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Last Notes

2026-03-26 21:49:37 GMT

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How do you integrate it with your linux desktop/laptop (if at all)?

2026-03-25 16:26:13 GMT

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It's sad, but not unexpected. We must always keep in mind that linux is no longer a project run by hobbyists for hobbyists. Look at the board, and you will quickly see that the linux foundation is now run by corporations, and therefore, linux will be bent to the will of corporations.
Fortunately, the source is free, and devuan exists. Should things become really dark, there is also the BSD:s side of the universe.

2026-03-23 11:36:04 GMT

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Upon further thought... the only way out I see is either to look at unchangeable characteristics of human nature, or rather... nature. That would be one way to avoid the trap, if _we_ are trapped by the formula due to our human nature.
Another way would be to zoom out to the absolutely highest level, such as global performance of stocks, over 100 years or so, which is answered by 6%-7%. This is still slightly susceotible to the problem, but I think it _is_ coupled with the fixed psychology of most human beings, that are notoriously bad at long term thinking.
Therefore it does actually make sense to invest for the long term, as long as you do not expect more than 7%, but we wont be talking any quick gains, and it does take psychological fortitude, which is why most people will ignore the advice. It is simply... "boring".

2026-03-23 11:30:33 GMT

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Based on a few seconds thinking, I think that this is very difficult. The only brief idea I can come up with is to trace historical bubbles based on mentions of a key term (say AI) in the media, and see how that term is used more and more to try and determine the start of the bubble. The end is easy enough to define.
Based on that, we would then have imperfect data on the rise and pop of bubbles.
But as we all know, past performance is no guarantee of future performance, so at most, it would be able to vaguely answer the question if 5-10 years is the span of bubbles.
But should the theory then manage to come up with strong correlations in the future, that can be acted upon, as per our previous (long time ago) discussion, its increased use will dilute the theory, since it will push investors to constantly +1 the theory to stay ahead of the crowd.
So the cruel paradox of market research is that as soon as it gives results, it gets used, and from its use, its usability will drop, until it falls out of favour, and then it might become useful again.
That in turn raises the meta-question of how long time it takes for a stockmarket theory to go from unknown, to fall out of favour, and from there ,to start to work again. ;)
And then the meta-meta perspective comes into play. ;)

2026-03-20 14:26:11 GMT

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How would you reform democracy, in an ideal world, to promote more parties, and more turnover of politicians and parties in the parliament? Is there any way this could be done, and has it been done somewhere?

2026-03-19 15:27:06 GMT

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A more approriate answer would be either...
1. Fuck you.
or
2. I don't see you contributing, but you want to pay for my order and round up, be my guest.
I really hate when companies try to be woke and charity oriented. It's so fake it's disgusting.

2026-02-23 11:20:37 GMT

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It is very fascinating to see how the UK is following the development of sweden, step by step. In sweden, the sweden democrats started to get into power, and then there was a schism, that created the alternative for sweden party.
If history is a guide, restore will sit at a few % which will consist of the most aggressive nationalists.
Reform will soften their approach, over time, and become an established mainstream party, with a skepticism against immigration.

2026-02-17 15:33:43 GMT

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Tut, tut... rare earth minerals and diamonds! 😎

2026-02-13 10:17:00 GMT

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Hah! I'll believe it when I see it. My guess is that smart phones will be required, which means that hte solution, again, will be based on either US or Chinese (or both) technologies.
The closest thing to what we need that I have seen is the african m-pesa.
It works with dumbphones, and with the infrastructure available in rural africa, and would be _perfect_.
Sadly KYC/AML law probably makes any option, except US and/or Chinese technology based solutions impossible.
So I think the choice here will be, either digital sovereignty and independence, or AML/KYC. Both is not possible.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa

2026-02-13 07:51:32 GMT

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Switzerland has had their own card payment system for a long time. A quick start would be to copy it, and then integrate it across countries. BIS is based in Switzerland, maybe they could help?

2026-02-11 16:19:23 GMT

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I think the empirical evidence rather shows the opposite. It is enough to look at sweden integration fiasco, where immigrants can live on 15-20k GBP per month for year and years without lifting a finger.
This has become a complete catastrophy and makes them less inclined to integrate, more depressed, has made crime explode, and many more things.
If you want to see a large scale experiment in UBI, look no further than sweden immigration fiasco, where 100 of thousands have received UBI and are a net loss to society.
In fact, it was big mainstream news recently, where the government Swedish National Institute of Economic Research had looked at the past 40 or 50 years (I think) of immigration, and concluded that it was a net loss for swedens economy.
https://www.konj.se/publikationer/specialstudier/2025-06-04-redovisning-regeringsuppdrag-om-migrationens-nettoeffekter/ .

2026-02-01 11:58:26 GMT

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But if they benefit in such a one sided way, how come the UK still allows it? What is the unique selling point of the channel islands for the UK?

