One thing I will promise; I never block anyone just because I may disagree with or dislike their words. Because the only people who do are cowards. Want to attack me? Fine. If you think that makes the world a better place, go ahead; you cannot hurt me with your words.
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2026-07-05T07:06:25Z Event JSON
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Last Notes npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I brought it up specifically as an example of a trivial monopoly; I wouldn't expect to see much conversation about it. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I think what counts as "meaningful" is a conversation. I have yet to meet anyone willing to seriously claim that, for example, a monopoly in baseball trading cards is a serious issue for society. I pay attention to plenty of economists, and yes, I do have some formal education in it. Not a degree, but some education. No, I do not think state-run universities should exist. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury None that I'm aware of, but I am not an economic historian. My confidence that no such thing exists in the developed world now comes from A. several economists making that claim and B. the absence of a single counterexample despite years of looking for one. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "No examples" of what? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Oh, I'm sure there have been meaningful monopolies in the past without government assistance. There may even be a few now, in countries with more poorly developed economies. But I've looked and asked for years for an example of one NOW, and people have so far been unable to point to even a single one. And no, I don't "control the definition"; I didn't make up what monopoly means, or what a free market is. These are well-understood and developed economic concepts. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I'm not asking for perfect monopolies; I'm asking for something that is even meaningfully a monopoly. We do have plenty of meaningfully free markets, and many have existed throughout history. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I agree; there are many ways to make things worse without being a monopoly. But I also believe that it's worthwhile to be accurate; if we want to make good policy to avoid monopolies, that begins by being accurate about what a monopoly even is. It's not enough for a business to simply be big. As to gains for one beings losses to another, that is extremely uncommon in a free market, and when it does occur it's almost always due to fraud. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury That would be far closer, because the price of installing solar on one's home is prohibitive for many, many cannot do so at any practical price , many are legally barred from doing so, etc. But Amazon? There's nothing they come even close to having a monopoly in, except arguably some of their media. And I shed exactly zero tears for someone who's problem is "I want to watch a show made by amazon". npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Well, they are not a monopoly, and they get a huge amount of government assistance. So they do not fit my criteria. Never changed any of those criteria. But again, please, tell me what they have a monopoly in; something only they sell that I cannot get the same thing or a perfectly adequate substitute elsewhere easily. Anything. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury The internet? As an example of what? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Sure, Amazon is dominant. But in what do they have a monopoly? What can I buy ONLY from them that I cannot get the same thing or a perfectly adequate substitute easily from elsewhere (e.g., sure, they have a monopoly in their branded goods, but other perfectly suitable substitutes are available)? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Two things. One, they're not a monopoly, and two, they get a HUGE amount of government money and other assistance. So they're really the opposite of the government-independent monopoly I've asked people to point to. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Well, over 20% of homes in the US use septic; so that's a hefty chunk that are not getting sewer from the government right there. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Well, a few things. One, no, sewer is not "much more fully controlled" by the government than healthcare, nor is water; there is VASTLY more regulation around banking, healthcare, etc., than there is around serer systems. But also, where they are controlled, they mostly are controlled by much lower (and therefore more accountable) levels of government. Finally, they are much less ripe for abuse. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I have yet to see anyone point to a major problem in the market that does not have a significant government component. Which sectors do people complain about most? Healthcare, housing, banking...oddly, some of the most highly regulated sectors out there. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Food can be 3d printed. It's trivial at this point. https://www.3dsourced.com/rankings/food-3d-printer/ npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You apparently think of it immediately when you see stories about people getting fired. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You know, I never see anyone saying "Such-and-such many people got hired; capitalism at work!!!". It's almost as if emotionally motivated, biased commentary is popular. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "I'm excluded from #crowdfund platforms like #kickstarter" npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I want an example of them ACTIVELY HARMING you, not of them exerting perfectly reasonable control over their own property. I might as well whine that you won't let me store my stuff in your home for free without asking. If I thought you were infringing on my IP, I'd respond too. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Okay, so no examples. Got it. You have no examples, not even one, not even that you would present from behind a veil of anonymity. Not really surprising. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You're really doing yourself a solid by whining instead of taking any of the dozens of opportunities available to you. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Sure, "everywhere else" besides literally dozens of channels. Lots of industries are over-regulated and/or captured. But publishing? Please. Stop playing the victim. For heaven's sake, zine culture is over a century old. And those folks didn't have easy access to cheap, high-quality printers they could keep and use in their own homes. You can literally advertise via dozens of venues, you could quite feasibly print the book YOURSELF. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You could literally tell me about it right here, right now, and no publishing company on earth can stop you or punish you (unless you already have some kind of contract with them with clauses about permitted advertising). You could tell anyone on here who hasn't blocked you. You could get on reddit and tell people there. Or facebook. Or tiktok. Or bluesky. PLENTY of options out there to promote your work in ways publishers cannot prevent. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You could....and this is just brainstorming, here....you could tell people about it. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You do know you can publish your stories for all of about fifty bucks on your own website, right? And that there are plenty of websites where they will post them for free? