bennysonething

By Friday afternoon I feel sick. I'm wondering if this explains why.

Same as voting in elections?

Though we do vote with our wallets too.

The video is mostly of the upper classes and military. Looks nice but I'm pretty certain I'd prefer to live now. I'm actually from n Ireland but live in the Scotland. The class system is definitely a lot more noticeable here than home. I suspect it was way worse back then.

I have some sympathy for your point of view. I'm very much pro union but when I go to England I think I'm glad I don't live there. So crowded. Most of the countryside fenced off. Unlike Scotland were it's possible to escape to the wilderness. Compared to Ireland I think people in England seem depressed.

On the high trust thing, I think part of it may be partly the mass immigration of the 1950s. As an outside observer I think that may have divided the country a bit. To me there doesn't seem to be much integration.

All I'm hoping is that the UK gets over brexit and doesn't stay in terminal decline. The current Tory leadership only seem interested in managing that decline. At least Boris was optimistic and believed Britain was a great place to be.

I get the feeling that this is people over hyping their field to boost their own status. It's amazing technology, but I doubt there's any emergency here.

In another way this reminds me of Roark's court room speech in the fountainhead

"Thousands of years ago, the first man discovered how to make fire. He was probably burned at the stake he had taught his brothers to light. He was considered an evildoer who had dealt with a demon mankind dreaded. But thereafter men had fire to keep them warm, to cook their food, to light their caves. He had left them a gift they had not conceived and he had lifted darkness off the earth. Centuries later, the first man invented the wheel. He was probably torn on the rack he had taught his brothers to build. He was considered a transgressor who ventured into forbidden territory. But thereafter, men could travel past any horizon. He had left them a gift they had not conceived and he had opened the roads of the world. "

You might have a point here, maybe the era of cheap money funded this nonsense.

What have we traded away?

Or it's a way to increase your status while not doing your actual job. "Look at how moral I am!". I'm wondering how long this crap will continue. I'm hoping it becomes a cliche and embarrassing soon.

Same as being a Catholic "sign up to feel guilty for the rest of your life". I should know, I was born one !

"...suggests that if the world invested in a “Giant Leap” to reduce poverty and inequality, the world population would peak at around 8.5 billion people in 2040 and decline to 6 billion by the end of the century."

Like a great leap forward?

Or maybe focus on the things that actually lift people out of poverty, free markets and rule of law.

Pretty much the same as me. Windows hardware support is really great, Linux is always a hassle for me. I've tried and tried with Linux, but I've given up on it as my primary desktop

They have free markets and businesses, doesn't sound like a socialist system to me.

How many times do we have to try socialism before we're convinced it doesn't work?

Or maybe you mean something like Nordic countries that are capitalist but tax more heavily and redistribute wealth more?