2026-01-31 12:04:54 GMT

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I haven't read it, but I'd suspect that they committed the falacy of looking at too short a time frame.
Capitalism doesn't work without inequality. Inequality is just a naturally function of our different skills and abilities, and must be allowed to exist, for capitalism to function.
If you artificially remove inequality, you'll get the soviet union and and that resulted in starvation and everyone getting it worse.
In order to show _why_ we need inequality, and why it is actually a good thing in the long term, I think Johan Norbergs The capitalist manifesto is an excellent book.

2026-01-30 16:04:24 GMT

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I would also, in an attempt to view both sides of the argument, highlight a point which I think is not very often brought up.
Often in these discussions, the left wants to "force" companies to work less, which damages tax revenue and society, and the right wants to let companies work as much as they like.
However!
First, as you pointed out, there's the organic shift. The length of the work week is becoming a bargaining chip in salary negotiations with companies, just like fully remote work has become. Many people are willing to sacrifice some amount of monthly salary in order to work 3 or 4 days a week, or go fully remote.
The second point is that many people fear working less. Peopel will become bored, unhappy, etc.
The thing is, when we went from 7 to 6 day, there was much rejoicing. When we went from 6 to 5 days, again, there was much rejoicing and very little weeping.
Likewise, when we organically move from 5 to 4 I am certain, there will be much rejoicing.
What I do _not_ know, and what I am curious about, is if there's a happy minimum. Probably this depends on the person, the society at large, and the job.

2026-01-28 08:40:20 GMT

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The dirty little secret is that the Europe will be just fine. WIth 450 million people, against russias 160 or so, and with an economy that is 15x larger, there is no way russia will ever be able to beat europe.
What would happen, if europe was serious, is that all western european nations, would send 35% of their armed forces to the eastern front, and that would be the end of russia.
Add to that, fighter jets and submarines that are some of the most advanced on the planet (thinking of Saab Jas Gripen, and the swedish submarine that sunk american boats during a Nato exercize some years ago) and russia has no chance.
The fact that our politicians, and population still hunker down with fear of Putin shows us how brilliant they are at psychological warfare.
But just as it was discovered that russia was far weaker when the iron curtain fell and the soviet union collapsed (they found fake planes to make russia look stronger for instance) we will again see how weak russia really is, ince it comes tumbling down again.
The tsars fell, the communists fell, and eventually Putin will also fall.

2026-01-25 10:17:31 GMT

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Ahh... yes, I understand if the pool consists of second tier academics. Maybe the key here is to expand the pool. Then you'd have academics with some sense of job security and a regular salary, and the consulting pool who are not employees and have no job security. Then I think the pool of academics would not be so envious of the consulting pool, alternatively, they could work extra.

2026-01-24 10:30:35 GMT

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True. Add to that, that is you're not a left wokist, you are not welcome in many projects. They have become more about politics than code.

2026-01-21 15:01:42 GMT

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This is a wonderful interpretation, and one I think Trump himself will use, _if_ he won't make any progress with acquiring Greenland.
On the other hand, it can be argued that he could just have asked and avoided negative stock market effects making life worse for 100s of millions of people. It's kind of using a nuke to ask the guy next to you to stop farting.
Regardless... Trump is always great entertainment, and watching the inept and spineless EU leadership is also quite fun from a certain detached point of view.

2026-01-20 15:58:19 GMT

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I think the fact that few leftists would agree with me, indicates that the EU leans more left than right, on average.
Ahh!
Another Venn-diagram time! ;) Another benefit of limiting pay to politicians, is that you'll weed out a lot of politicians who are in it for the money. The ones who are in it for the money, are the ones who are the least suited to become politicians.
Sadly, I suspect that corruption would instead increase even more from todays, already high levels. To my knowledge, there is no panacea for corruption. Sure, we can try and enforce more transparency, but if a billion transparency reports are created, no one will ever bother checking them.
The politicians will use the fire hose technique and drench all the ones who tryto control them so that they cannot simply handle all the reports.

2026-01-20 09:04:58 GMT

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Brexit is good! It was the first slap in the face of the EU. I live in the EU, and I think it is a socialist dictatorship, and it will lead to a fiscal collapse eventually which will harm everyone in the euro zone. THat is why I keep very little of my assets in the euro.
I hope that more countries will leave the EU, so a new organization, with the sole focus of international trade, can take its place, while keeping sovereign nations, as sovereign nations.
The level of corruption within the EU is staggering, and the entitledments and perks the EU politicians have given themselves, make them millionaires.
No politicians should ever be allowed to become a millionaire by being a politician.

2026-01-18 09:57:51 GMT

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Do you have any links to those combined views?
To me, an analogy is the market. Yes, we can all steal from each other, true, and that comes down to might makes right, but if we start to buy and sell, and trade with each other, both parties benefit.
This is one of the foundational ideas of libertarianism.

