honzabe's recent activity
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Comment on Self published authors, how do you market your books? Nothing I've tried has had any success. in ~creative
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Comment on Self published authors, how do you market your books? Nothing I've tried has had any success. in ~creative
honzabe Link ParentThis is pure gold. Thank you. Do you have a blog?This is pure gold. Thank you. Do you have a blog?
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Comment on Kingdom Come: Deliverance II -- coming 2024 in ~games
honzabe LinkI check out the trailer... wait a minute, some of those places look strangely familiar, I know that place! I am not that much of a gamer and I did not know there was a game taking place in Czech...I check out the trailer... wait a minute, some of those places look strangely familiar, I know that place! I am not that much of a gamer and I did not know there was a game taking place in Czech lands - thank you for bringing that to my attention. It is cool to see a place I know in a game :-)
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Comment on The troubling trend in teenage sex (it's strangulation) (gifted link) in ~life
honzabe Link ParentOf course, porn and kinkiness existed, but maybe this is not about existence, but about pervasiveness - is that the right word? When I was a teenager, of course, some of my buddies brought a...Of course, porn and kinkiness existed, but maybe this is not about existence, but about pervasiveness - is that the right word? When I was a teenager, of course, some of my buddies brought a magazine to school once or twice. But it was not so ever-present and it was not treated as a manual on how real sex should look like.
And let me be clear - I did not try to express any objective value statement. I am not saying porn is bad or anything. I tried to share my personal feelings of nostalgia and being old (which is new to me - I am not even 50). If people want to choke themselves nowadays, that's none of my business.
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Comment on The troubling trend in teenage sex (it's strangulation) (gifted link) in ~life
honzabe LinkVery interesting article - thank you for sharing that; however, it is one of those that evoke the "I am too old for this world" feeling in me. I guess it explains why I started noticing this in...Very interesting article - thank you for sharing that; however, it is one of those that evoke the "I am too old for this world" feeling in me. I guess it explains why I started noticing this in porn. For me, it is an intense turn-off - when I see that, washing dishes instantly becomes a lot more appealing than porn. Am I the only one who misses the good old pre-internet days when actual women were not shaved down there and the raunchiest thing one could think of was slapping her butt? Those were simpler times.
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Comment on Fellow hardline materialists, how do you "enchant" the world? in ~talk
honzabe (edited )LinkIf you don't mind me asking, have you always been? I might be overgeneralizing, but I noticed the line of thinking I see in your post is typical for people who grew up in an environment where it...I'm a hardline materialist, meaning I don't think any metaphysical phenomenon exists, there is no afterlife, and that it's extremely unlikely a "God" exists.
If you don't mind me asking, have you always been? I might be overgeneralizing, but I noticed the line of thinking I see in your post is typical for people who grew up in an environment where it is "normal" to be a believer, and you have to "switch" to a non-default mode and then rebuild your model of reality and maybe even justify to yourself why your model differs from those who did not switch.
I am an atheist (I am using that term to signify I have no metaphysical beliefs, but I did not want to use the word "materialist" because I do not want people to think I do not care about immaterial stuff, like relationships), but I grew up in a country where the majority of people are atheists. I never understood why would a material world not be enchanting. For me, this is the default mode - the world is material and enchanting. It's like... you might believe that love is an evolutionary mechanism to make the survival of the offspring more likely, and yet be totally enchanted when you meet "the one".
If I understand correctly what you are asking about, you are referring to those feelings of awe, being profoundly touched by something, beauty... am I close? If yes, then I see zero reasons why any of this should be somehow incompatible with materialism. And I think it is simply because I grew up in an environment where those things are not associated with metaphysical explanations like religion.
Religions are self-referential interpretation frameworks. They explain things that exist on their own by themselves. It is not just the enchantment - there are other things like that, for example, justice/morality. I never believed in god and yet, I feel some things are just and other things are not - it seems obvious to me that those things are not rooted in religion (even monkeys clearly have some sense of what is just). But religions appropriated them and explain things that exist independently by themselves (as in "You are moral because your religion taught you that"). Because of that, religious people sometimes assume that non-religious people have no sense of morality, which is kind of annoying - a lot more annoying than assuming enchantment comes from religion.
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe Link ParentI suggest you read the book I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, The Enigma of Reason by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber. Also maybe some cognitive psychology textbook. I think this thread...I suggest you read the book I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, The Enigma of Reason by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber. Also maybe some cognitive psychology textbook. I think this thread rests on some basic assumptions about how reasoning and cognition work, and it does not make sense if you do not share those assumptions.
