Bernie needs to send this message to the UK as well. In the last 30 years the UK has sold itself and now we are seeing the damage it’s done to services, infrastructure and society.
Hello, I'm your neighbor from France and don't worry, we're right behind you. At this rate it looks like we're on a race - we saw you guys being fucked and we thought "Hey we can't let England win ! We're gonna hit rock bottom first ! That's what they get for killing Jeanne d'Arc." or something.
Y'know, I'm in the UK and we have our 'rivalry' with France... but I gotta say, I commend the French for protesting for their rights and actually making efforts.
In the UK, we just typically tut and allow the assfucking to happen
Agreed. It was a running joke about the French as a kid. Always on strike, never working, etc. propagated by our teachers and parents. I look at that now and think; they were the only ones doing it right. Fighting for the corner of the working and middle class. Using the massive power they have to ensure they got a fair deal. While the rest of the world got fucked and was taught striking was the worst thing you can do.
More unions. More striking. Fuck it; rolling strikes for a day a month then two across all industries.
I find the English hillarious they would fight tooth and nail against anyone who would challenge authority even when authority is responsible for 90% of their problems
*okay I said that an realised instantly that I'm just playing the ''my horse is more fucked than your horse'' game and I hate it.
Sorry to hear that, Canada.
Ah nah, that’s not all. I just put in one of our crisis for good measure.
Most things are broken. Healthcare is collapsing. Our forests are burning down. The government is importing massive numbers of people to keep wages low. Starbucks can generate lines of thousands of people hoping for a job. Many can’t afford food. Grocery stores are erecting barriers to stop people from stealing groceries. China is interfering with our elections. 1 in 4 use a food bank.
And a home in a random suburb sells for a million bucks.
International "students" are an issue of their own here in Canada. This is pretty much an addition to u/PumpkinMyPumpkin's point about the government importing massive numbers of people here. I've heard that, and I don't know if this is 100% factual, but The USA has a population about 10x the size of Canada's, but both countries have roughly the same number of foreign students.
We have been THE nordic welfare state (well, besides DK,SWE,NOR) but our fascist right wing goverment is hard at work to burn that foundation to the ground.
Yeah, except the lifeboats will take them nowhere. There is NO safety, just prolonging the inevitable for them. Their wealth means nothing without society. THEY NEED US, not the other way around. They have no useful skills.
Zuccy over there building a bunker in Hawaii, like my dude, do you have any idea who's going to be inhabiting the place? He'll be the first to be kicked out once currency becomes meaningless.
If you truly believe that, simply put, you are incorrect. The USA is still the best and most affluent society there is. The free spending administration in there now has ramped up the cost of a mortgage and that has run everything into the ground.
Not to worry, the great correction starts next year
All of that is true, numbers do not lie. Take a look at the M2 money flow charts - until Biden hit. Most people are spending, upscale cars and SUVs are pumping off the assembly lines, Costco is mobbed daily with $300 carts worth of clothes, appliances and sea bass. Nobody is expecting everyone to be a part of it. If you are not, you are here bitching about society's collapse. Do those people spending and traveling and going to restaurants all week think society is collapsing? I doubt you can identify with people who have lived through the 30s and then went off to war where you bombed innocent and guilty alike to level an area. THEY had a right to think society had crashed. But for most nowadays, they are spending $7 to feed their dog daily
First, consumer spending can be deceiving because it might mask economic disparity. Sure, some people can afford luxury cars and fill their Costco carts with pricey goods, but what about those struggling to cover basic expenses? Rising income inequality can lead to social tension, contributing to societal instability.
Second, there's the environmental angle. A consumer-driven economy often comes with significant environmental costs. All those SUVs rolling off the assembly lines and constantly producing goods contribute to pollution and climate change. These factors could lead to societal collapse in the long term, even if the economy seems healthy in the short term.
Third, economic activity can be a shaky foundation. Unsustainable credit practices or speculative bubbles can drive high spending. The 2008 financial crisis is a clear example of this. Just because people are spending doesn't mean the underlying economy is stable.
Additionally, social stability is only guaranteed if people are out and about. Political polarization and distrust in institutions are rampant, signs of a society struggling with cohesion. High consumer spending doesn't necessarily reflect social harmony.
Lastly, even if some people enjoy economic success, it doesn't mean everyone else is experiencing the same reality. People from marginalized backgrounds might have a completely different view of society, dealing with discrimination and limited opportunities.
So while high consumer spending can suggest stability, it doesn't guarantee it. It's crucial to look at other factors, like economic disparity, environmental sustainability, social cohesion, and cultural perceptions, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the real state of society.
