I did respond to the parts that weren't pure straw.Why don't you actually try responding to what he said instead of diverting yourself off on a misplaced rant about Communism?
I did respond to the parts that weren't pure straw.
Surely you feel at least a little self-conscious claiming that people who aren't progressive "can't think for themselves" when progressive policies promote government thinking for people.
Dependent? A generation that is setting the record for refusing to leave their parent's home, dependent?
Uno
No, that fits together.
Normal people can't make rational choices for themselves, so progressive policies will force whatever the progressive think tanks believe is the best course of action. It is taking us back to a 1800's style society where educated elites make the real decisions and the plebs follow along.
Honestly this is one place where progressives are right: we can't make good decisions as a whole.
Every day Americans make terrible decisions in our personal lives, which leads to real problems when they are summed together. And I am talking beyond just making poor career and educational choices that get you stuck on entitlements. The way we refuse to pay more for American goods, refuse to put on effort into recycling and reuse, and the way we refuse to conserve energy or non-renewable resources. We all make bad decisions everyday for selfish reasons and it hurts all of us.
The simple truth is that if everyone in the world lived like Americans the world would be screwed. Our "independence" and free choice is leading us down an unsustainable path. The only way humanity survives another few hundred years is if the collectivists "win," and bad decisions that harm others are punished and free thought is not conceived of. We would all hate living like that because we are used to being our own islands, our own special snowflake, but when there are 10 billion people on the earth the only way to co-exist will be to live like sheep.
This is not what motivates younger generations though, it is the guilt related to this concept that does. If they knew (or would accept) the level of sacrifice needed to be a sustainable society they would dump the thought process in a heartbeat. But since they have a more global viewpoint deep down they know our self-serving ways are like a virus on this planet, so to ease their cognitive dissonance they push for progressive policies where someone else sacrifices but they get to feel better about it.
And there is my moonbeam post for the month....
I actually had a conversation with my best friends 19yo son about politics and government recently.
The general feeling is that government is corrupt, bought and paid for by special interests and there is very little hope of changing that. He and he says his friends have more overall humanitarian leanings and liberal leanings, but from a philosophical standpoint rather than partisan standpoint. He isnt looking at it from a governmental perspective. When he identifies as liberal he is comparing his world view to other overall, government isnt really in the equation.
In his eyes republicans and democrats are both worthless, conservatives and conservative principles are outdated and dogmatic, he also understands that liberals have some odd ways of thinking and approaching issues, but they seem to be more inclusive of everyone than conservatives.
I was actually surprised at how much consideration he has given it, when I asked him does he consider himself a republican/ conservative liberal or democrat he said none of that shit, it comes down to the issues people face and why they face them.
He said being dogmatic for the sake of needing to belong is ridiculous.
I left the conversation having some hope for the future
If you believe that some of us make better decisions than all of us and therefore freedom should be curtailed, we'll just have to agree to disagree. I would point out though that the elected elite you prefer to be in power dismantled our tariff system and built up our regulatory and tax structure, which together made American-made goods less competitive. I'll also point out that the most collectivist societies have been the most destructive on Earth, not just the least free. The proggressive war on individualism, capitalism, and freedom will lead us to the same state.No, that fits together.
Normal people can't make rational choices for themselves, so progressive policies will force whatever the progressive think tanks believe is the best course of action. It is taking us back to a 1800's style society where educated elites make the real decisions and the plebs follow along.
Honestly this is one place where progressives are right: we can't make good decisions as a whole.
Every day Americans make terrible decisions in our personal lives, which leads to real problems when they are summed together. And I am talking beyond just making poor career and educational choices that get you stuck on entitlements. The way we refuse to pay more for American goods, refuse to put on effort into recycling and reuse, and the way we refuse to conserve energy or non-renewable resources. We all make bad decisions everyday for selfish reasons and it hurts all of us.