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe Link ParentI think we are starting to turn in circles. I am trying to come up with an answer but only things I already said pop up. And if that did not work until now, it will not work. This is what this...I think we are starting to turn in circles. I am trying to come up with an answer but only things I already said pop up. And if that did not work until now, it will not work.
I like to be kindly corrected. Preferably with reliable sources, or at least the direction that I can look for those sources.
This is what this whole discussion is about. The main thesis is this: rationality is subservient to our emotional needs and belonging to a community is a big part of that. When someone's need for belonging is only satisfied in a community of the Flat-Earthers, no amount of showing them the curvature of the Earth will change their mind. Bombard them with evidence and show them how stupid they are, and they will feel like shit even more and they will need to escape to the community where they feel good even more.
Keep telling people that they are racists, bigots, morons, sexists, deplorables, conspiracy theorists and god knows what... and where do you think they will feel like they belong? With you... or the guy telling them they are good people and you are a bunch of elitist assholes?
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe Link ParentWhen you think they are wrong, treat them the way you want to be treated when you are wrong... because you are. There is only one thing that is 100% sure - we are all wrong in something.what if I know them to be wrong
When you think they are wrong, treat them the way you want to be treated when you are wrong... because you are. There is only one thing that is 100% sure - we are all wrong in something.
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe Link ParentMaybe you could start building bridges with those parts of the other side that could be open to it? Talk to them and try to find at least some minimal common ground? Easy for me to say, right? I...For the sake of argument, assume that I do perfectly understand them. What should I
I do with that information in order to make the situation better?Maybe you could start building bridges with those parts of the other side that could be open to it? Talk to them and try to find at least some minimal common ground?
Easy for me to say, right? I am trying to imagine how you feel. Talking to Trumpists must be for you what talking to pro-Russian compatriots is for me. I am old enough to remember our country still occupied by Russians, and talking to those people is driving me crazy. It literally hurts in my stomach. There are people in this world whom you can punch in the face and tell them America did it, and they will believe you. And they will help you punch them once more... and all of their friends too. It is hard not to shout in their faces that they are all morons. Often, the best I can muster is to be pragmatic and treat them respectfully only because I know that if I don't, I will push them even closer to Russia.
There is also something I cannot explain well; it's just a feeling... have you seen Everything Everywhere All at Once? There is something that makes me uneasy about Raymond, but maybe giving the other side the benefit of the doubt, even when they are hitting you with a baton, has value in itself? Like the prisoner's dilemma, except not being the one who ruined the possibility of cooperation is more important to you than avoiding prison.
Or maybe this is just my delusion.
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe (edited )Link ParentEhm, I am pretty sure that many Trump supporters would also be able to pull out some links to articles/stats proving in their eyes how Democrats are nuts (although that thing about economy and...a lot
Ehm, I am pretty sure that many Trump supporters would also be able to pull out some links to articles/stats proving in their eyes how Democrats are nuts (although that thing about economy and climate change - isn't that exactly one of those matters that you consider "evident" (they are nuts if they prioritize economy - that's why you included that link, right?) although it is actually more complicated?).
But I am starting to feel really weird about all this. I believe it's good to doubt and Socratically question... but actually, I believe you. Between me and you, I do believe those links you provided are more or less correct and there are a lot of pro-Trump nuts. It just seems that saying that on Tildes would be preaching to the choir. I will save those links for a discussion with Trumpists. Also, I believe there is this weird dynamics where the two sides are pushing each other to more and more extreme position, so I would expect the number of nuts to be growing (if things continue the way they are) - but that would be another super-long comment.
If a test that followed the scientific method was able to prove that actually we only have 4% patriarchy particles when a minimum to be considered a patriarchy is 26%, and I still believed that we lived in a patriarchy, that would be delusional. Currently, there's no test for that. There's a combination of evidence and opinion. I believe that we do live in one, and while I would consider the belief that we do not incorrect, I do not consider it delusional.
Let me correct myself a bit - I realized I did not say it well. I do not consider belief in "patriarchy" delusional as long as it is reflected (the way you do it) as a belief or opinion. I consider it delusional when someone lists a list of things where things appear to be skewed to disadvantage women and believes this proves patriarchy as a matter of fact while ignoring that you could just as easily "prove" matriarchy by listing things where things appear to be skewed to disadvantage men (and don't even get to the matter of intent). Generally, I would define "delusion" as treating something as objective reality when it is a subjective content of your mind projected onto reality.
