Comments by "Wandering Existence" (@WanderingExistence) on "Trump makes BIG MISTAKE with NEW SUBPOENA to Michael Cohen" video.

  1. The employer-employee relationship is an actually a very insidious dynamic. Employment is a rental contract. Like if you rented capital (say, a chainsaw from Home Depot), you pay rent for the "time preference" (basically the cost of time) for a piece of property. Capitalism is based on a principle of self ownership, which sounds empowering, until you realize that most people don't own capital goods other than themselves, and must rent out the authority over themselves as pieces of "human capital". This is a process of dehumanization where human beings are valued for their return on investment as capital goods. This is why, at least capitalism needs safety nets (or abolishment), or else the system won't value sick, elderly, and disabled people, as they can't provide competitive economic return for the investor class.
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  2. ​ @CandyCarbonnier Thank you- Your comment that it's accessible means a lot. We can have grand and insightful ideas but if we can't share them in order to bring them into existence, they are all for not. If we can share these ideas and help people understand there is a possibility for change. I remember just 5 years ago I would tell people we need a four-day work week, and people would happily tell me I could work 4-10s.... Which completely misses the point and exposes how people are just so conditioned to the capitalist mentality; It's fish in water. But now there's studies being shown that 4-day work week can keep productivity similar, while burnout is decreased and overall happiness is increased. Personally, I've been interested in two grassroots groups called the Next System Project and the Democracy Collaborative. They have devised a way to keep production local for key anchor institutions and contract service to cooperatives. They have helped multiple cities struggling with job loss due to factory closures build back their communities, in the US and UK. In addition, trade unions, collectives, public banks, credit unions, community land trusts, CSA's, and many other democratically controlled institutions can work together to create democratic networks outside the market to create an economy that doesn't reduce people, their governments, and the environment to a monetary value. I think this can be a viable strategy to give people the autonomy over their work. I believe economic democracy is the only way people who work for the economy will have the economy work for them, their families, and the planet too. This way of revitalizing communities by building community wealth has helped many communities all over the globe, and it is utilized by the UK labor party and touted by Jeremy Corbyn. Preston, Lancashire became the most improved city in the UK because of community wealth building. Not to mention, much of the progress in labor rights has been due to union's collective power. The thing that draws my conviction to the movement is that I can see it now, helping empower people to live happier, healthier, and wealthier lives.
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  3. ​ @sassysaint3096 To be honest I think capitalism is the issue. The improvement in the quality of life in the 1700s wasn't because they mixed feudalism and capitalism.... It's because they let the new system take over. Capitalism has had its run, it is increased our technological wealth but it is concentrated that wealth, it is time for that technology to be allowed to express its power to preserve the freedom and dignity of all people not just the plutocratic elite Capitalism is inherently plutocracy, in a sense, when you consider that to buy voting shares in a company takes money, on the other hand a cooperative a democratic vote is given to all members.
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  4. ​ @garysmith9265 It certainly is a predicament isn't it. We can do things on national, local, and personal levels. Any money out of politics is a must, but locally supporting community wealth building, like co-ops/ credit unions (look up the Preston Model). On a personal level, we can remember to be kind and empathetic to people. Remember that although we want to get mad at our political 'others' that is exactly the 'Us vs Them' dynamic the investor class is happy to cultivate. Some are too ideologically gone but if you introduce 'socialism' to some right-wingers through cooperatives and community land trusts... A lot of them actually don't mind, lol. Which is why I find the Preston model pretty impressive because it appeals to many of the values that conservatives want, like empowering them at a local level- honestly though I think that's something most all of us can all support.
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