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from the no-one's-leaving-until-we-have-unanimous-agreement dept.
The rise of populism has rattled the global political establishment. Brexit came as a shock, as did the victory of Donald Trump. Much head-scratching has resulted as leaders seek to work out why large chunks of their electorates are so cross.
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The answer seems pretty simple. Populism is the result of economic failure. The 10 years since the financial crisis have shown that the system of economic governance which has held sway for the past four decades is broken. Some call this approach neoliberalism. Perhaps a better description would be unpopulism.Unpopulism meant tilting the balance of power in the workplace in favour of management and treating people like wage slaves. Unpopulism was rigged to ensure that the fruits of growth went to the few not to the many. Unpopulism decreed that those responsible for the global financial crisis got away with it while those who were innocent bore the brunt of austerity.
2017 Davos says: The 99% should just try harder.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday March 29 2017, @04:41PM (3 children)
More specifically, one of the two major groups of people trying to control the government has spent the better part of 40 years pushing the idea that "good government" is an oxymoron, and when in power does everything they can to prove their point. The other major group might be able to remedy this, except that both major groups of people are busy selling policy off to the highest bidder and the only question is how brazen they are about it.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 29 2017, @05:08PM (2 children)
More specifically, one of the two major groups of people trying to control the government has spent the better part of 40 years pushing the idea that "good government" is an oxymoron, and when in power does everything they can to prove their point.
Sounds like they're right then. If your scheme strongly depends on opponents bending over backwards to make your scheme work, then it probably wouldn't have worked anyway.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 29 2017, @06:50PM (1 child)
Government is not a scheme, and there will never be a way around it. You can morph it into corporate structures, coop living scenarios, whatever. In the end you still have some group organizing human activity to some degree.
Partisan politics is a joke, a masterpiece of puppet theater. Both parties are terrible, but the GOP actively dislikes government because it shackles their corporate interests. Of course they want 100% freedom to do whatever they want. They aren't correct that good government is an oxymoron, they are short sighted psychopaths.
The Democrats are the opposite, except their psychopathic power trip is about more control through government.
As always, the best path is somewhere in the middle. Personally I would promote the following: socialized healthcare, better border control and auditing of illegal labor pools, more protectionist policies to prevent offshoring of jobs, higher taxes especially for the wealthy (corporate and private), preventing public tax dollars from financing abortions but abortions are still kept legal (pretty much how it is now...), legalize gay marriage everywhere (basic human rights for all), reduction in gun control, and I'm running out divisive issues.
Compromise is what real life is all about. It often sucks because we're all quite naturally selfish / self-centered, but without it we'd still be living in caves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 29 2017, @09:06PM
As long as that doesn't involve putting your peepee in someone's hoohaa... or being a woman, obviously.