But I am afraid we are getting more and more OT and the dangerous about it is that I would love to discuss all of those topics for days... instead of working. I just realized I spent hours writing this! It was supposed to be a quick response while I drink my morning coffee.
Anyway, thanks, it was interesting.
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe (edited )Link ParentMany? How many? I do not deny people like that exist... but are they all there is to Trumpism? Are they even the majority? Or just an attention-grabbing minority? I believe it is actually hard to...but many Trump supporters still believe. That the earth is flat. The Covid was either a hoax or a bioweapo. The Covid vaccine had microchips in it or is killing people or making them sterile. Climate change is a hoax or maybe somehow good for the planet.
Many? How many? I do not deny people like that exist... but are they all there is to Trumpism? Are they even the majority? Or just an attention-grabbing minority? I believe it is actually hard to estimate because of media bias, selective perception and all kinds of cognitive distortions. I have certainly listened to Trump voters who seemed rational (talking about the economy, critiquing Hillary Clinton, corruption of the establishment etc.) and did not believe any of the things you mention (funny thing - the only one flat-earther I personally know IRL is, believe it or not, a liberal).
And don't forget - just as you (not you personally, your "side") tend to identify Republicans with their most extreme and attention-grabbing representatives, they also tend to identify you with the most extreme 60-genders non-binary anti-capitalist pro-Hamas version of you - and those people also really exist.
If you have counter examples, I'm extremely curious to learn about them.
Uh, to be completely honest, I was trying to avoid doing that here. It would mean touching sensitive points and getting dangerously close to offending sacred cows, and I don't want to do that. It could also get me some of those labels, although where I live, my views are very common and would be probably labeled as "centrist". Things that are related to cultural wars.
It would be hard to explain without digging into details about my views, but if you want an example... I am all for men-women equality in the classical sense (equal pay for equal work, equal rights etc.) but some stuff related to what gets labeled as "feminism" nowadays seems completely delusional to me (for example, the belief that we actually live in "patriarchy"). Other things I would label as pretty close to delusional are mixed into debates about gender, anything that mentions terms like "woke" or "cultural appropriation" or "late stage capitalism" (participating in this discussion was a surreal experience for me - it was as if I was talking with people who use the language that sounds like English, but words actually mean different things - that felt delusional).
And I want to emphasize - those are complex issues, but it is about the distance between what is considered normal inside your group and outside. Many things that go completely unnoticed here on Tildes would feel so extreme in my country that they would be labeled as "radical-something" or "ultra-something".
BTW, I remember how I subscribed to NYT many years ago and when I was reading those discussions, I was surprised, because compared to discussions in our media, they were so polite. I thought "wow, those Americans are so cultured and mature". Then I realized those were not actual discussions - they were just one side of the argument, talking about imagined evil-ized image of the other side, that was not actually participating in the discussion) - and to be fair, their discussions are just as one-sided. Or Tildes itself - do you see Trump voters battling it out with Biden voters here? Maybe I just missed it. Or maybe I should start using Discord because I am not aware of many places where both sides of the American debate actually talk to each other.
And a big part of what I see as delusional on your side is your perception of the other side. I can't count how many times I have seen someone mentioning something that sounded totally normal and uncontroversial and open to discussion to me (maybe we should limit immigration and maybe there are only 2 genders) only to be labeled as a bigot, racist, homophobe, thansphobe, conspiracy theorist and good know what other label - I am convinced that this is actually why many people vote for Trump; because they feel like you belittle them and humiliate them.
I think you'd be surprised at how many people do understand each other, especially people on the left understanding the right.
That's great to hear. And I think this can be explained by the distance - I am reading a lot about America, but I am not there. Those things that get over the ocean are more likely to be more extreme, emotional, attention-grabbing. But on the other hand - when you compare the current US to the 2000 version, do you feel the level of understanding is the same?
Her beliefs do not comport with reality, and it can be easily proven.
Not that easily, apparently. I mean... not to her. And this is the core idea I am trying to get across with all of this - that when you are inside, when you have some emotional reasons to believe something, it cannot be easily shown to you why it appears as a delusion from the outside. And I think it applies to Flat-earth just as to "patriarchy".
If someone is attacking me because they think I have money and they want to steal it, it doesn't matter if I understand that they're wrong about the money.