2026-01-17 22:21:07 GMT

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This is the truth. People have to stop pretending, and to realize that between nations, there can only be force or the threat of force.
Should they so choose, there can of course be cooperation, but at the end of the day, there is a reason we call them sovereign nations.
Become a political realist, and gain the benefit of not being particularly surprised at how Trump is acting or what he is doing.
Add to that, the realization that he is a business man, and you will no longer be surprised by anything he does, and you will easily be able to predict what he will do.

2026-01-17 18:41:15 GMT

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I wonder if that is because they would become unprofitable at scale? For remote villages I can see how it can become cheaper than scheduled busses, but with a lot of people, I can also see how it quickly becomes very expensive.

2026-01-17 14:32:41 GMT

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I can add another experiment from a remote village in sweden that I heard about recently. They dropped scheduled busses since the area was so remote, and instead, the locals could order a bus when needed. I assume what happened (I'm speculating here) is that busses were ordered when going to/from work, and during the weekend, and no busses in between.
The project was a success, saved money, increased public happiness, and will be made permanent.

2026-01-17 14:31:06 GMT

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This is the truth! I'm not a fan of public anything, but if we insist, it seems to me that free public transportation for all would be relatively cheap if you look at how much of an effect it would make on peoples daily lives.
You could also then just not bother with controls and turn stiles, so the cost of this will be much less than one would think, since a lot of employees doing controls today and manning turn stiles and entry points, could be let go in order to do more productive work.

2026-01-17 14:29:10 GMT

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Based on my subjective experience, I tend to use the cheapest one, except if they are "app/smartphone oriented". In that case I use the cheapest one that is not.
There is also another parameter and that is how close to home they deliver. The options usually are 200 meters, 400 meters, and 800 meters. So apart from the above, I go for the ones that deliver closest to home, or at the door.
The price usually varies between free (if you tolerate longer delivery times) to between 3 and 8 EUR or so.

2026-01-17 14:26:00 GMT

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I have heard about them, and it does looks promising!
Sadly I must shoo my wife out of the room in order to be able to listen in peace. ;)
"Therion takes its themes for the lyrics from different mythologies and practices, including occultism, magic and ancient traditions and writings".
Sounds just like my thing!

2026-01-17 10:38:02 GMT

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Why not free passes for everyone, everywhere? If politicians are serious about the climate scam, at least they should act as if they truly believed in it.

2026-01-17 10:36:23 GMT

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Should not be too difficult to block the common man.
I do think there will be a few starlinks here and there for the opposition, as well as black market VPN:ns.
Along the borders point to point internet connections could be setup as well.
I also think ham radio could be used by some for links to the outside world.
But china will most likely happily sell their grat firewall technology as well as their social credit score system to iran to make it easier to track and control the population.
It does sadly look like Trump chickened out again. =(

2026-01-17 10:30:36 GMT

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I have seen this option at some swedish online shops.

2026-01-16 17:01:23 GMT

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Please don't say it out aloud, you will wake up Cthulhu!

2026-01-15 09:49:16 GMT

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Her half-brother, Eagle eye Cherry, also was briefly famous in sweden. Adding this for the curious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nntd2fgMUYw&list=RDNntd2fgMUYw&start_radio=1

2026-01-15 09:45:18 GMT

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In principle I agree. But what does the law say?
Does it say that Google is free to do that? If so, not much can be done about it except, taking responsibility for your children and not allowing them to roam the internet free and without your supervision.
There is no natural law that says that children should have smartphones and internet.
Practice "tough love" and your children will thank you for it once they grow up.
Practice "soft love" or the art of never saying no, and you will cripple your children for life.
If that is too tough, then sadly, children is not for you.

2026-01-15 09:42:09 GMT

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I do not think it is so valuable to speak of points of view as products of genetics, since genetics is closer to hardware, and the mind is the software.
In my opinion, points of view are products of information, evaluation, and decisions based on that.
I simply don't see what clarity or utility is gained by saying everything is the product of genetics? It limits the discussion, doesn't open up any new vistas. By saying that it is the products of the mind, evaluation, information etc. we can continue exploring how they are done, rules, laws, trying to optimize them etc.
Another aspect is that genetics does not operate at that granularity. They have no concept of for instance, socialism. If you prefer that to other isms, is more a question of your life conditions, culture, how you were brought up, your studies, socio-economical background etc.
I'd argue, that building a model based on those concepts will yield _vastly_ greater and more accurate predictions, than trying to find a gene or a cluster of genes that predict socialism.
However!
Since we are talking about the material, it does lend itself beautifully to the way of science. So _if_ a scientist does manage to isolate a socialist gene, or socialist gene cluster, which predicts with great accuracy a future socialist, I would have no choice but to revise my opinion and acknowledge that you were right.
To my knowledge however, no such gene or gene cluster has ever been proven to exist.