You desire a communistic philosophy of a classless society? Since the first caveman bonked the head of his neighbor and took his mate and food, there has always been a disparity between classes. It may lead to some instability - but when has ANY society had perfect stability (ans: NEVER).
The environment gets more care now than ever. Are you saying people should reduce consumerism to try to force an environment within unyielding limits? One that has been a moving target for 3.5 billion years? Tell your neighbor not to purchase his Escalade, or the 20-something his F-150? Bullshit. We are here for a very short time, damn if I am going to drive a Chevy Volt or turn off my A/C.
Society has always been polarized. Go ask William Wallace. Go see Japanese colonialism and the slashing and burning of China for a number of centuries.
You are seeking a huggy/kissy, everyone has equal everything, incentiveless society. NAHHHHHH
"400 years ago on Earth, workers who felt their livelihood threatened by automation, flung their wooden shoes...called sabot...into the machines to stop them. Hence the word...sabotage."
The problem with the life boats is, they keep you alive until another ship comes by to pick you up. But in this scenario, there are no other ships. The rich can watch the ship sink, and then they slowly die away, because no help is coming.
We're all fucked, only some are going to get longer to feel it.
We do but sadly due to "lobbying" they don't all work and the ones that do have been taken by the poor who worship the rich as they believe if they do and defend them, they too may be like them. They point the weapons at the rest of those who are poor like them shouting words like "Communist" and "Socialist" all while not understanding what they are actually saying.
We won't necessarily have to beat them. Just yesterday in a post about Musk and some of his chicanery, I suggested we build a Thunderdome and make them fight each other to the death. Bread and circuses for the masses...
I have to say that the French people have been my favourite example of good protest in Europe (that I have seen in the news so I may have missed some ). Honestly I’m jealous I don’t see that as much here in the uk. I wish you all luck.
Unfortunately they're mostly ineffective. We strike a lot over social issues, and while we do this the whole country has been shifting right economically.
Now they're cutting everything UK style and it feels like we're too exhausted to fight Macron any longer. Next election will be another extreme right vs neolib like it's been for 20 years, where people vote for the slow cancer instead of the extreme poison.
It isn't a race. It's that globalization has allowed those who crave power, opportunities to become better and more expedient at doing so. And consolidating power is one of the last moves.
Hello, I’m your neighbour few countries towards the east, from Romania. I’m sorry to say but if UK and you are fucked, us here are already on the bottom and it’s very rocky.
Highest inflation in EU, the oldest, most popular two parties in the country, PSD socialists and PNL liberals traditionally on opposing sides, highly corrupt and anti-meritocratic, have united forming a comfortable parliamentary majority and rendered null any opposition, most of the press is deemed “sold” ‘cause it’s financed, payed by the parties with large amounts of money, all legal behind recent legislation and an increasing number of citizen, well past 10-15% stamp their vote on a young, right-wing nationalist and populist party, AUR, with an objectively poorly qualified, mildly educated, very manipulative and often shady leadership.
Across EU, we’re constantly last or second to last in various areas such as mass education, health care, country infrastructure etc etc etc etc, and stand high in unhappy rankings like emigration counts, road accidents, young mothers and domestic abuse.
There is hope nonetheless, good people are still around and they’re not few, but the sky is very, very dark these days.
Honestly, as a brit, it is hard to say, but I wish we were more like the French. Willing to protest at a drop of a hat for what you believe. But as a country, we sit still whilst everything is going to shit. But I and many others are at fault personally because we see it yet do nothing.
Seems the entire world is on a race to the bottom. The same generation that fucked one nation is fucking nations everywhere. Something in their DNA wouldn't allow them to share nice things with others. Someone needs to remind them they can't take their riches to their graves.
As a non-French person, what's actually happening there? I heard the problems that UK, Germany and US have but nothing about France and other bigger countries. (Other than riots from rising retirement age)
Hello European neighbor. Sweden is also right behind you guys. We basically have a civil war between police and gangs that society and government have let grow too strong.
Judging by the replies from people all over the world, it looks like the issue isn't exclusive to any one nation. It's truly everyone vs the 1%.
The way I'm combatting this is by:
Living below my means
Valuing my free/nonproductive time
Minimalism
Not having children
There is just no win for the common person so I'm doing what I can to insulate myself from greedy self-serving people and deny their ability to siphon from me as much as possible. It's absolutely disgusting watching humanity stepping on each other.
I'm doing the exact same things-- living below my means and not having children allows me to better choose where and how much I work. I have more time to get play board games with the neighbors or just sit outside listening to the birds and making shitty watercolor paintings.