I get that. I feel a bit weird in this discussion, because it is almost as if I was trying to defend Republicans... but when I discuss with a Republican, I try to defend you. Opinion-wise, I would probably vote for Democrats if I were an American. But when you express that they are attacking you... that's exactly what they think about you! Each side is defensive. One of you has to be the bigger man and try to understand despite of feeling attacked... or you will both lose (and possibly descend into an actual civil war).
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe (edited )Link ParentWell... I think your comment itself is a representation of what I see as "warping" - it is based on a set of assumptions that you seem to consider evident but I do not. Do we? All of them? Can you...Well... I think your comment itself is a representation of what I see as "warping" - it is based on a set of assumptions that you seem to consider evident but I do not.
I think we all know how the Trump-aligned folks have their sense of truth warped.
Do we? All of them? Can you see no "good" reasons why vote for Trump? You don't have to give me reasons why not to vote for Trump - I think he is a narcissistic sociopath and a grave danger to American democracy. It's just that I can see a bunch of reasons why some people might want to vote for him - reasons I do not necessarily agree with, but reasons I understand. And I don't want to get too much into it, because it would be a book and not a comment, but I think the Democrats partially caused Trump (Hillary Clinton? I still remember this ancient rant because I related to it).
the only people who think it's necessary to say things like that are, for example, alt-right folks who are pretending to be centrists
I think one of the most common methods of how the mind warps the truth is using negatively emotionally charged labels instead of engaging with the merit of an argument. If it were up to me, labels would be forbidden in discussions and we would all have to argue why the specific thing is wrong. It would be tedious, but labels (racist, bigot, alt-right, marxist, dumb, whatever) are a way too easy and tempting way to avoid thinking about something - the brain just jumps to a prefabricated reason why I do not have to question my mental model of reality and I don't even notice.
And pretending to be centrists? That's another commonly used method our minds trick us - people assume the intention of their opponents based on their model of reality, not the other person's model of reality. What if they truly believe they are centrists? Even if they were wrong, that would not imply pretending.
This is the saddest thing you see when observing America from the outside - not only each side does not understand the other, but because they interpret the other side using their own mental framework (= without empathy), the inevitable result is that the other side appears malicious - they do not do what they do because they believe it is good for America - they have hidden agendas, they are pretending something etc. (obviously Republicans have their own version of this effect that distorts their view about you - because your view doesn't make sense from within their framework, they also assume you are pretending. )
Maybe we could try something - one person commonly labeled as alt-right is Sam Harris. I do not agree with everything he says, but consider him extremely smart, I listened to a bunch of his podcasts and I think I know his opinions somewhat well (generally speaking - not all of them, I don't have that much time). Give me one specific thing where you think he is pretending something or where you think he is wrong and let's discuss that thing specifically... and without labels. I think it might reveal some of that warping. Potentially on my side too - who knows, maybe my mind is just warped the same way Sam Harris's is.
The problem with discussions like this is that it is hard to convey how it appears from the outside to those who are inside. The warping is invisible from the inside. Yes, I have seen people associated with Republicans who appear delusional to me. When you mention those "folks", I understand who you are talking about and why you might think they represent Republicans. But I have also seen people associated with Democrats who appear delusional to me. And Republicans think they represent you. And I can kind of understand why when I consider the biased media, social bubbles, selective attention, and all those cognitive tricks the human mind is capable of. You could take this description, write an inverted version of it ("marxist"->"alt-right" etc.), and it would make just as much sense to them as this makes to you.
That is why I keep recommending that Russian channel. You are outside of their reality, so you can see the warping. But you can also try to imagine yourself in their shoes. How hard it must be to admit to yourself that your beloved country, who you believed to be heroically fighting Nazis, is actually a lot closer to Nazis than those you are at war with? That channel is like a truth-warping lab.
I grew up in a country occupied by Russians. It is extremely hard for me to find empathy for them. But if I can find at least a little bits and hints of understanding for Russians, then you can find the same for Republicans.
I think that if Americans fail to find empathy for the other side (that does not mean you have to agree with them), life will be pretty shitty for them. And not only for them - I live in a small insignificant country dangerously close to Russia - American politics might have a bigger impact on our fate than our own. If Americans elect Trump again, we might be all fucked. I guess this is why I keep rambling about this topic.
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
honzabe (edited )Link ParentThis is terrible, isn't it? There are days when I work all day and at the end of the day, there is more work left than when I started. Those are the days when I re-read the legendary "coastline...I've been grinding for like a month, and I feel like I've come so far yet have done nothing.
