymore), that’s why Americans don’t trust in government regulations. They’ve been brainwashed by the 1% to trust their livelihood to the company not the union.
 

Apple Fan 2008

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No, there isn’t. There’s under-regulation and there is the abuse and perversion of regulation by corporations to promote their own goals. Why do you think Google urged the EU Commission to force Apple to join RCS? Is it because they deep down care about consumers? No, they try to rig the game in their favor. Democracy needs strong, incorruptible institutions. America doesn’t have them (anymore), that’s why Americans don’t trust in government regulations. They’ve been brainwashed by the 1% to trust their livelihood to the company not the union.
Do you remember that video I sent you? San Francisco California has a homelessness crisis and they cannot even make apartments or homes in time because of all the bureaucracy surrounding it. It also took 18 years for wind turbines to be approved for building in one situation.
 

Gudi

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Do you remember that video I sent you? San Francisco California has a homelessness crisis and they cannot even make apartments or homes in time because of all the bureaucracy surrounding it. It also took 18 years for wind turbines to be approved for building in one situation.
And California also has an E. coli crisis, this doesn't mean the only way to provide Europe with good food is to abandon all food safety regulations. It's not that bureaucracy is inherently bad, you're just bad a bureaucracy.
 

Apple Fan 2008

macrumors 65816
May 17, 2021
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And California also has an E. coli crisis, this doesn't mean the only way to provide Europe with good food is to abandon all food safety regulations. It's not that bureaucracy is inherently bad, you're just bad a bureaucracy.
Who’s advocating for abandoning all food regulations? I’m talking about inefficient bureaucracy involving housing.
 

danpass

macrumors 68030
Jun 27, 2009
2,693
482
Glory
Having read just the first page of thread …. the support of autocracy (masquerading as democracy) .... welcome to MacRumors.

-
 
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Gudi

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May 3, 2013
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Ok @Gudi, since you talk about monopolies so much, I have one question. Is the state a monopoly?
Oh yes, it is! 😁 That's why we have rule of law, balance of power, free press and multi-party elections built into the system.

A scientific study found that decisions we make collectively are far more important for our wealth and well-being than individual decisions. A successful Russian self-made man is still helpless to see his business crumble under sanctions and must flee his home to avoid being drafted into the war.

Governments and good governance matter a whole lot. That's the part even the nationalists understood right. And bad governments can be very-very harmful. That's what the libertarians got right. But you can't avoid making collective decisions and you need bureaucracy as a skeleton against arbitrariness and despotism.

As Prussians we always understood the strength of a nation lies in mastering the art of statecraft. The Biden administration excels all expectations with their superb international diplomacy, but a dysfunctional Senate and partisan Supreme Court make sure America's internal politics lies in shambles. The only question is whether this mess is due to incompetence or sabotage?
 
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