The Yes Men

[EPW]

I didn't think teh great Buddha believed in evil?

[ZEE]

well its all in context

[Mon River Monarch]

Wouldn't living a past life be just a continuation into this life? and why wouldn't you be able to remember a past life? It should be somehow connected to this one & the next one. Wouldn't you think?

[ZEE]

karma always carrys over, like the story of the man with the 4 wives explains

[ZEE]

no it was 5.

Friends (1), Fame (2), Family (3), Money (4), and Karma (5).

Only the 5th wife goes to your next life (karma)

[chequita guevara]

Don't anarchists have a similar doctrine? I must admit, the same idea appealed to me in my teens. It does sound problematic vis the necessary but unpleasant tasks though.

And commies too.

A lot of the necessary but unpleasant tasks can be handled either collectively, i.e., the second week of May is your day to collect garbage on the garbage truck, or we can automate a good bit of it. Hell, most work in advanced capitalist society is non-productive work (and I don't mean artists). Advertising, sorry Ming, is not useful work for society, only for capitalists. By getting rid of most pointless work, most of the necessary work can be shared equally (with allowances for those who are unable or more willing).

[Mon River Monarch]

And commies too.

A lot of the necessary but unpleasant tasks can be handled either collectively, i.e., the second week of May is your day to collect garbage on the garbage truck, or we can automate a good bit of it. Hell, most work in advanced capitalist society is non-productive work (and I don't mean artists). Advertising, sorry Ming, is not useful work for society, only for capitalists. By getting rid of most pointless work, most of the necessary work can be shared equally (with allowances for those who are unable or more willing).

I'm not sure if you're kidding or serious. We all take the garbage to the curb, but only one or two unlucky guys get to gather it all into the truck. Do you mean we should all stand at the curb till the truck comes by & fling it on? Or do all 5,000 people in my community drive the garbage truck in the 2nd week of May?

[chequita guevara]

No, just you drive the truck, because we all hate you.

Everyone benefits from society, everyone should have to put a little back in to maintaining it. To be more direct, though I should think it obvious, no, all 5,000 people do not drive the truck the 2nd week of May. Think of it more like Jury duty. Once every few years, you have to go be part of a jury pool, once a year or so, you have to be the guy hanging on the end of the garbage truck, then your community service is done.

[EPW]

There would be a communal garbage heap in the middle of every neighborhood and city block.

[Mon River Monarch]

No, just you drive the truck, because we all hate you.

Everyone benefits from society, everyone should have to put a little back in to maintaining it. To be more direct, though I should think it obvious, no, all 5,000 people do not drive the truck the 2nd week of May. Think of it more like Jury duty. Once every few years, you have to go be part of a jury pool, once a year or so, you have to be the guy hanging on the end of the garbage truck, then your community service is done.

I'd rather be driving the truck. We'll let you throw the garbage on. So, in your Utopia, who decides when a person should work & who would be exempt? Sounds like Communism that would slowly evolve in democracy, or maybe a Monarchy

[ZEE]

Communism is great on paper till actual human beings get involved.

sort of like Tabletop D&D

[ricketyclik]

No, just you drive the truck, because we all hate you.

Everyone benefits from society, everyone should have to put a little back in to maintaining it. To be more direct, though I should think it obvious, no, all 5,000 people do not drive the truck the 2nd week of May. Think of it more like Jury duty. Once every few years, you have to go be part of a jury pool, once a year or so, you have to be the guy hanging on the end of the garbage truck, then your community service is done.

So once every few years I have to learn the garbage route and how to operate the truck, so it will take me three days to do the task when if I did it every day it would only take me one.

[chequita guevara]

Are you so stupid you can't figure out how to operate push button machinery and a TomTom?

[chequita guevara]

Communism is great on paper till actual human beings get involved.

sort of like Tabletop D&D

It's great in the real world too, especially when human beings get involved. What's not so great is stupid people repeating the same tired argument about it being great on paper until you get human beings involved.

[ricketyclik]

Are you so stupid you can't figure out how to operate push button machinery and a TomTom?

No. As I clearly stated in my post. I am pointing out that specialisation has something to be said for it.

I will now go further and say that to mount a convincing leftist argument you really ought to incorporate an allowance for specialisation.

At the risk of barraging you with criticism, I would further suggest that you will have better success convincing people of your point of view if you don't insult them. I suspect that a good garbo has a fair bit of skill.

On that last point, I suspect that it's frustration with continually being dismissed and marginalised that lead you to such a response, so I forgive you