This is terrible, isn't it? There are days when I work all day and at the end of the day, there is more work left than when I started. Those are the days when I re-read the legendary "coastline trip" story posted by Michael Wolfe as a response to the question "Why are software development task estimations regularly off by a factor of 2-3?" - link (I hate linking to Quora but this one deserves it).
It also has a video of me on it, ans the idea of attaching my face to it is really starting to set in.
I can relate. I tried to make some YouTube videos just for fun with the expectation that only my friends would see them... but I cannot post them. I can't explain why exactly, but it's like delayed stage fright.
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe (edited )Link ParentI am not sure I understand your question. Are you asking about my opinion on the warping in the Republicans vs Democrats case? Or how to spot the warping? Or how I think the mind does the warping?...I am not sure I understand your question. Are you asking about my opinion on the warping in the Republicans vs Democrats case? Or how to spot the warping? Or how I think the mind does the warping?
That thing you mention - that "the Democrats don't follow through..." - I wish I could convey what it's like to observe American politics from the outside (and from a distance - I have not been to the US since 2002). It's much deeper than whether any party follows on their promises.
It is like each side has its own set of things they consider facts (Fox vs NYT vs our local reporting about the US are sometimes like there were three separate instances of the USA), their own mental model of what the other side is like, and their interpretation of why they are like that - pretty often because they are bad people; one side sees the other as racists, bigots, backward and dumb people, the other as Marxists, mentally unstable demagogues, neo-racists. Each side can easily find examples that "prove" their image of the other side is correct. Each side has a massive and profoundly emotional blind spot to good arguments and good people from the other side. Sometimes it seems truly bizarre to me - both US sides (although one a bit more than the other).
It's kind of like that 1420 channel I recommended - it feels bizarre listening about alleged Ukrainian "Nazis" and poor innocent Russia defending the motherland from NATO attack... but at the same time, you understand that if you were living in the same information bubble they are living in, you would probably think what they think.
Please do not take this the wrong way. I am not trying to disparage Americans - I believe that when conditions are right, something like that can happen anywhere. And my reality is warped too - no doubt about it. It's just that this topic fascinates me and something very interesting is happening in the US.
BTW, any other non-Americans here? I would be interested to know how you see it.
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Comment on Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions in ~life
honzabe (edited )Link ParentI agree with you 100%, and I want to emphasize your point because I think the distinction is super-important. Believing it's about people for whom the "community is more important than the truth"...While I agree with you that a feeling of belonging is the key driver, I don't think it's so much that community is more important than the truth. I think a toxic community warps one's sense of what truth is.
I agree with you 100%, and I want to emphasize your point because I think the distinction is super-important. Believing it's about people for whom the "community is more important than the truth" creates a sense that it is about a certain type of people. I think this is false. I believe there is no such thing as rationality not affected by our need for community - we all are affected by this.
Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber argue in their book The Enigma of Reason that reasoning evolved not as a truth-detection tool but as a cooperation tool - we reason to convince others to cooperate with us, to justify our actions in front of them etc. Reasoning cannot be separated from social aspects of our lives.
Your notion that a toxic community warps one's sense of truth applies not only to toxic workplaces or marginal groups like the one in the article. It applies to large social groups and even whole societies, sometimes to an extreme degree (Nazi Germany... or if you are interested in more current warping on a societal level, I recommend the 1420 YouTube channel).
BTW, as a non-American, I view a lot of the stuff related to the current level of polarization in the US from this perspective - two distinct large communities, each with the sense of truth warped in their own way. The problem is that it is hard to perceive that warping from the inside of your tribe. My own sense of truth is certainly also warped in some way.
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Comment on Can you recommend songs or musicians/bands with lyrics in Spanish? in ~music
honzabe (edited )LinkI have no idea what kind of music you like but if you like something a bit sad, real and beautiful, you might like Carla Morrison And the exact opposite - if you are in a mood for something absurd...I have no idea what kind of music you like but if you like something a bit sad, real and beautiful, you might like Carla Morrison
And the exact opposite - if you are in a mood for something absurd and funny, you might enjoy the comedy series Mambo with surprisingly decent songs including the best breakup song of all time.
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Comment on I can't get my head around US President Joe Biden polling poorly and Donald Trump polling well in ~talk
honzabe (edited )LinkThis absolutely is the wrong place, but maybe for different reasons you had in mind. If you really want to understand and not just have your bias confirmed by people who share it, ask people who...- Exemplary
I don't think I need to provide details for people on this site, but Trump was so horrible as a president...
[...]