2026-01-15 09:37:23 GMT

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Yes, but the fact that something is described, vs, something that science has realized are two distinct things.
I do agree that it is a bit too much to talk about "matter", but to be clear, my point is that if we generalize too much, the concept loses its value when it can be extended to almost everything.

2026-01-14 20:54:08 GMT

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I think the difference in kind and level are more than enough to justify saying that the technology did not exist then. Equating satellites with "things that fly through the air" I think risks collapsing into uselessness, since basically everything can be reduced to "matter".

2026-01-14 20:52:29 GMT

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Do you mean a or b? Because if a, I think my position is the one with better scientific support, the better model. If b, then I better understand your position, and even though I disagree, I'm pretty sure I will not find the philosophical arguments to convince you of my position. ;)

2026-01-14 15:02:09 GMT

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I disagree. Space technology did not exist then, neither did genetic engineering. Unless you want to "collapse" that into physics and medicine, in which case you are right, but it also becomes quite a pointless discussion.

2026-01-14 15:01:13 GMT

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But we are all the same depending on the point of view.
We're exactly the same when it comes to limbs, senses, metabolism, organs, etc. That's basically what's makes us the human species.
Where individualism comes in, is with the brain and the mind. Our likes, dislikes, dreams, hopes and aspirations.
So taken as a whole, we are individuals, but that does not exclude the fact that we do share common traits, ideas, organs, abilities etc.
Psychological bias for instance, is based on functions which evolved for monkeys to survive in a cold hard world, and that is why we are all, more or less, susceptible to the same ones.
With the creation of the brain and the mind, we have gained the tools to free us of our biological past in many ways, but there are still many ways in which we are still slaves under our biology and genes.

2026-01-14 11:12:16 GMT

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Courage? I'd call it stupidity. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

2026-01-14 11:10:16 GMT

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I don't get it, does the one soldier have dual danish/finnish citizenship? ;)
As for diversity, this is alive and well in swedens rainbow army.
But we can only hope that once the shit hits the fan, that the homos drop out and focus shifts to killing people.

2026-01-14 07:52:00 GMT

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This is indeed the truth, and one problem discussed in the republic, but also a problem I have never seen a satisfactoriy answer to throughout all of philosophy and political science.
When it comes to my own view, it is not egalitarianism that govern my thinking, it is individualism, risk minimization and self-defense.
Sure, if I had a perfect, selfless leader, with enormous competence, I say "go for it" but given human psychology, it would take a lot of evidence to convince me of such a man, if the stakes are as high as say, unlimited power over all the united states.

2026-01-14 07:47:27 GMT

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Yes, exactly! I think those are all old ideas. Older than one might expect.

2026-01-14 07:46:57 GMT

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"This fear is rooted in lived history: Pahlavi’s family previously ignored the will of the majority, who sought a democratic republican system rather than a monarchy. Despite these concerns, he continues to be advertised internationally as the face of the current protest movement."
I saw the same reasoning in todays swedish mainstream news.
I have to say, it doesn't look good. I'm starting to get the feeling that at the end, it will just be more of the same, and that if Trump tries to liberate them, he'll go with the Venezuela playbook and will install some opportunistic guy from the current regime, who will then have won the jackpot.

2026-01-13 20:45:10 GMT

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But I wonder if a quick shift to local control wouldn't be exactly what will make iran end up with a dictator again?
Could there be some exile-iranians who could contribute? They have quite a diaspora, with quite a few wealthy ones with connections, I'm sure.

2026-01-13 15:32:23 GMT

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How old is this idea? Wasn't it first thought of by some russian guy in the 40s or 50s? (space based solar power beamed to earth)

2026-01-13 15:29:19 GMT

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True. It is easier to control Venezuela due to the geographic location, than Iran.
Maybe it would be possible to create some kind of government with a surrounding country that is allied with the US, yet, somewhat acceptable to the Iranians?

2026-01-13 11:31:11 GMT

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"Without this sense of an afterlife, the fear that life is bad accumulates."
Why?
I do not believ in an afterlife, and to me, it seems as if life is continually improving.
The longest I'm willing to stretch is that the question of an afterlife is a meaningless one, as long as it is asked from a scientific point of view.
I _do_ however fully endorse the position that some people need the fantasy, in order to improve their well being.
I also think that this should not be necessary, and that those humans might benefit greatly from thinking through why they need the myth, and that they might actually be in a better place to _truly_ appreciate the beauty of life, from the background of finite time.
It's like the market. If you have a finite, rare resource, the value is greater, than if you have an infinite, common resource.
I think the same goes for life. No one is able to appreciate the beauty of life as the atheist who knows that life is a rare and impernanent gift.
The one who "knows" that he'll go to heaven, will rather waste life, since it is an illusion anyway. This touches briefly Nietzsche, and why christianity can be a life-hostile religion.