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Meh. For years, when I saw people making these sorts of claims, I'd read the article. Every single time, without any exception whatsoever, their analysis was so deeply flawed as to be laughable. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Eh. You can re-learn all those skills, if you want. Many people do. But most people have decided that their time is better spent in other ways. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I adhere to the server character limit, so just to take your second point; functionally mandatory union memberships are ABSOLUTELY still a thing in many places in the US; namely, everywhere that isn't a "right to work" state. You might say "Oh, you're only required to pay dues, you don't HAVE to be a member!" So, you're required by law to take the bad part of the deal and not the "good" part of the deal? Hmmm. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury The odd thing about unions is that they're supposedly such a great idea, and yet many of them happily use force of law to make people either join them, or deny them their right to work in the field. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Is it disturbing to you that someone would offer such work arrangements, or that people would take them? Or both? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "The 996 work model is modern slavery, nothing less." npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "As long as capitalism governs through war & crisis, true socialism cannot emerge."' npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Yes, I am talking about you. That's an entirely inaccurate characterization of capitalism. "We do the work, they get the money."? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "#Capitalism: We do the work, they get the money. How fair is that?" npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Actually, again, I can and will comment as I please. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Actually, I can comment. And I've heard plenty of people try to come up with reasons they are "slaves" because they (gasp!) have a job; it has been nonsense, each and every time, with no exceptions. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "My favourite quote: "Capitalism is wage slavery" npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Yes, about the level of commentary I've come to expect from you. I wish it was a disappointment, but nothing you've said ever led me to expect you to say anything worthwhile. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Hey, assume based on whatever makes you feel good; I never imagined you had any real honesty about facts or reality. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Oh, I never imagined you could do better than assume you were right, based on nothing. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I don't care about them any more of less. than I care about you. What I care about are principles. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Ah, yes. Crude sexual accusations; sure evidence of a strong, principled position. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Yes, you're a "victim" now. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Meh. More of what I expected, never what I hoped for. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury By all means. If you ever develop a desire to grasp trivially basic economic concepts, I'm here. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Not at all. I don't feel "superior" to anyone because I understand that 2 and 2 makes 4. I want everyone to grasp basic ideas. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Oh, no! Where will I get my nonsense from? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury If I "ignored" everyone who had hairbrained ideas they refused to actually test or who made baseless accusations or who had no real value to contribute to any meaningful conversation...well, actually, things would probably improve. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Meh. Make whatever baseless accusations and excuses you like. I never expected better. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I never said that moving to Venezuela was THE solution. I'm pointing out that there are MANY possible ways of proving that socialism, communsim, etc. are just..just SO much better, and yet somehow, there's a pile of whining and precious few attempts at actually proving the point. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Nothing much. Just seems like there is a huge amount of whining and complaining, and precious little action on, you know....proving that something, anything else is better by actual experiment. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Meh. More lies, but at least they're low quality and low effort. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I strongly encourage all the folks who hate capitalism so, so much to get together and do better. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury It's hardly "unempathetic", and it's perfectly realistic. I understand the urge to steal; it's just that, like most functional adults, I also have a sense of right and wrong. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury It's not. People just like stealing stuff because it's cheaper than paying, and they want to feel better about being thieves. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Sure, as long as you ignore things like my point that there are other long-lived fission products than uranium and plutonium. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury There is a GIGANTIC difference between "the idea that spent nuclear fuel is an unmitigated risk is wrong" and "it only needing safe storage for 300 years before it becomes radiologically harmless". npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Accusing people of pedantry is a very common response to people pointing out technical errors. But, for better or worse, nuclear power is a technical field, and attention to detail is important. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury The problem (well, one of them) is that you jump from "The long lived isotopes are broadly uranium and plutonium" to "uranium and plutonium are fuel, and anyway it's just alpha radiation". That COMPLETELY ignores other long-lived fission products; Zr-93, Tc-99, Pd-107, etc. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "it only needing safe storage for 300 years before it becomes radiologically harmless" npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "showing why definitions matter" npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Socialism is collective (read; governmental) ownership and control of the means of production. It says to people "Oh, you're unfit to have this control, to make these decisions; we'll do it for you. You simply cannot be trusted to make your own decisions in a free market; you might hurt yourself!" npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury As opposed to the overarching paternalistic attitude of socialism? "Oh, of course you can't handle these sorts of things yourself; the government will run all this hard economic stuff for you, you poor, simple thing." npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Yes, my support for open source standards? My boosting of the fairphone? Clear proof that I am making assumptions about your position. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury So, no basis for your accusations. Wish I was surprised. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Please. What have I "assumed" about your positions, or anything else? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You can make all the assumptions you want; thinking I regard it as necessary, thinking I'm arguing in bad faith, assuming my position on costs versus benefits. Assuming that other people think things you disagree with is a much more efficient way of dismissing them than, you know...asking what they think. As long as your priority is "dismiss anyone who even might disagree with you" instead of "have actual conversations", you're being very efficient. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I am pointing out that it can and does have utility. That's not even remotely the same as claiming that it's "necessary" in any way. "I like eating chocolate" is not the same as saying "I will die if I don't get chocolate". npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I'm not. I never said anything even remotely approaching the claim that AI is necessary or anything of the sort. Why would you imagine that I am "married to the idea of AI's necessity"? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury It may be hard to accept, but for the vast majority of people, we simply do not have the time it takes to cultivate most creative skills to the point of being able to make what we can imagine. Just think about it, maybe for a "non-artistic" pursuit; suppose you wanted just a simple piece of software to do something you could understand, but not program. Do you think that AI could be a useful tool in getting that software made? Maybe in making it affordable or even possible for you? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury A couple things. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Meh. I'd rather have the problem of food waste than the problem of too little food (AKA, starvation). Anyone who thinks food waste is bad should take a look at the Great Leap Forward under communism. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Another day, another attack on a strawman from people who cannot even manage to define capitalism accurately. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "Diablo Canyon Unit 1 was supposed to shut down today.' npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury To your first paragraph, not only SHOULD it, it DOES. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury But HOW are they charging less? If it's simply by making less profit, there is still plenty of room for people to invest in them. People do not invest solely an exclusively with the aim of maximizing their returns (and even if they did, which company to invest in to achieve that is not obvious). People also invest based on things like values, which investment seems more secure, all sort of variables. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You're missing several things, but one of the most important is innovation. People have a chance to make more money by investing in a small startup that then grows a lot than they do by investing in a large conglomerate that doesn't grow as much. Take the extreme case; look at the rate of return on US treasury bonds. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Seriously? You're criticizing people for helping the wrong way? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury There are many. Take your third sentence: there is no real evidence that a few people will corner a market, in a free market. There can be and often are MANY providers of a given good or service. And if someone does corner a market...they don't need to expand out of the local market to keep making a profit. Look at polyface farm; explicitly capitalist, and they have no desire at all to expand. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury No, you explained your understanding of one way it COULD play out. That does not mean it is a fundamental demand of the system. I COULD play an action movie on my TV, but it's not a fundamental requirement. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury "Capitalism does need constant economic growth." npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I hear a LOT of repetition of the accusation that #capitalism "depends on infinite growth on a finite scale". npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury No, it just accepts it as an unavoidable reality. People are greedy, they always have been greedy, they always will be greedy. Capitalism allows for and exploits that, to good ends; you can get more stuff, you can satisfy your greed, only by making others better off. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Hey, use all the sarcasm you like. I didn't imagine you wanted to talk about, you know, facts. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Pure nonsense. I gain from various free markets regularly. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Obviously Jeff Bezos has a great deal more power than I do, in one dimension. But he has a great deal less power than the government does, both monetarily and in many other ways. The government can and does take my money by force and spend it on things I do not support. Jeff Bezos? Bill Gates? Elon Musk? these men do nothing of the sort. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Tell me; when's the last time Jeff Bezos got any of my money? When's the last time he took money from you by force or the threat of it, as the government does? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury My money is the money I earned. Yes, they should be free to do as they wish with their money. Jeff Bezos can't get a dollar from me without my active consent; I have to buy something he is selling. The government, on the other hand, takes my money with no meaningful consent. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Yes, why would we let people do the things they want with their own money, when instead we could force everyone to pay for this, even if they would rather see their money spent on something else? npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury And was never in accord with a free market. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Let's be perfectly clear; this absolutely is modern slavery, and absolutely is NOT capitalism. Capitalism revolves in part around decisions made in a FREE market, which this most clearly is not. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury I love the mileage people are getting out of this single, isolated instance, as if they murdered her or something. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Yep; very common response. Simple, baseless personal attacks because someone can't or won't actually address the issue or the points made. But, as with others, I thank you for making the situation and the quality of discourse you provide clear. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You accuse me of this "who uses the follower only function to sealion without it showing on their public profiles". I don't even know what that function is, but feel free to ascribe to me more acumen than I actually possess. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Frankly, I find that for every ten people who talk about how bad capitalism is, at least nine of them struggle to provide any real definition for it. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You can "admit" whatever you want; that's not the point of acknowledging the truth of the situation. If coincidence didn't imply causation, post hoc ergo propter hoc wouldn't be a fallacy anyone would bother pointing out. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury You can dismiss the idea that correlation implies causation all you want, but that's the cornerstone of many observational techniques. Again, correlation does not PROVE causation, but the very fact that people even bother pointing this relationship out should point you in the direction that it does IMPLY it. If it didn't imply it, if it didn't suggest it, there would be no need to bring the relationship up. npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury The most obvious choice would be "Free to Choose". npub182ruma6z5ylfumske4kcxlz2v5dzpmgtgstnxkax7485rknu8pdqulpm8s AKingsbury Primarily, economists.