• IHeartBadCode@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Economic inequality being one of the biggest drivers of democratic back sliding. Shitty part is that authoritarian doesn’t really offer anything better.

    The wealthiest people of this world have created a world that’s tearing itself apart. And their only hedge is the thought that we will all be too busy killing each other that we forget completely about them. Hence these megalomaniacs that appear as distraction to keep us fighting each other.

    • AdamHenry@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 year ago

      It will take years for some counties to figure this out and then suddenly, there is a run for Italian made piano string. In other despot run counties, Christmas Eve will be seen as somewhat of a bummer to a defiant couple staring down the barrel of a gun.

    • MenKlash@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Economic inequality being one of the biggest drivers of democratic back sliding.
      Shitty part is that authoritarian doesn’t really offer anything better.

      Hey! Let’s solve “economic inequality” with more statism! That’s not authoritarian at all!

      Obviously, wanting to reduce the monopolical privileges of politicians, public spending and taxes (robbery), erradicating the central bank, increasing work flexibility and advocating for individual rights and liberty is fascist af. Believe me, guys!

      • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Saying taxes are theft has to be the most brain dead take. Even if your government is corrupt, its not the fault of taxation.

        • Ddhuud@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          With the levels of corruption in Argentina taxes are pretty much just a way to give money to politicians.

      • IHeartBadCode@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Let’s solve “economic inequality” with more statism!

        I can vote the State, I can’t vote the CEO.

        Obviously, wanting to reduce the monopolical privileges of politicians

        That’s the citizens job, not his. Milei just wants to reduce the privileges of those disagreeing, at no point would Milei want to reduce the privileges that allows him to unilaterally reduce the political privileges of those opposed to him. Let him actually put forward something that actually indicates that HE wants less power and we’ll talk about this aspect.

        public spending and taxes

        Again it’s the citizens that dictate that. I can vote for people wanting to build something in the State, not a CEO that wants to build a highway for the goodwill of mankind.

        erradicating the central bank

        Nobody wants to be the “bad guy”. Many nations are suffering the fate of too long supportive monetary policy without fiscal policy to follow. Same can be said about the USA. They rode too high and too far on quantitative easing at some point the party ends and nobody likes being “that guy”. Again, that’s mostly on the backs of the capricious voters who don’t like mild inconveniences so they hold out for major ramifications. And why? There’s way less disposable income in the hands of the many. So literally any inconvenience is a massive blow to their way of life. And it shouldn’t be a hard guess for you to figure out why so many in the public have so little.

        increasing work flexibility and advocating for individual rights and liberty

        Every “work flexibility” I’ve ever seen pitched is just code for turning people into wage slaves. Sort of how like the UK got a lot of “trade flexibility” with Brexit. Once I’ve seen a working example that didn’t actually fuck everyday citizens over, we’ll talk.

        As for individual rights and selling organs. I’m actually cool with that. There’s quite a list of incredibly wealthy people I’d like to exercise those rights on.

        fascist af

        It’s just that every time I’ve seen someone purpose breaking the system to make it better, they just want to break the system so that they can profit. I literally expect nothing less from Milei. This is the age of grift, why should anyone believe any one who pitches “I swear, I’ll build something better, just first give me the power to destroy every protection you have first.” Sure buddy, sure you will.

        • MenKlash@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          I can vote the State, I can’t vote the CEO.

          You vote for certain politicians, other people vote for other politicians, and whoever wins, the tyranny of majority will emerge. The success of the CEO is dependent of supply and demand, if there are no monopolical privileges. (I discussed this in another reply).

          That’s the citizens job, not his.

          Following your logic, the citizens voting him is a perfect clue of this, am I right? Otherwise, I agree with you about what Milei will do with his powers. I don’t trust 100% any politician, even him, but he’s the only one who explicitly showed that, like donating each month his salary (funded by taxes) and not funding certain political campaigns.

          Again it’s the citizens that dictate that. I can vote for people wanting to build something in the State, not a CEO that wants to build a highway for the goodwill of mankind.

          Citizens has no direct influence in the process of decision politicians make. The CEO (at exception of lobbyists) wanting to build a highway is: using his own factors of production achieved by social-cooperation (capital, land, technology and workers) and his desire of providing it emerges by supply and demand, by competence in a free-market setting and the economic calculation of consumers in a system of prices.

          Nobody wants to be the “bad guy”

          Sorry, but I don’t get what you’re trying to tell me here. Read about the Austrian Business Cycle Theory.