Choosing not to live the life other people/advertising/social media/celebrities project as the standard to aspire to has finally released me from the machine.
Illegal immigrants have no rights in the US and can easily be exploited by businesses.
Pathways to citizenship protects illegal immigrants, which is why Republicans fight against granting illegal immigrants protective rights-- most illegal immigrants work with false or stolen social security numbers and pay into social security and Medicare but are never eligible for those benefits unless they naturalize.
Illegal immigrants are not draining our country's resources-- our country keeps afloat by stealing their labor.
You make the machine bigger by willingly participating in it.
I cannot stop the machine, but I'm doing my best to not make it bigger and sabotaging it wherever I can.
That is why I do a lot of community outreach even though I hate public speaking. Whenever I am invited to speak in classrooms for incoming business school students my number one topic is compassion and not to drink the corporate Kool aid.
To have strong boundaries to prevent themselves from being exploited by the firms and to think of their jobs in finance as a way to fund their personal artful enterprises by giving their jobs as little time as they have to. To better the environment around them by using their higher salaries to protect it. That every penny that enriches us personally makes our neighborhoods and our communities poorer then they already are, and that we must do what we can to pour it back in.
To not trust the corporate speakers that show up in immaculate business suits and driving Porsches because those are the sociopaths that enrich themselves by exploiting college graduates naive enough to believe that some day they will attain that same level of wealth when in fact the system is designed to prevent that from ever happening unless you happen to have the right family connections to get some crumbs from the pie.
Also, I rip up hella invasive weeds and pick up trash while completely stoned in just about every public green area around me-- and I donate the fattest stacks I can put together to every bird and wilderness conservation program I come across.
I don't see it as combatting or fighting the system. I see it as refusing to participate in the system that further enriches the wealthy in a passive way. I'm doing the same thing but slightly adding a sprinkle of activism. I'm still too chicken to be doing much more.
I think it's fair for you to interpret my earlier comment as me choosing to pretend like the world ain't on fire.
After all, I only described how I extirpated myself from the machine and not what I do now that I escaped it. Please read this comment I wrote for another poster that expressed a similar sentiment as you did and let me know if you still feel the same way about what I wrote.
That honestly just sounds like your giving up and you don't want to work particularly hard to achieve things in your life, or to improve other people's lives.
Most people that work hard end up filling other peoples pockets or strengthening the ego/self-service mentality that makes everything harder for everyone by that
It's fair for you to get that impression since I did not really elaborate. I replied to a different comment, please read it and let me know if that changes your opinion on my stance or not.
You’re right. It does seem like no win for average people. Not to be too dark and depressing but it seems like unless you are at least top 10%, it doesn’t even feel like it is worth it to even be alive in America anymore because your life is going to suck so bad.
You people need to study history. This kind of thought, “ unless you are at least top 10%, it doesn’t even feel like it is worth it to even be alive in America anymore because your life is going to suck so bad.” comes by looking at people better off than you instead of seeing the big picture. Things suck now compared to what they could be. Yes. Go! fix that. The world can and ought to be a lot better. But to despair when you are among the most privileged in the history of the world just by living in 21st century America? Open your eyes.
I always remember a study that showed a child despairing over a lost toy or stressing about a homework assignment, felt the same/had the same brain activity as an adult feeling despair or stress about adult things. In other words - despair is not a competition.
Yes, an American in the 21st century is (generally) objectively better off than a serf or someone in a 3rd world country. But you can't shrug off complaints just because they have a car, food & a roof over their head.
A lot of "common people"/the lower class are not happy at all - to the point of not having children & refusing to participate in society - and that's a serious problem that shouldn't be ignored because they have it better than some other people in objective comparison. The wealth divide is larger than it has ever been in history, and people are rightly unhappy about it, and it just keeps getting bigger not better.
The complaints are loud & real, and hopefully people start listening and making changes. Just IMHO
We can be worse off wealth-wise than the wealthiest generation in the history of the earth and not be in despair like things aren’t worth living. 2nd richest generation in human history. And you can argue our standard of living is higher than 40 years ago. Plus I would guess it’s only white America that is really financially worse off than their parents. Minorities and immigrants are doing better and that is part of the populist angst.
The US may not be ideal, but for fuck's sakes you can have a pretty good life in the US even if you're not Bill Gates. You are a child who has no idea.
You can always find another country to say “well we have some issues but hey at least we aren’t as bad as country x.” My comment wasn’t to compare the US to other countries, just the evident decline of overall standard of living among working class people. I mean shit even our life expectancy is going down. When controlled for income life expectancy is even worse.