2026-01-13 11:25:59 GMT

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Probably an interrim government led by Trump! 😎

2026-01-12 15:48:31 GMT

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How many votes does UKIP have to win in order to change something?
Remember, that UKIP not only must win those votes, they must also drain the public sector of civil "servants" who will fight hard to block any political decision UKIP makes.
This has been one of the lessons in sweden, when the current center/nationalist coalition took over.
A letter circulated at the foreign office anonymously, where the civil servants promised to fight back against any nationalist policy.
I am certain this will also be the case in the UK.

2026-01-12 15:43:52 GMT

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This seems to me to be an implementation problem, rather than an error or fault in the idea itself.
I would also expect doctors to fight back, because they are benefitting by effectively controlling how many doctors there are on the market, and would not be happy to see their value being lowered by a new sub-species of doctor, so I would expect massive push back from the old guard.

2026-01-12 09:50:49 GMT

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In the near term, this will be the case. But fast forward 300 years or so, and we will have expanded to mars, the moon, and beyond. Extrapolating scientific progress more or less guarantees this.

2026-01-12 09:49:18 GMT

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Blaming capitalism I think sounds like a cheap and shallow analysis, best reserved for some socialist rag.
I think the reason is smartphones and a lack of parental responsibility. Many parents have completely abdicated the role of raising their children. The reason is of course the european socialist state that encourages this.
Since the state is completely inept at raising children, you get the smartphone adicted ones, and parents you cry for more state intervention.
If, instead, we rebuilt a culture where the focus was on individual responsibility, that smartphone problem would quickly be gone, and reading would be on the increase again.

2026-01-12 09:46:40 GMT

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I'm curious if increase home support and remote health monitoring could actually save the NHS money and reduce cost?
Another idea would be to create a new medical role that sits in between doctors and nurses so that you can increase the speed to market of educated health personnel who would be able to handle 70-80% of all common complaints.
In sweden it takes 6 years + additional on the job training to get a doctor out. That's insane! I'm 100% convinced that you could educate a junior doctor in 3 years that could take care of a lot of common problems.

2026-01-12 09:43:16 GMT

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I liked the chariot of the gods. It was of course obvious b.s. but I look at it as a creative exercise in conspiracy theory. That definitely has entertainment value just like the Illuminatus trilogy.

2026-01-11 20:41:02 GMT

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I think he is a big city phenomenon, especially New York. I seriously doubt he will have enough pull in the country side and smaller cities to lure the broad white middle away from Trump.

2026-01-11 20:39:54 GMT

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I guess we'll have the answer in a couple of decades.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic0.gamerantimages.com%2Fwordpress%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F08%2FOffworld-Colonies-Blade-Runner-Black-Lotus.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=88ac51d165823176960852ccca19273ff8f9e4c1c36d46bc7258c904a6c91623

2026-01-11 14:09:06 GMT

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True. Moving prisons to africa or albania as some european countries are now exploring is a great step in the right direction.
When it comes to coming back, border controls, and yanking their citizenship will help somewhat.
The last point, the exiles terrorizing other countries is a problem though.

2026-01-11 14:05:23 GMT

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I think it has been criticized, but I also think that it has not invalidated and eradicated all knowledge resulting from it.
Yes, the function of leader exists, and leaders do get things done, but the original point I'm making is that power corrupts, and that is completely compatible with the fact that leaders exist and that leaders get things done. if anything, a study of this phenomenon, might yield techniques and knowledge which makes leaders better, and which makes us better able to protect ourselves against bad leaders, by avoiding, exiling or not voting for them.

2026-01-11 14:01:25 GMT

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Let me add to the idea of removal, your idea of exile. I think that is a good start, and also something which has been practiced quite often, by societies, throughout history.
To a certain extend, we today, "exile" our unwanted to prisons.

2026-01-11 13:57:36 GMT

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I think the democrats will win easily, _if_, they swallow their pride and present a middle aged man on the right side of the democratic party.
If they continue, or "escalate" the war against white middle class and working class men, there is a good chance that Vance will win.

2026-01-11 11:52:28 GMT

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Could be. But the advantage is that we will have the answer in 3-5 years! ;)

2026-01-11 11:52:05 GMT

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This is the truth! But you must also keep in mind that he has a close knit "core" of supporters who will remember only his narrative, and I suspect that that is where the family will get their support and glory from, when Trump is gone. The rest of the world will move on, and the family might still be appreciated within the MAGA core. It will be interesting to see if Trump will manage handing over his power within the MAGA movement to his children. I think Trump likes the idea of founding a power dynasty.