          Every “work flexibility” I’ve ever seen pitched is just code for turning people into wage slaves.

          Leaving aside the exact policies of Milei about this (as I’d prefer no policy at all), any governmental intervention in labor markets will cause unemployment among less productive workers. The term “slave” is not valid because those workers voluntary agreed, in a contract, the amount of money they’d get to do certain job.

          “Wages represent the discounted productivity of labor in satisfying consumer demand. Demand for consumer goods translates into demand for workers.”

          It’s just that every time I’ve seen someone purpose breaking the system to make it better, they just want to break the system so that they can profit.

          Fair enough. Distrust in politicians is perfectly logic and ethical, but accusing him of fascist? It does not make any sense.

          • IHeartBadCode@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            the tyranny of majority will emerge

            Which is why in most democracies there are inalienable rights and due process.

            The success of the CEO is dependent of supply and demand, if there are no monopolical privileges

            Unless they are a monopoly. Which most societies have established rules to prevent. Outside of those rules, we’ve seen time and time again such form. Capitalism doesn’t have an inbuilt mechanism that prevents a single person owning everything, that tends to be the problem we run into often.

            Following your logic, the citizens voting him is a perfect clue of this, am I right?

            He’s allowed to follow the process to remove the process. That doesn’t mean that’s a good choice. But yeah, you can absolutely use that logic to follow to that end. That’s the nice thing about democracy it’s flexible enough to become a ship we built to wreck. And voters are empowered enough to sink themselves if they so wish. So I question what freedom is not present currently that you lament the lack of?

            but he’s the only one who explicitly showed that, like donating each month his salary (funded by taxes) and not funding certain political campaigns

            Yeah, that’s not the altruism that it looks like. He’s ultimately picking who is getting that money of his. He’s picking which campaigns to not find funding. That’s the point, not the money part the power part. The money part is one thing, the power part is something that one would be ill advised to lose sight of.

            Citizens has no direct influence in the process of decision politicians make

            They’re not made to. Citizens have oversight and challenge on the wisdom of representatives. It would be unwise to have 500,000 peoples’ hands on the steering wheel. There’s no one direction we would be going in then.

            The term “slave” is not valid because those workers voluntary agreed, in a contract, the amount of money they’d get to do certain job

            When the choice is “go hungry” or “work” that’s hardly voluntary. You will find it hard to convince me otherwise.

            but accusing him of fascist? It does not make any sense.

            If you read though my comments, at no point did I indicate him as fascist. Authoritarian, yes. He’s looking to consolidate power to himself to enact change unilaterally, that’s authoritarian. Not every authoritarian is fascist but it is important to understand the fertile ground such leaves for the future. Lenin didn’t invent Stalin but he sure opened the door. And that’s something to consider.

      • AliasAKA@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        If taxes are robbery then using public infrastructure like roads without paying taxes is also theft.

        Taxes exist because public goods are actually good, and benefit everyone. The sum of the parts is greater than the individual parts. Your taxes pay for roads and public transit which are used to get people to work to create wealth for a community. It turns out the thing that makes humans great is community and banding together. Taxes are a formal way of doing that.

        Now, we need equitable taxes, but that would involve taxing the rich proportionally. This is economically sound because wealth doesn’t trickle down and the mega wealthy are, well, mega wealthy because they hoard wealth. That money would be better spent creating better roads, better public transit, better education, or in short, a better community. The prospect of a better community only upsets those who are not members of the community, because their insane wealth puts them in a different class, and those who think defending that class will somehow get them privilege. The only privilege we need is a better community.

        • MenKlash@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          Taxes exist because public goods are actually good, and benefit everyone.

          Taxes raise money for transfers to special interests and public employees. Why would you trust an oligarchy of politicians (the State) to decide which goods are useful “for a community” and which don’t?

          In contrast to private businesses that supply the goods that consumers voluntarily want to buy, public officials lack of the capacity to pick data as to what people truly demand, much less how to go about meeting those demands economically. They don’t have direct feedback of what every individual in the community want; they don’t pass the test of economic rationality.

          If the Monopoly of Violence can’t act economically, they have no other choice but respond to interest groups, so tax money will necessarily end up with narrow interest groups rather than the provision of “public goods”

          The sum of the parts is greater than the individual parts.

          The end does not justify the means. The mere existence of taxation is detrimental (and antithetical) to the very source of economic growth, that is, voluntary exchange.

          Goods like education and roads, for example, are goods like any other: they can be supplied by markets and markets alone.