The simple truth is that if everyone in the world lived like Americans the world would be screwed. Our "independence" and free choice is leading us down an unsustainable path. The only way humanity survives another few hundred years is if the collectivists "win," and bad decisions that harm others are punished and free thought is not conceived of. We would all hate living like that because we are used to being our own islands, our own special snowflake, but when there are 10 billion people on the earth the only way to co-exist will be to live like sheep.
This is not what motivates younger generations though, it is the guilt related to this concept that does. If they knew (or would accept) the level of sacrifice needed to be a sustainable society they would dump the thought process in a heartbeat. But since they have a more global viewpoint deep down they know our self-serving ways are like a virus on this planet, so to ease their cognitive dissonance they push for progressive policies where someone else sacrifices but they get to feel better about it.
And there is my moonbeam post for the month....
Ironic that the direction of change is to embrace the policies that failed the USSR and Red China. I guess we must boldly go forward into the past, comrade.I'm an older millennial(28) but I'd like to think there is a good sense within my generation that the current societal, governmental, environmental, and monetary situations are inherently unsustainable and obviously need to change. We are the most educated and well-connected generation in history so it will be interesting if action can overcome apathy. To me at least, it seems the boomers want to string things out just a bit longer so they can get through the gates before the ground collapses behind them.
No, that fits together.
Normal people can't make rational choices for themselves, so progressive policies will force whatever the progressive think tanks believe is the best course of action. It is taking us back to a 1800's style society where educated elites make the real decisions and the plebs follow along.
Honestly this is one place where progressives are right: we can't make good decisions as a whole.
Every day Americans make terrible decisions in our personal lives, which leads to real problems when they are summed together. And I am talking beyond just making poor career and educational choices that get you stuck on entitlements. The way we refuse to pay more for American goods, refuse to put on effort into recycling and reuse, and the way we refuse to conserve energy or non-renewable resources. We all make bad decisions everyday for selfish reasons and it hurts all of us.
The simple truth is that if everyone in the world lived like Americans the world would be screwed. Our "independence" and free choice is leading us down an unsustainable path. The only way humanity survives another few hundred years is if the collectivists "win," and bad decisions that harm others are punished and free thought is not conceived of. We would all hate living like that because we are used to being our own islands, our own special snowflake, but when there are 10 billion people on the earth the only way to co-exist will be to live like sheep.
This is not what motivates younger generations though, it is the guilt related to this concept that does. If they knew (or would accept) the level of sacrifice needed to be a sustainable society they would dump the thought process in a heartbeat. But since they have a more global viewpoint deep down they know our self-serving ways are like a virus on this planet, so to ease their cognitive dissonance they push for progressive policies where someone else sacrifices but they get to feel better about it.
And there is my moonbeam post for the month....
No, that fits together.
Normal people can't make rational choices for themselves, so progressive policies will force whatever the progressive think tanks believe is the best course of action. It is taking us back to a 1800's style society where educated elites make the real decisions and the plebs follow along.
Honestly this is one place where progressives are right: we can't make good decisions as a whole.
Every day Americans make terrible decisions in our personal lives, which leads to real problems when they are summed together. And I am talking beyond just making poor career and educational choices that get you stuck on entitlements. The way we refuse to pay more for American goods, refuse to put on effort into recycling and reuse, and the way we refuse to conserve energy or non-renewable resources. We all make bad decisions everyday for selfish reasons and it hurts all of us.
The simple truth is that if everyone in the world lived like Americans the world would be screwed. Our "independence" and free choice is leading us down an unsustainable path. The only way humanity survives another few hundred years is if the collectivists "win," and bad decisions that harm others are punished and free thought is not conceived of. We would all hate living like that because we are used to being our own islands, our own special snowflake, but when there are 10 billion people on the earth the only way to co-exist will be to live like sheep.
This is not what motivates younger generations though, it is the guilt related to this concept that does. If they knew (or would accept) the level of sacrifice needed to be a sustainable society they would dump the thought process in a heartbeat. But since they have a more global viewpoint deep down they know our self-serving ways are like a virus on this planet, so to ease their cognitive dissonance they push for progressive policies where someone else sacrifices but they get to feel better about it.
