The Dead Horse Rides again: Cap/Com Debate

[Velociryx]

Monolith - an interesting theory.

I disagree, but I find it intriguing.

The *reason* I disagree is this:

Arms dealers aside, companies have a hard time selling their wares in war-torn areas (not only does demand tend to drop, but also costs tend to rise--transport trucks vanishing en route, etc).

I'm sorry to say that the demand for CD's and Microwaves isn't all that great in areas that are devastated by warring.

And then there's the simple mathematics of it all. War kills. Less people = less total demand.

Yes?

-=Vel=-

[monolith94]

Yeah, you can't get them to buy much stuff, but you can get them to work for you cheap.

[Velociryx]

ahhh, but if nobody's buying, what does it matter?

and setting up shop IN wartorn areas is even riskier business than trying to ship goods there.

-=Vel=-

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Velociryx
Arms dealers aside, companies have a hard time selling their wares in war-torn areas (not only does demand tend to drop, but also costs tend to rise--transport trucks vanishing en route, etc).

They have a hard time selling their wares in an area that is not secured by the military of the govt that supports them.

[Velociryx]

Yes yes! All our American companies are doing SO much business in the green zones in Iraq!

An excellent point!



-=Vel=-

[Agathon]

Well this thread has got boring.

People come up with arguments and Vel responds with flatulence.

I've told you Vel why implementation is not a problem for communists any more than it is for capitalists. It's not my fault, nor anyone else's, that you have either ignored or misunderstood this.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by David Floyd
This is a meaningless post, I just wanted to draw attention to my signature, which features a Kidicious quote, with contextual commentary

I jumped on him for that one

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by monolith94
Living in a highly centralized, socialized society has nothing to do with not having to think, etc. Indeed, a truly socialist society FREES a person, allowing them to pursue the profession, to pursue whatever allows them to do the most good in the world, by removing the shackles of fiscal burden.

Although it can be argued that fiscal burden has a positive effect on an artist's output, but that's a rather cynical viewpoint.

And the Russians didn't raise slackers and lazy workers. In actuality, I've found from my reading in last semester's Revolutionary Russia class that the average worker worked really hard. What they crushed was political ambition, political independence. A nation of political sycophants. But lazy? No.

That's because in the Soviet Union people had to work for their pay (sort of). It was basically a giant, monopolistic company.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by monolith94
Velocyrix - the main driving force of Socialism is PEACE. This is why corporations have no true interest in peace.

Actually, war sucks for business - it makes trade more difficult.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Kidicious


They have a hard time selling their wares in an area that is not secured by the military of the govt that supports them.

That's the point, isn't it? If it's all nice and peaceful, a lot easier to employ people/sell your stuff.

[Agathon]

Actually, war sucks for business - it makes trade more difficult.

Really? I suppose that explains the mega corporate welfare programs handed out to defence contractors and Halliburton charging outrageous sums for inedible food.

I suppose that explains why arms account for the highest proportion of traded goods in the world.

[Natalinasmpf]

We mechanize society to the point where the entire blue-collar worker is superfluous. This will eventually happen. Not for quite a while, but I believe it will.

And when they become self-aware, they become an underclass. In fact, I wrote a short story about it; they implented Orwellian thought control methods on the robots to keep them from revolting. Except, it used the euphemism "antivirus software", and the hunter-seeker algorithm came to mind.

[chequita guevara]

So we don't design machines with the capacity for self-awareness. Frankly, I'm not sure it's possible to create truely self-aware machines based on silicon and electricity.

[Az]

Problem is, with the rate "new-age thinking" etc. developes, some people will strive to assign them those properties.

[chequita guevara]

I do believe we're rapidly approaching a point where we won't even understand our own creations anymore. At that point, it may seem like machines are capable of independent thought, but I don't think it would actually be true.