          The only privilege we need is a better community.

          A better community will be formed if it’s achieved by voluntary means. Moral obligation is not the same as legal obligation. How can individuals be virtuous? By letting them act freely.

          • Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Why would you trust an oligarchy of politicians (the State) to decide which goods are useful “for a community” and which don’t?

            Because we voted for them. We didn’t vote for the board of directors of private companies. There’s plenty of waste and corruption in private enterprise. It’s not voluntary if they lie cheat and steal just like bad politicians.

            • MenKlash@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              Because we voted for them.

              The fraud of representative democracy. What about those who didn’t vote them (the tyranny of the majority)? We, the common citizens, have really any power if our vote is secret?

              The rights and obligations of a contractual act are generated by explicit consent of both members. This does not happen when we our vote is completely secret, without our names and surnames. Politicians are free to impose their monopolical powers, even if we don’t choose them.

              “Representative democracy is the illusion of universal participation in the use of institutional coercion."

              We didn’t vote for the board of directors of private companies.

              Because we shouldn’t. Except for the lobbyists, they are using their private property and their factors of production achieved by social-cooperation.

              There’s plenty of waste and corruption in private enterprise. It’s not voluntary if they lie cheat and steal just like bad politicians.

              The only difference is that, in a free-market setting, they wouldn’t have any monopolical privileges to mantain their economical power and reputation in the market, as their permanence is dependent of supply and demand.

              • Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works
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                1 year ago

                The only difference is that, in a free-market setting, they wouldn’t have any monopolical privileges

                You cant have a free market without a government enforcing anti monopoly laws.

                • MenKlash@kbin.social
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                  1 year ago

                  You cant have a free market without a government enforcing anti monopoly laws.

                  A free market is not free at all if the government is stepping in any voluntary exchange.

                  The existence of “anti-monopoly” laws has caused more harm than good by protecting particular competitors, not competition. In fact, monopolies can only survive through government-grant privileges, for gaining legal rights to be a preferred producer is the only way to maintain a monopoly in a free-market setting.

                  “A market society needs no antitrust policy at all; indeed, the state is the very source of the remaining monopolies we see in education, law, courts, and other areas.”

              • racsol@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                Stop being so based.

                1st-world leftists are going to downvote you.

      • Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        The problem is when crooks privatize these things they steal billions of dollars worth of taxpayer money. Yes Argentina is messed up, but it’s because of corruption. Privatization or socialization, both will fail because of corruption.

        Like, private school or public school, they both fail if the principal is stealing money, this isn’t a leftist/rightist issue.

      • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        There are no borders, individual rights or liberties without taxes. You become a subject to whatever country’s citizens pay enough taxes to take you over and use your resources and labor for their benefit.

      • Coki91@dormi.zone
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        1 year ago

        I cant believe an actually informed comment exists on this thread, everytime Milei pops on here its an Article calling him fascist and everyone on the comments agreeing to it

          • Coki91@dormi.zone
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            1 year ago

            I… dont see how that’s related? Informed opinions dont have/dont need to be from my friends

            But I have invited some friends to Lemmy, sure.

  • agitatedpotato@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    It’s no surprise the ratcheting rightward of global politics is coinciding with increased war and violent conflict, they fuel each other. Peace is bad for the fascist so I’d be very wary if I was Argentine.

  • havokdj@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    “Legalize sale of human organs”

    Oh boy, I definitely don’t see where that could go wrong.

    • AdamHenry@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 year ago

      China is suspected of doing this as well. Some people after being jailed in trumped up charges of practicing an unauthorized form of mindfulness, just vanish.

    • Siegfried@lemmy.world
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      I don’t know what’s happening in the rest of the world, but here there is a big problem of representation. The higher politics discuss things that have nothing to do with the problems of the Argentines. We were for ages a middle class country, now more than 40% of our population is living in poverty… and most of them dont have a job cause if they get one, they could lose their universal income*… things are bad, and we all know that it could (and will) be much worse.

      This dude, milei, started talking about simple solutions to problems that the higher politics refused to abord for decades and the gross of the population most likely took the bait. Now the whole arc, and I mean, far left to far right is quoting his proposals as their own… and the people isn’t stupid**.

      The political arc tried to stop milei first by not accepting his growing electoral base, then by saying that he can’t do shit without a majority on both chambers and finally by citing things that make absolutely no sense for the population: schoolshootings, an organ market, taking down the public Healthcare and education systems, bring back the junta… it simply doesn’tmake sense and if it does, people just dont care. So at the end, they only made things worse.