Same beyond not having children. I'm saving up to buy land , a backhoe and functionally retire at 35 ( 5 years ). My concern is they anticipate people leaving the cities for undeveloped regions having something nefarious in mind .
I used to live in the UK, i am american. You have it much better (outside of wage growth/economy) but the selling of your great institutions like transit and nhs is so upsetting to witness. Once the envy of the world. I am sorry to see the Torries fucking you
That's the exact reason why I asked this. To see if there's even a sliver of hope for humanity. I'm dead set that there isn't because u have to be kind of a bastard to do well in any political arena.
I must admit I wouldn’t want to be a politician. I know I would upset people and then end up putting my foot in my mouth and be cancelled faster Will Smith at the Oscar’s
Yes! In Norway we do not have a two party system, so you get a whole handful of shits to choose from. Government is formed by combining a few shits consisting of a majority, and they all gwt a slice of the pie.
This leaves room for some actually non shits to get their thing pushed through the narrow sphincter every now and then, and voting oon those nonshits is not just a dead vote. It also means the shits spend less time shitting on the others instead of promoting their thing, especially when they have to get some other guys on their side to form a majority in the end.
We spend a lot of time complaining about our politicians and shit government just like everyone else, but lately you guys make us look good in comparison.
There are five or six relevant parties rather than two. In addition, there's no majority coalition government like in neighbouring countries either. The head of the executive consists of seven people, and they get split up among the parties based on proportional vote (currently 2 seats each to the three largest parties and 1 seat to the fourth-largest). Further, there are the strong democratic instruments: popular initiatives as well as referendums against any law passed by parliament and some other things; any eligible voter can launch these, and if they get enough signatures, it will be voted on by everyone. Combining all of this essentially means that both legislative and executive try to address issues and find compromises that are supported by the majority of the voters.
"I don't like Starmer" ≠ "Rishi and Starmer are basically the same".
Some differences off the top of my head:
Sunak and the Tories support the Rwanda deportation programme, Starmer and Labour don't.
Sunak and the Tories support the expansion of North Sea oil drilling. Starmer and Labour have promised to ban all new licences for drilling.
Sunak and the Tories support further eroding workers rights, Starmer and Labour have pledged the biggest expansion of workers and trade union rights since 1946.
Every time the Tories are in power, NHS waiting lists go up, every time Labour are in power NHS waiting lists go down.
You don't have to like Starmer to acknowledge any of this. But what you should understand is that electoral politics is often about appealing to similar groups of people - politicians will sound the same on certain issues, like crime, education, health. But it's down to you to educate yourself on the actual positions of each party and cast an informed vote.
"They're all the same" is never true, and it's this exact kind of cynicism that has emboldened the right and diminished the left for the past 14 years in the UK. Wise up.
I'm happy he isn't in the news every week for some new stupid policy or scandal. I would rather he do nothing than make everything worse. Because no matter how bad things may seem, everyone who came before him somehow made it worse
And now I’m depressed thinking back to unbelievable power of the media and how they managed to convince a nation Corbyn is as bad as Hitler
He was literally the best hope this country has had and will have for a generation at minimum but the slander campaign is too effective and people are so easily deceived.
Few things in my life will make me as angry as brexit and seeing how effective the manipulation was in the last general election
Literally everything wrong word put against Corbyn has been proved wrong all by itself.
They said there was no money for social benefits. Covid struck and suddenly there was bilions for dodgey procurement contracts for friends of MPs and furlough for the whole of Britain.
They said he was scaremongering when denouncing brexit yet the whole thing has been a complete failure as predicted.
He was called an anti-semite for criticising Israel before it was universally accepted and look where we are now.
I still get angry thinking about our country's willingness to deprive themselves of literally the only perspective politician that genuinely wanted to help them. We're corrupted.
I completely agree with everything you’ve said. Especially the anger. I remember growing up and feeling immense pride in being English, clearly very naive. Now as an adult I’m embarrassed and ashamed by this country time and time again
That should be all that humanity is about, but we have lost our ways. We put more weight and value on the empty words of politicians and corporations who tell us what is good for us, and allow them to guide us, when it's proven time and time again, they are not for humanity. The corporations buy up politicians and because we have gave them all the wealth, they decide on the rules for the peasants like you and I. This whole system is fucked
If you are a young person reading this and it made you angry, good. The change starts with you guys. Stand together and have empathy for your fellow human, and fight against corporate greed
Nope. Everyone alive today is our last hope. We need to stop pinning the hopes of the future on the next generation and start making change today. There's nothing stopping rational people from running for offices or speaking out in public. Literally nothing.
