[tkjef]

you could. that’s the beauty of America.

Or you could raise the capital by pitching investors that have money because you actually have a good idea.

or you don’t have a good idea. you don’t have any money. and you want to complain.

what are you asking for? that your parents were more rich? that everyone has the exact same amount of money?

what are you striving for in this comment? are you pointing out that life is unfair? i do agree with that.

[danaris]

First, and most obviously, I'm pointing out that any individual without massive wealth attempting to tackle such a thing on their own is inevitably doomed to fail.

But more importantly, I'm pointing out that suggesting personal solutions to systemic problems is not only inevitably doomed to fail, but is promulgating the wrongheaded thinking that has created and sustained the crisis that brought us to this point.

"I don't want all the land to be held by neofeudal corporations that exercise control over every aspect of our lives" cannot be solved by "so become a neofeudal overlord yourself!" Not only is it effectively impossible to achieve, at the very best it only solves the problem for you.

I don't want to just have a better life for myself. I want a better life for everyone.

[tkjef]

i’d say likely to fail, not doomed.

if you want to have a better life for everyone then what is your solution? you do not provide one.

my solution is if enough people with the right thinking also become neofeudal overlords then we can exercise the change you’re talking about.

do you think some day everything is just going to magically snap into place and everyone will just be fair?

it has been fought for and died over for thousands of years to get where we are. and we are lucky that much less of us have to die in order to stand up for what we believe in.

now we can just make money and use that to effect change. pretty cool evolution of civilization if you ask me.

in addition, what’s wrong with solving the problem for me first? then taking care of others? that’s exactly the right approach.

others can then follow the same approach. now we have a lot of feudal overlords.

diversified micro feudalism is the term that this conversation has spurred. i like it!

[danaris]

The solution is to keep fighting, not give up and decide that we can only ever have corruption and despotism, with the only choice being whether we are the oppressed or the oppressors.

A better world is possible, whether you believe in it or not.

[tkjef]

i agree with everything you say. i just think the first step is what i’m laying out.

gotta show them we’re not afraid to play their game and win it as well.

we should be able to play any game, any time. But based on that direct the game to be of higher moral ground.

editing this comment as apparently we’ve reached our thread comment limit.

yes, bargaining from a position of power. that would allow to direct it to a more suitable place. banding together with individuals of power to produce combined power. you say it’s impossible and then say exactly how we’re going to do it. :)

i hope you know this has been a very enjoyable conversation for me.

[danaris]

I don't see how "become the oppressors" can possibly be read as having the "moral high ground."

At best it's "bargaining from a position of strength."

But, again, I apparently need to emphasize that what you suggest is, for any given individual, effectively impossible. The only way to achieve it would be to band together in such numbers that we could, instead, work to influence politics toward the ultimate goal of equality with much more success.