2026-01-11 10:37:30 GMT

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It is all really simple. Trump wants to become immortal, and what better way than to get a peace prize (didn't work out) or to expand the country á la Putin? It is also interesting to note that all what he wants, control of ports, minerals, etc. he could get from Denmark just by bargaining for a deal.
But how will he proceed? I think he will push the greenland opposition to have an unofficial vote that will end up in favour of joining the US. To sweeten the deal, he will offer every greenlandet 500k-1 million dollars.
After the vote, he will just simply move in troops, companies, personnel and that's it.
What Denmark should do, is to let greenland quickly vote, as fast as possible, and this will result in a "no" against joining the US, a "yes" when it comes to increased independence of greenland, and this will become the "ethical shield" of denmark and greenland and make life more difficult for Trump.
At the end of the day, with such a vote, it doesn't matter if Trump moves in military and companies. In 3 years, the democrats will most likely win, and the troops will be removed, and the companies will stay and pay tax on greenland. Greenland will have become more independent, and all will be well.

2026-01-11 10:28:56 GMT

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On the topic of Blair. How did he become so enormously rich so quickly?

2026-01-11 10:28:12 GMT

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I partly disagree. Trump is a businessman and the core of good business is win/win. However! He most certainly doesn't care if the other side loses or sells itself short, and he has discovered the joy of raw power, which means that for him it is easier to just do something, or to take it, if it seems as if talking will be too slow.
Also note how sensitive he is if he believes that he is talking with another powerful man. That is the only thing that will slow him down.

2026-01-11 09:44:59 GMT

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Could be that some individuals are resistant, but society is a game of averages.
In terms of individuals, I suspect they are rare, and that to find them would be very difficult. Then, once found, persuading them to take on power would be even more difficult.
I know one person who's in the 100 million EUR range who turned down the opportunity to become a minister since he saw no upside in it, and he preferred the pleasures of doing business instead.
As for the human being at large, some experiments that indicate that power corrupts are:
The Stanford prison experiment, the Robber's cave experiment, and studies on power and corruption (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.2134).
I can add that in order to see how this is true, most, if not all of us here, need look no further than our day to day politicians or middle managers. I think the fact that absolute power corrupts, is almost beyond doubt, and solving this psychological problem (if it is possible) is the key to building thriving socities.
With all of the above, it is of course not proven that not a single person exists with the capability of resisting the temptations of power, but I am skeptical. Since power is dangerous, I prefer a cautios approach here, and personally assume that we are all susceptible to this mental bug, until proven otherwise.

2026-01-11 09:36:31 GMT

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I think this is built into modern western democracy. Just the fact that a person thinks he is "ready" to tell others how to live their lives shows a dangerous psychological flaw in the person and is why I belive that democracies, over time, become more and more authoritarian.
Democracy, as we have implemented it today, is not old. Most nation states appeared in the 1800s, which makes modern democracy about 200 years old or so.
It could be that what we are seeing is just a natural consequence of a flawed system.

2026-01-10 22:17:29 GMT

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That most certainly does capture the trend. It is sad, but not surprising. I also find it fascinating how finger prints unlocks everything now, and how it is potentially so much less safe than the good old password.
A guy passed out at one of my events, and finding the contacts details of his next of kin was a simple as using his finger print (while he was passed out) to unlock his phone and then just opening the family chat.

2026-01-10 22:15:29 GMT

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This seems plausible. Since we do know that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, I would be very surprised if the people in power would ever realize that it could end. That level of foresight and humility I cannot see happening based on the psychology of our leaders.

2026-01-10 11:49:26 GMT

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Interesting. What about the right to remain silent? Maybe people should stop using thumbprints and go back to passwords for their devices? Passwords seem like they should be covered under the right to remain silent.

2026-01-10 11:38:58 GMT

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Note, that just like the roman empire, the US has enormous problems with debt, devaluation of the currency, and an enormous military. The roman empire eventually lost its grip, and we are living in a fascinating time in history to be able to watch a former empire starting to lose its grip.
The queustion is, how long time will it take? 50, 100, 200 years?
Will the US break up into its states again just like the roman empire was transformed, over time, into multiple countries in europe?

2026-01-09 08:56:40 GMT

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But that is not the only way. For instance, in sweden prisjakt.se is a price comparison web site that was created without any government regulation.
Another example is a web site (don't remember the name at the moment) which compares spending of public institutions.
I think there are many examples that show that private initiatives are able to increase the available information that consumers can base their decisions on.
Then there is also the aspect of punishing the actors on the market who do not provide information by not buying their products.
In a libertarian world, consumer organizations will be powerful entities indeed!

2026-01-08 23:00:38 GMT

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So you would not say that the market is th definition of perction? Transaction done based on free, informed consent?
If that is not perfection, and if government action is not perfection, then what do you define as perfection?

