Image transcript:

Calvin (from Calvin & Hobbes) sitting at a lemonade stand, smiling, with a sign that reads, “Trains and micromobility are inevitably the future of urban transportation, whether society wants it or not. CHANGE MY MIND.”

  • t_jpeg@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    “The most train centric countries in the world are also the most capitalist.”

    That’s because most countries in the world are capitalist mate.

    Also, if you acknowledge that JR Rail is not capitalist, even if China is defined as a state capitalist country you still have to acknowledge that the rail system itself is not capitalist (it is also state owned like JR rail).

    The fact is once profit is prioritised in something like mass public transportation, it starts to go to shit. That’s why American rail is so shit, that’s why every place in the UK has shit public transportation after privitisation bar a few cities like Nottingham, London and Manchester, and why it’s so expensive to get from city to city. Countries with largely state owned public transport tend to do better with their public transport.

    • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      No, I was actually pointing out that JR rail is not a state run passenger rail corporation, unlike Amtrak in the United States, DB in Germany and SNCF in France. It’s fully private and is only profitable due to Japan’s extreme population density and narrow shinkansen corridor between Tokyo and Osaka.

      It is in fact fully privatized, or “capitalist.”