• Parsani [love/loves, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    2 months ago

    In a few cases, societies identified challenges to their competitive position and undertook broad-based social, political, and economic reforms to sustain their power.

    Lmao, it’s so joever

    • Greenleaf [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      2 months ago

      COVID was kinda the test case, but really anybody could have seen how that was going to go. The US is simply not set up institutionally, structurally, etc to weather even a modest crisis (at least one that it can’t simply buy its way out of like 2009). The whole thing was built and perfected to funnel money to capitalists. When it’s faced with any problem that’s beyond that scope, it simply can’t handle it. Even if a major crisis worse than COVID came along, and it was in the capitalists’ interests to thoroughly and decisively deal with it, they wouldn’t be able. This car ain’t built for off-roading.

      • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]@hexbear.net
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        2 months ago

        The US could have bought its way out of Covid. But they would have had to value their own citizens lives above going out to eat.

        The unemployment benefits could have been higher. They could have implemented UBI. Put a pause on non-essential work. Raised minimum wage for a wide variety of industry. And spent 2020-2021 improving buildings with better ventilation, in preparation for re-opening. Instead we had open-up protests and horse dewormer paste being sold to even bigger idiots.

        • Formerlyfarman [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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          2 months ago

          The year with most deaths in the us was 2021. After there were vaccines. The libs just used that as an excuse to lift all restrictions and go back to brunch. Vaccines+ half assed restrictions could have worked. But going out to eat is more important.

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆OP
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      2 months ago

      Societal collapse often becomes self-reinforcing, as severe crises necessitate significant structural changes. However, the ability to make such adjustments typically requires a level of foresight and proactive action that would have avoided this situation in the first place. This creates a death spiral where opportunists rise to power by promising quick fixes and easy solutions, while continuing to exacerbate problems because nobody is willing to acknowledge or accept the difficult truths about what it takes to genuinely address these issues.

      • redtea@lemmygrad.ml
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        2 months ago

        Hopefully we can skip that part when they try to trade with the world and it starts to say, nah. And there’s no way for the tiger to enforce its will because it’s already been standing in the rain for too long.

        • freagle@lemmygrad.ml
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          2 months ago

          It’s a domestic thing, not an international thing. There’s a pretty large reserve labor force of people doing bullshit jobs, working multiple part-time service jobs, unemployed and not seeking work, and underemployed. The Rand line will be that the dramatic change required is everyone getting together and working together for the nation and that powers the fascist engine.