2026-01-08 17:26:00 GMT

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This is the truth! I, also, have stopped with soft drink poisons. I only drink, water, tea, coffee and milk, and occasionally some alcohol at social events.
I can add to this, to move daily, take walks, and cook your own food. Stay away from ready made dishes and fast food.

2026-01-08 17:24:39 GMT

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Strangely enough, for gaining (muscle) weight, I discovered that the opposite works best for me.
If I weigh myself every day, I lose motivation since nothing changes quickly. But if I forget about weighing myself, and weigh myself every 2-3 weeks or so, I do see muscle gain, and that motivates me to continue.

2026-01-08 17:22:31 GMT

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This in turn, I think highlights how complex the instrument of "artificial" economic manipulation (as opposed to the natural version where no one intervenes in the market) is. It is very easy that you end up not taking all information into account, and that that in turn, makes things worse.
It is the same situation that the government banking chiefs face when trying to second guess the market by setting what they believe is the correct interest rate.
I guess, in theory, if you assume an all knowing person, with access to all current information about the current state of the economy, Keyenes might work, but what many libertarians think is that the market is so complex that no group of people will be able to gather the information required for a fully balanced and optimized policy.

2026-01-08 15:09:13 GMT

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That would be great! Imagine a modern irish colony in north africa! Both north africa and the irish would benefit! ;)

2026-01-08 15:07:32 GMT

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But! How would this reasoning apply to a situation when a limited number of tech bros are causing the book, and not society at large? In that case, regular companies not involved in the boom will be "punished" when things go well for the boomers.
When the boomers crash, they will get a "cushion" from the government in the form of subsidies and low taxes, while some of the regular companies that were punished with high taxes during the boom, while not being affected by it, are by then, most likely no longer present.

2026-01-08 09:12:57 GMT

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Europe is by definition weak, looking at how clumsy the political governance structure is, which makes it impossible to actually do something quickly.
Add to that, that western europe is still damaged by WW2 and has an inherent culture of weakness.
What I'd be interested in when it comes to greenland is how Trump would respond to an ultimatum.
If you take greenland, we (europe) will leave Nato and form our own EU defense. Have fun defending against china on your own.
Another part of the bargain could be to say that if you take greenland, we'll stop all trade and focus on china.
Yes, that is far from ideal, but my enemies enemy is my friend, and strongmen can't afford the luxury of balanced, win/win solutions.
This will never happen, but I would be very interested how Trump would react to a propose EU/China alliance. ;)

2026-01-08 09:07:26 GMT

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What would the keynesian response be? To my libertarian I, I'd say the proper response is to do nothing and let the markets sort themselves out.

2026-01-08 09:00:24 GMT

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Read today in swedish mainstream media, that another reason besides oil, is to project strength towards other countries, and to remove russian and chinese influence from the area.
I find that line of reasoning entire plausible. Oil is of course, a nice cherry on top, but the US is self sufficient when it comes to oil thanks to shale oil.

2026-01-08 08:57:38 GMT

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Yes! Let George Clooney lead the way! 🍾
Ideally, it would be good if the US could take back his american passport once he becomes french.

2026-01-08 08:56:49 GMT

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I think a fair compromise, given the current situation, would be a DMZ along the border of Ukraine. That would be a good idea for a temporary cease fire which would allow Ukraine to regroup and rebuild its military. Once they feel strong enough, and once there is a coup or political turbulence in russia (if Putin dies for instance) they can then attack again and recapture their territory!
As for russia bnkrupting itself, they have the full unofficial support of china and india, so I do not think that will happen. I think things might become worse for the population, but that doesn't bother Putin until they are starving and have nothing left to lose, then they might revolt.

2026-01-07 09:12:52 GMT

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Excellent! Let's hope there will be a confrontation between US and Russian ships, which will draw the US into the war on the side of Ukraine. That would be the best possible news for Europe and Ukraine!

2026-01-07 09:07:20 GMT

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Ahh... interesting. What is this central problem definition? Is that sort of the "official" and fashionable thing to research at the moment?

2026-01-07 09:06:26 GMT

Ah... finally the results and analysis is in regarding the riots at the Capitol in the US 2021. It was the police who escalated the situation, and took it from a peaceful protest to a riot.
Who would hav known?
The democrats mistakenly tried to paint it as the fault of Trump, but now th US government has finally uncovered the truth.
Democrats wrong again (as always), but now the _facts_ are known and the history books can be corrected! 👍 🇺🇸

2026-01-07 07:52:17 GMT

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Note that mises.org is very pro-capitalism and freedom, so I imagine that there are different opinions on what actually happened. They do represent one historical point of view though.
Another thought here, is that the government was complicit, and helped to break them up, which means that like so many cases in the modern world, the government creates a problem, while then arguing that they are needed to solve the problem they created in the first place.
The reason for this I believe is that reality is complex, and politics is short term, and not prone to deep analysis. When you have the power, logic dictates that you will use it, otherwise you would never seek it in the first place, and that is why I think that the government tends to create more problems than it solves.