      A month ago, a social worker told me an anecdote: he asked a villero (lower end of society) who was he voting for, the villero answer “milei”, so he told him that with milei, he won’t eat. The villero responded: “I don’t eat now, but with milei, you won’t eat too.”

      There is a big chunk of the population that wants to see the country burn in the most literal sense of that phrase… and if milei wins, we will most likely be on that path.

      We are fucked up.

      *it is universal only if you vote for the ruling party and don’t have a formal job

      **the people is stupid

      • Bluescluestoothpaste@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        It’s the same thing as trump in the US, they just say things angry people want to hear, and they get elected and end up being the selfserving lying pieces of shit they always were. The difference in Argentina is all the choices are lying pieces of shit. Yeah Milei sucks but so does Kirchner and Fernandez.

  • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Fun fact: Argentina is pretty much the capitol of the world when it comes to creating zero day software exploits.

    • Akasazh@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      That is a fun, hoverer sightly depressing, fact!

      Why is that, and how come they’re so good at it?

      • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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        Exactly how it came about I’m not sure, I heard it in a Darknet Diaries episode, which probably covers some of the detail. There are conferences where people sell zero day exploits to governments or whoever.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    A foul-mouthed, far-right populist who has been described as a cross between Boris Johnson and the killer doll Chucky is in pole position to become president of South America’s second-largest economy as Argentina chooses its next leader on Sunday against a backdrop of anti-establishment fury and economic disarray.

    Election-eve polls suggest Javier Milei, a charismatic and wild-haired political outsider who found fame pontificating on television chat shows about monetary policy and sex, could sneak a first-round win, although a November runoff is likely.

    At his final campaign event in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, the 53-year-old “anarcho-capitalist” addressed a packed 15,000-capacity stadium from a stage adorned with a banner proclaiming him “The Only Solution” to Argentina’s economic malaise.

    In suburban Buenos Aires, Milei’s Peronist rival, the finance minister Sergio Massa, asked factory workers for support despite the slump his government has overseen, with 40% of Argentina’s 47 million citizens living in poverty amid triple-digit inflation.

    The third main contender, the conservative former security minister Patricia Bullrich, denounced Milei’s “bad and dangerous” ideas, which include abolishing the central bank, loosening gun laws and even legalizing the sale of human organs.

    The prospect of an Argentinian amalgam of Bolsonaro and Trump taking power has horrified progressive voters and also, apparently, Pope Francis, whom Milei has bad-mouthed as a “lefty son of a bitch”.


    The original article contains 961 words, the summary contains 220 words. Saved 77%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

        • Coki91@dormi.zone
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          1 year ago

          Lemmy, much like Reddit is extreme far left mostly, they’ll jump at throats for as little/as much as you did here…

          • セリャスト@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            Oh yeah reddit is definetly extreme far left for sure Idk what your overton window is but I dont wanna have it if you think reddit is far left

          • aliteral@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Do ypu realize being leftist is pretty coherent when using free and aopen source software, right?

            • SwingingKoala@discuss.tchncs.de
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              What? Open source software doesn’t give a shit which political labels you put on yourself.

              Also, free software is about freedom, not about a strong state that solves everybodys problem, which is what “leftists” seem to prefer.

              • Coki91@dormi.zone
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                I think it’s toned more towards the fact that Free Market’s incentive (which is a right trait) would be money and thus Closed Source where as Common Good would be the left incentive not necessarily centralized, Like a Libertarian Left

            • Coki91@dormi.zone
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              Yeah that makes sense For Lemmy but its not a shared trait with Reddit so it might not be the cause

      • Ddhuud@lemmy.world
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        But the next guy that still has any chance running against him is literally the current Economy Minister.

    • driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br
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      He’s trying ri evoke the image of argentinean “founding fathers” there’s a lot of memes of him with old school military uniforms. Argentina was some time ago one of the most economically important countries on the world and with that memes and that image they are trying to connect him with that history.

    • StarkZarn@infosec.pub
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      His teeth caught my eye first. Smile and count how many teeth you can see. Now double that and this guy’s still got you beat.

  • vis4valentine@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I know an old man who is a trump supporter, conspiracy theorists, flat earther, reptilian Illuminati believer.

    Even he agrees that Miley is a nutjob unfit for being president.

  • Moonrise2473@feddit.it
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    1 year ago

    Argentinians forgot that under the fascist dictatorships the inflation was even worse?