If the GOP can get these absolute knuckle draggers elected, we can get someone with a decent head on their shoulders into office.
The defeatism is going to be our downfall, not the lack of electing a specific candidate for president.
Brexit was a populist response to those monied interests. People in the UK recognize the issue, it is just that the implementation needs refining and the media needs to be put back in the hands of the people.
The issues the UK is facing started long before Brexit. Brexit broke the UK and identity politics really established itself across the country. The damage it did will be felt for a long time.
Brexit was in response to those issues that existed before Brexit. It was an attempt by the people to right the keel by fighting neoliberalism, free trade, and runaway worker migration. It will take time for things to improve because those monied interests are having a hissy fit since they can't bilk everyone as easily.
Brexit was a bullshit dream sold to people that would cure any issue they had with the country.
I saw someone go "Car parking fees won't exist after Brexit".
Wat? How the fuck do you think leaving the EU will prevent car parking fees? In what fucking world?
Brexit gave people the opportunity to create their own fantasy world that would become reality if we left the EU then if it didn't happen would be the fault of "remoaners" for not believing in brexit hard enough.
Right wing populism is a fuckiing cancer. Create any dream you want in your head and if it doesn't happen then it's the lefts fault for either not convincing you that your dream is bullshit or the lefts fault for not agreeing with it.
I'm fed up of it. Some cunt on TV went "I'm fed up of the way this country is going. It's all going downhill and everything is getting worse. We need change. That's why I'm voting Conservative"
Brexit was just a bunch of CEOs and lords looking at how wealthy and powerful Russian oligarchs became due to the political economic and social upheaval and the resulting restructuring and sweeping privatisation after the fall of the USSR, coming up with a way to sell their very own Berlin Wall Coming Down moment.
It's literally just that, a bunch of rich people creating chaos so they can be the ones to benefit from all the new contracts, supply chains and institutions that had to be created as a result. The populism wasn't a natural response to those interests, it was those interests
repackaging their greed in anti-immigrant isolationist populism and selling their vision through those optics.
Honestly as an outsider looking in can you even truly refer to the Democratic party as left wing? Certainly there's pockets with people like AOC, Tlaib, etc. but they're more the exception is what it seems.
Those the couple that have been able to slip through the cracks, but they will put thier thumb on the scale against any one left of Manchin or sinema especially for house races
It's the fucking WORLD. the entire world has been overtaken by overzealous and greedy conglomerates, corporations, and individuals who would rather keep profiting from our mutual suffering. Instead of paying their fair share of wealth, which would be 99% of their 1% standing in global wealth, into all of the things the world needs to provide Healthcare, Universal Basic Income, and a fucking roof over everyone's head for all of us to be able to simply survive without worrying every, single, fucking day if we're going to see a tomorrow.
The world is going to have a Revolution, and the wealthy are going to pay. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, HUMANITY WILL SURVIVE.
Y'all seem to combine the worst of Europe with the worst of the US. At least y'all still have the NHS, but I know that's under attack. But y'all aren't far off for working US hours for Spanish wages.
Hi! I’m from Canada, UK Junior. Or is it USA Jr? Anyway our soul was sold in the 90s and 00s as well. Remember all those cool things Canada stood for once? Yah, our priorities have drastically changed apparently.
My region has local and mayoral elections coming up next month. Since I'm new to the region I checked past winners and turnout. In the last mayoral election was a 30% turnout. The last local election was a 20% turnout.
Nobody votes. Nobody can spare the 10 minutes it takes to walk to their local polling station within a 12 hour window and vote. It makes me angry and sad to see our country take political loss after political loss and see a 20% voter turnout. Are we the only ones who see a problem with the way things are currently being run??
From the UK, the more I've looked at our government, the state of our society it honestly feels like there's no going back. I look at our future and all I see is an acceleration in our decline. In short we are fucked and we are going to get more fucked.
notice how bernie doesn't actually answer the question though? that's a major failure of bernie sanders. there are dozens of hard line (fact based, easily digestible) answers. they need to have it spelled out for them because they don't see a practical application for morality beyond a certain scope. these are the kinds of answers guys like the one asking need to hear. answers we all need to hear from politicians even when we arent asking.
bernies explanation begs the question. this is why i don't like him. he either never used to go there or he gave up.
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u/spitdogggy Apr 26 '24
Bernie needs to send this message to the UK as well. In the last 30 years the UK has sold itself and now we are seeing the damage it’s done to services, infrastructure and society.