2026-01-06 22:50:53 GMT

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But are you sure that is correct?
Based on a quick reading of this article (see below) it seems like the early rail companies actually cooperated and manipulated the government to create protected markets for themselves, which means that without the government, the railways would have develop in a much more competitive and efficient way.
https://mises.org/mises-wire/myth-robber-barons-james-hill-versus-crony-competitors
Maybe the conditions and history is more due to government cooperation and manipulation, than the free market itself?

2026-01-06 12:08:55 GMT

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Yes, this is a good counter argument. Just like communists and socialists sometimes over estimate the goodness of the state, libertarians perhaps overestimate the problems the markets will solve.
The disadvantage for libertarians is that there is not a lot of empirical evidence, and that libertarian "nations" tend to be quickly invaded by regular nations.
By its very nature, moderate ideologies and positions, have it much easier when it comes to pointing to existing structures that somewhat work, than ideal ideologies which always are vulnerabl to the argument "has it ever worked before".
When it comes to 19:th century industrial history, what would be one specific corporation you have in mind, and the effects on society?

2026-01-06 12:05:29 GMT

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Well... let's say there's no inherent law of nature which would have made this impossible. ;)
What was real though, is throwing rotting corpses into fortified cities to start plagues there. This is documented in both the art of war from china, and I think I have read about it in one of the icelandic sagas as well.

2026-01-06 12:04:09 GMT

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Yes, exactly! I also wonder if this view of truth, binary in the west, and non-binary in the east, is another explanation for why science in the west and its achievements have been so enormous, while the east remained backwards until they started to copy the west.
But you can still see echoes of this alternative eastern idea of truth. In both china and russia, the governors tell the leaders what they think the leaders want to hear, not the truth. And this of course results in a lot of negatives for society.

2026-01-05 23:52:38 GMT

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I once saw a video explaining the russian concept of lie. If memory serves, they have several words for it corresponding with the situation in which you use it. One type of lie, is the lie you tell your enemies to trick them. This lie is seen as smart and not the type of negative that we typically think of when we lie to regular people. A kind of strategic lie.

2026-01-05 23:50:41 GMT

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An advantage of the onager is that in battles of old they used them to throw homos into fortified cities.
The homos would then sexually molest the defending soldiers, of which about 50% would start relationships and quit the army, and the remaining 50% would flee.
Then it was easy to take the fortified city.

2026-01-05 23:48:23 GMT

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You read my mind! ;) My ideal is the private society, where public initiatives are funded through charity, coops and non-profits. My hope (and suspicion) would be that the MNC:s would become a lot less powerful, smaller, and more numerous without governments acting on the markets, and selectively protecting the MNC:s that are funding the current party in power.
But I think, if I were to settle for something imperfect, I think a tax rate of around 10% or so, would be about the limit where I would feel that there's no point to tax planning. At least not from my SE point of view.
In terms of publicly funded entities I would prioritize in this imperfect world would be education, and niche radio playing classical music, jazz and blues.

2026-01-05 18:26:58 GMT

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Excellent! Yet another globalist and totalitarian attacked survived! 😀 🍾
But let us remember, at the end of the day, for corporations, the CIT is the last thing you look at. Before that, the nr of exceptions, excemptions, dutch sandwiches, loans, foundations, non-profits, etc. that you can use to adjust your revenue is what really counts.
The ones who cannot fight back and who will bear the burden are SMB:s, as always.

2026-01-05 16:17:35 GMT

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Ahh.... very interesting! That makes the question even more exciting than I thought it was.
That would also explain the very tentative tone of many of the "leaders" of the western world.
Thank you for adding that piece to the puzzle!

2026-01-05 11:39:42 GMT

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Interesting. Where does the line go between war and military intervention? Has this question been asked and answered in the past?

2026-01-05 11:38:51 GMT

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But why should states need protection? That is basically the same as giving them free license to torture their inhabitants without anyone outside helping? Is that a world we are willing to live in?
Or let me put it this way... let's assume the current nationalist trend continues, and that the leftists in these countries are rounded up and put in concentration camps.
Would you still argue in favour of the states protection and say that it would be illegal for democratic states to interfere?
Or could a hybrid be that countries who do not respect the rights of men, open them up to lose their protection as well?
This is how I would justify venezuela. They basically started it, by waging war on a huge part of their own population. That means they, and the state, lost all claims to holding any moral high ground and protection.

2026-01-05 11:35:41 GMT

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I'm not sure at all. I had the ancient greek version in mind. If you compare that with our current western version, you'll see that there are vast differences. One could argue that the old greek system was more democratic.