And there is my moonbeam post for the month....
So true. The idea that there's some better set of know-it-all elites that will do.everything better than the know-it-all elites that wrecked half the world with the dumbest systems imaginable is a pipe dream.I'll also point out that the most collectivist societies have been the most destructive on Earth, not just the least free. The proggressive war on individualism, capitalism, and freedom will lead us to the same state.
If you believe that some of us make better decisions than all of us
There's no mythical "better than human humans" who would do any of it any better now or in the future
Because they're smarter?
/couldn't resist
There are lots of reasons; partially listed by berserker60.
Allowing for and seeking change is a good thing.
Continuing a policy, action, etc. because we've always done it, it works most of the time or works for most people isn't necessarily a good thing for government, companies, organizations or people.
We should be open to new ideas and new ways of dealing with issues, preferably with our own biases removed.
The Reagan Conservatism has turned out to be a dud. Add in the rise of Rightwing Christianity taking much control of the Republican Party and you have a double whammy against Conservatism.
The article was clear that Millennials are more socially liberal, and not more economically liberal.
And free market policies failed in the Gilded Age, collapsing into the Great Depression. If you take a broad enough definition of any policies you can find a counter-example. Happily some of us live in a world that's not black and white, where there are middle grounds to explore, sometimes with the help of looking at other countries who balance between extremes in different ways.Ironic that the direction of change is to embrace the policies that failed the USSR and Red China. I guess we must boldly go forward into the past, comrade.
Don't fall for that crap. Every generation since ancient Greek and Roman times has thought that the next generation was worse than the previous generation.
Nope. Millenials are measurably dumber. Test scores show it. Just about any test imaginable shows it. But most importantly, the rise in stupidity is especially significant now because the US is in a state of rapid financial decline. As the US becomes more and more like mexico and other 3rd world countries with enslaved populations and wildly rich oligarchs, this dysfunctional cohort of millenials will make sure that there is no recovery. They wont know how the country used to be, because they care nothing of history, so they will have no vision of what a return to prosperity could look like.
the world always gets more liberal, as humanity becomes more enlightened. people stop slavery, then they let blacks and women vote, they legalize gay marriage etc....
Point taken. A perfectly free market is the best societal wealth builder, but would be chock full of enough peaks and crashes to make it a miserable place for a lot of people a lot of the time. I would not want to live in a perfectly free market. I do however prefer to live in a society where I am as free as possible, and that is not a society that tells me I cannot have a soft drink over a certain size.Man, some creepy pro-aristocracy talk in this thread. Being in favor of relatively more state services, taxation, and regulation doesn't have to mean giving full power to unaccountable 'elites.' I'm happy if my government messes up sometimes as long as it's truly accountable to the people. People are stupid by and large, but that doesn't diminish their right to a full say in their government.
And free market policies failed in the Gilded Age, collapsing into the Great Depression. If you take a broad enough definition of any policies you can find a counter-example. Happily some of us live in a world that's not black and white, where there are middle grounds to explore, sometimes with the help of looking at other countries who balance between extremes in different ways.
Nope. Millenials are measurably dumber. Test scores show it. Just about any test imaginable shows it. But most importantly, the rise in stupidity is especially significant now because the US is in a state of rapid financial decline. As the US becomes more and more like mexico and other 3rd world countries with enslaved populations and wildly rich oligarchs, this dysfunctional cohort of millenials will make sure that there is no recovery. They wont know how the country used to be, because they care nothing of history, so they will have no vision of what a return to prosperity could look like.
I don't buy that 'true free thought' leads to the greatest inefficiency. It's actually the ONLY thing that creates any efficiency what-so-ever.Then its just a numbers game, where the waste and inefficiency of true free thought has no place in a world of 10 billion people just trying to survive day-to-day.