My apologies if this is the wrong place for this conversation.This absolutely is the wrong place, but maybe for different reasons you had in mind. If you really want to understand and not just have your bias confirmed by people who share it, ask people who want to vote for Trump why they do it. I bet you will not find many of them here.
I am not an American. I do not know the answer to your question. However, some things can be spotted more easily from the outside - which is why my perspective could be useful to you:
America is so extremely polarized that it is like you are all watching the same movie, but each half of the audience can only see their half of the screen. Each side has no idea what's on the other side of the screen. Each side thinks that their half of the picture is a more or less correct and complete view of the whole movie, and people who say they see something different are either delusional or malicious or simply too dumb to understand what they see. In normal times, the majority of the screen in the middle is visible to all. In the current US, the overlap is like 2% of the screen.
If you want to understand the other half of the audience, ask them what they see. Do not ask the guy sitting next to you who sees the same half of the screen that you do.
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Comment on Unpopular opinion: Capitalism is a better ideology than socialism or communism because greed is a more tolerable emotion than fear/envy in ~talk
honzabe Link ParentNo-no, by that I did not mean you specifically, I was referring to my general impression from this discussion - people replying to me with arguments that would only be relevant if I was suggesting...I'm not sure how you understood me as suggesting you're a right-winger?
No-no, by that I did not mean you specifically, I was referring to my general impression from this discussion - people replying to me with arguments that would only be relevant if I was suggesting some absolutist version of capitalism that permeates every aspect of society, does not allow things like coops, collaboration, etc.
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Comment on Unpopular opinion: Capitalism is a better ideology than socialism or communism because greed is a more tolerable emotion than fear/envy in ~talk
honzabe (edited )Link ParentOut of curiosity, what do you think my perspective is? I have stated multiple times in this discussion that I think there are serious problems in the US. I would not want to live in the current...My perspective is different
Out of curiosity, what do you think my perspective is?
I have stated multiple times in this discussion that I think there are serious problems in the US. I would not want to live in the current US. I was trying to explain why I think communism/socialism is not the way and that capitalism per se is not the cause - that's all, and yet people react to me as if I am some kind of a right-winger.
If you are curious about my actual perspective... my country switched from socialism to free market capitalism in 1989 and was lucky to observe 35 years of more or less stable progress (with problems along the way, obviously - especially the 90s were pretty wild).
What we have now happens to pretty closely match what I think we should have - so my perspective corresponds to our version of capitalism. By European standards, we are not rich country. Compared to the US (GDP per capita), we are poor.
We have:
- high level of safety (GPI rank: 12 in the world, US - 128)
- much lower inequality than in the US (Gini index: 11 in the world, US - 108)
- universal health care (I had surgery in 2020 + 3 days in a hospital - if I remember correctly, I paid the amount equivalent roughly to $10. Not ten thousand or anything - ten dollars. My father has diabetes - insulin is free. My brother's wife just had a baby; birth and days in hospital - free.
- paid parental leave up to three years (you get a "budget" and you can choose to take bigger payments in a shorter period - most people use 1.5 - 3 years).
- paid vacations - the legal minimum is 4 weeks but many companies offer 5 or 6 weeks
- 5 months of unemployment benefits if you lose your job (but the unemployment rate is only around 3% so that's pretty unlikely scenario)
- social support/assistance for those in need - we do not have "tent cities" of homeless people; some people I know visited Sand Francisco recently and they could not believe their eyes.
- great cheap public transport
- I cannot know with certainty but I am willing to bet that no one owns 30 Lambos here. I wouldn't be surprised if there is less than 30 Lambos in the whole country.
I hear stories about Americans working 60+ hours/week. I am kind of lower-middle-class (I had a pretty shitty job with pay below average until recently) and I do not know anyone here who does that. One of my brothers has one of the lowest-paying jobs there is and he does not need to do that either. Actually, I do not know anyone who works over 40 hours (that's the legal limit for overtime and companies avoid that because they would have to pay more - it is better to hire more people) - doctors and nurses might be the exception because currently there is not enough of them.
This is roughly what capitalism looks like in a shitty ex-Eastern Bloc country that is still limping far behind Switzerland or Denmark. It could certainly be improved, but what we have is generally what my perspective is. Capitalism with a safety net. This is what I vote for. And BTW, all of this while our current government is - by local standards, certainly not by American ones - right-leaning.
Do you still think our perspectives are that different?
Your comments are not only factually interesting but IMO exceptionally well written.
Great, I will make sure not to miss them here then.